Athletes from the state of Michigan dominated the Norton Youth A (to age 17) National Luge Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. on Sunday, Feb. 28. Jacob Hyrns of Muskegon, Mich. and Elisabeth Underwood of Skandia, Mich. took top honors in the men’s and women’s competitions, respectively.

Hyrns, who placed first in the Youth A seeding race on Feb. 27, also won gold in the Norton Youth A Men’s National Championships on Feb. 28 with a combined time of one minute, 30.922 seconds. Tucker West (Ridgefield, Conn.) won second position with a two run combined time of 1:31.681. Rounding out the top three was Anthony Espinoza of Park City, Utah with a combined time of 1:31.834.

Underwood, like Hyrns, also took first place in both the first seeding race on Feb. 27 and the Youth A Women’s National Championships on Feb. 28, winning the championship race and holding off a pool of 10 sliders with a time of one minute, 29.997 seconds. Summer Britcher of Glen Rock, Pa., who won last year’s Women’s Youth A National Championship, placed second with a time of 1:30.145, while Breanna Rosencrance (Yakima, Wash.) took home the bronze medal with a time of 1:31.123.

In Youth B (to age 15) competition, Johnny Gustafson of Massena, N.Y. won the first seeding race and took gold in the Norton Youth B Men’s National Championships with a time of one minute, 32.059 seconds. In second place behind Gustafson was Justin Krewson of Eastport, N.Y. with a combined time of 1:33.673. Jake Farquharson of Park City, Utah who was unharmed after he crashed during the first seeding race turned his luck around and placed third in the Youth B Men’s National Championships with a time of 1:33.968.

Caroline Goyette from Yakima, Wash. raced to gold in the Norton Youth B Women’s National Championships with a time of one minute, 35.116 seconds. Claire Osborn of Salt Lake City, Utah took silver with a combined time of 1:36.393, with Kayla Harden of Park City, Utah was third with a time of 1:37.317. The finish order for the seeding race was the same as the Youth B National Championships.

The seeding races and National Championships, along with coaches’ discretion, are used to determine next year’s team selections. In the Youth A men’s division, Tucker West is guaranteed a spot on the Junior National "C" team. Jacob Hyrns was the overall winner, with West in second, but because Hyrns will no longer be eligible to compete as a Youth A slider and will move to the Junior (to age 20) category based on his age, West becomes the top seeded athlete. In Youth A women, Summer Britcher qualified for the "C" team, as Elizabeth Underwood will graduate to the Junior ranks.

Youth B athlete Jonny Gustafson guaranteed himself a spot on the Junior "D" team as the top-ranked athlete in his category following the seeding and National Championship races. With Caroline Goyette and Claire Osborn graduating to the Youth A category next season, Kayla Harden became the highest ranked Youth B woman and earned a spot on next season’s "D" team.