Kleinheinz, Mueller and Bivins/Lux win Norton Junior National Championship Titles

PARK CITY, Utah – The Norton Junior National Championships brought the competitive season to an end for the young athletes of USA Luge. Ellie Kleinheinz won the Junior (ages 19-21) women’s division, Aidan Mueller won the men’s and the double team of Nathan Bivins and Wolfgang Lux won the doubles title. 

By winning the 2025 Junior National title, Kleinheinz (Santa Clara, Calif.) has won gold in every National category she’s entered. In 2022, she won the Youth B (ages 13 and under) title, followed by the Youth A (ages 14-18) title in 2023. The 2024 Youth Olympian’s four-run combined time was 3 minutes, 0.871 seconds. Last week’s Norton Youth A Champion and 2024 Youth Olympian, Talia Tonn (Cecil, Wisc.), was second in 3:01.875, followed by Breckan Luedke (Menasha, Wisc.) with a third-place time of 3:03.667. 

Mueller (West Islip, N.Y.)  won his first Norton Junior National title with a time of 3:10.701. Logan Barnes (Clarkesville, Tenn.) was a close second behind Mueller in 3:10.890. 2024 Youth Olympian Orson Colby (Riverton, Utah) third in 3:15.380. 

The doubles title was determined by a two-heat competition and featured both men’s and women’s teams. 2024 Youth Olympians Bivins (Castleton, N.Y.) and Lux (Swanton, Vt.) captured their first Norton Junior title in 1:30.541. 2024 Youth Olympian Sadie Martin (Vermontville, N.Y.) and Brianna Gosnell (Evansburg, Pa.) were second in 1:33.271. Marcus Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.) and Ansel Haugsjaa (Framingham, Mass.), who raced as members of the National Team for most of the season, were disqualified for warm runners in their final race as Juniors. 

The National Team is expected to train next week in Lake Placid in preparation for the 2025-26 season. Both Lake Placid and Park City will host World Cup events in December. Those races will be a part of the 2026 Olympic Team qualification process. Overall World Cup bronze medalists Chevonne Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Sophia Kirkby (Lake Placid, N.Y.) are scheduled to attend the 2026 Olympic track certification in Cortina, Italy later this month. 

One competition remains in the 2024-25 season: the Norton Masters National Championship, slated to take place in Lake Placid, N.Y. on March 30^th. The race features non-National Team athletes over the age of 30.