USA Nordic - Lake Placid Continental Cup Recap
Men’s Ski Jumping competed in three Continental Cup competitions this past weekend in Lake Placid, New York. Andrew Urlaub, Casey Larson, Decker Dean, Erik Belshaw, Tate Frantz and Kevin Bickner represented the United States, with Belshaw and Frantz recording new Continental Cup personal bests.
Competition started on Friday, October 6th, as athletes took the hill for the first HS128 Continental Cup of the weekend. In the first round, Belshaw jumped to 117.5 meters for 120.8 points, with Frantz going 117.0 meters for 118.3 points. Larson then went 114.5 meters (112.9 points), followed by a 117.0 meter jump by Dean (125.8 points), along with a 112.5 meter jump by Urlaub (106.4 points). Bickner rounded things out for the United States in the first round, going 103.0 meters for 102.6 points. In the final round, Belshaw went 116.5 meters (120.3 points, 241.1 total points), as he earned a 12th place finish and a new COC personal best. Frantz was right behind in 13th place, going 117.0 meters in the final round (120.4 points, 238.7 total points), carding a new COC personal best. Larson then came in 16th place, followed by Dean in 17th, with Urlaub in 23rd and Bickner in 25th.
Due to inclement weather, the two final HS128 Continental Cup events were held on Saturday, October 7th. During the day’s first COC, only one round of competition was held due to strong winds and rain. Frantz notched another COC personal best, finishing 9th overall, as he soared to 121.5 meters for 122.2 points in the first round. Belshaw finished 15th overall, jumping to 119.5 meters for 116.4 points. Dean was close behind in 17th (118.5 meters, 115.1 points), with Larson in 18th place (117.5 meters, 111.5 points), and Bickner rounding things off in 23rd place (113.5 meters, 104.7 points).
Later in the day, athletes competed in the final HS128 Continental Cup of the weekend, as Frantz, Larson, Belshaw and Dean took the hill. Frantz finished 14th overall, jumping to 117.0 and 119.5 meters for 237.0 total points, capping off his dominant weekend in Lake Placid. Larson was right behind in 15th, as he went 116.0 and 120.0 meters, scoring 235.9 total points on the day. Belshaw came in 17th place, as he put together jumps of 114.5 and 119.5 meters, carding 231.2 total points. Dean rounded things off for the United States, putting together jumps of 111.0 and 113.5 meters, scoring 216.5 total points on the day and finishing 20th overall.
Following the Continental Cup events in Lake Placid, USA Nordic athletes will compete in the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined U.S. National Championships in Lake Placid. Hosted by the New York Olympic Regional Development Authority, National Championships will be held at the Olympic Jumping Complex and Mt. Van Hovenberg from October 10th-11th.
