Tucker West begins one of his runs in the men’s singles event during the USA Luge start championships in August 2023 at the team’s headquarters on Church Street in Lake Placid. He won his 11th title that day. (Enterprise photo — Andy Flynn)

LAKE PLACID — The nation’s top luge athletes will gather at the USA Luge refrigerated indoor start training complex on Friday, Sept. 13. At stake will be the annual start championship title. The competitions will take place at the USA Luge headquarters at 57 Church St. in Lake Placid at 6 p.m.

The public is invited to attend and will have a chance to ride down the ramp after the awards ceremony for a $20 donation to support the athletes and programs of USA Luge.

Three-time Olympian Tucker West of Lake Placid hopes to add a record 12th title to his resume. Consistently one of the top ranked athletes at the start globally for the past decade, West will face competition from 2022 Olympian Jonny Gustafson of Massena and Hunter Harris of East Fairfield, Vermont. Two-time Junior World Championship medalist Matt Greiner of Park City, Utah, will compete in his first competition as a member of the National Team, having recently graduated from the junior ranks. Junior National Team athletes Aidan Mueller of West Islip and Logan Barnes of Clarksville, Tennessee, will also compete.

The top slot in the women’s race appears to be a contest between Summer Britcher of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, and Emily Sweeney of Lake Placid. Britcher, a three-time Olympian, has won seven titles since 2015, while World Championship bronze medalist Sweeney last took the title in 2021. That won’t stop challengers Ashley Farquharson of Park City, Utah, the top ranked U.S. athlete in women’s World Cup, and Junior Team graduate Emma Erickson of Park City, Utah.

Doubles is expected to feature the reigning World Championship bronze medal winners Chevonne Forgan of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and Sophia Kirkby of Ray Brook. The newly formed duo of Maya Chan of Chicago, Illinois, and Sophia Gordon of Sussex, Wisconsin, will not be competing. Gordon is currently recovering from oral surgery. Chan competed with Reannyn Weiler of Whitesboro starting in 2018, winning three World Cup medals as a duo.

Chan may decide to compete with a temporary teammate for the event. That decision will be made in the coming days.

Lake Placid World Cup gold medalists Zack DiGregorio of Medway, Massachusetts, and Sean Hollander of Lake Placid are expected to be challenged by reigning Junior World Champions Marcus Mueller of Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Ansel Haugsjaa of Framingham, Massachusetts, in men’s doubles. World Championship team relay silver medalists Dana Kellogg of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, and Frank Ike of Lititz, Pennsylvania, will also be contending. The Junior National Team duo of Barnes and Gavin Davis of Berwick, Pennsylvania, will also compete.

The start championship format will consist of three heats, with the winners earning the lowest combined times. The first two heats will be traditional starts and the third will be a reaction start, as used in the team relay event.

Held annually in late summer and early fall, the competition marks the countdown to the teams’ return to the ice in preparation for the World Cup Series. The first World Cup event will take place in Lillehammer, Norway, Nov. 30 to Dec. 1.