The U.S. team relay squad bounced back, following a did not finish last week, placing third on a windy day at the sliding sports venue outside of Dresden, Germany.

The U.S. men’s doubles team of Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa posted their best-ever result finishing sixth.

In singles racing, Jonny Gustafson was the top men’s U.S. finisher in 13th, while Ashley Farquharson was the top American women’s finisher placing sixth.

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In the front, from left Team USA’s Sophia Kirkby, Chevonne Forgan and Ashley Farquharson, in the back, Ansel Haugsjaa, Marcus Mueller and Jonathan Gustafson celebrate their third place in the Team Relay at the Luge World Cup in Altenberg, Germany on Sunday. (Provided photo — Michael Kristen/FIL)

Women’s doubles

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Like many sleds Saturday, Forgan, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and Kirkby, of Ray Brook, dealt with issues out of curve nine. The duo gently tapped the right wall on the exit of the corner in their second run. The two-time World Championship medalists won the bronze with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 25.633 seconds.

“We had a good first run in our race today and some small problems in our second run,” Forgan said. “But we managed to get on the podium with third place, which we are really happy about.”

“(An) exciting day here in Altenberg, Germany,” Kirkby added. “It was quite snowy, which did affect the track with snow blowing in there. But overall, we did a great job, and I thought we put in some good efforts.”

Team USA’s Tucker West slides down the Altenberg track during Saturday’s FIL World Cup in Germany. (Provided photo — Michael Kristen/FIL)

Maya Chan of Chicago, Illinois and Sophia Gordon of Sussex, Wisconsin, a newly formed team competing at select events, were eighth in 1:26.309.

Since Forgan and Kirkby’s win at the first race of the year in Lillehammer, Norway, Austrians Selina Egle and Lara Kipp have been unbeaten. The duo won today’s competition in 1:25.077. Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal were second in 1:25.474.

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Men’s doubles

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At ages 19 and 20 respectively, Mueller, of Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Haugsjaa, of Framingham, Massachusetts, are a team on the rise. The reigning Junior World Champions are competing in their first full World Cup season and today posted a career-best result. The duo made several small but costly mistakes today, indicating that their true potential has yet to be unlocked. Their sixth-place time was 1:24.405.

Olympians Zack DiGregorio of Medway, Massachusetts and Sean Hollander of Lake Placid placed eighth in 1:24.691.

Martins Bots and Roberts Plume of Latvia won the race in 1:23.900. Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt were second in 1:24.023, with Yannick Mueller and Armin Frauscher of Austria third in 1:24.031.

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Team relay

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Since the addition of women’s doubles to the team relay last season, a premium has been placed on consistency, especially on a technically difficult track like the one in Altenberg.

Team USA was represented by Farquharson, the men’s doubles team of Marcus Mueller and Haugsjaa, Gustafson and the women’s doubles team of Forgan and Kirkby. All four United States sleds were fast and relatively clean down the track, enough to reward the squad with a bronze medal in 3 minutes, 16.149 seconds.

The Latvia team upset the second-place German team on home ice. Their times were 3:15.715 and 3:15.914, respectively.

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Men’s singles

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Gustafson, of Massena, a 2022 Olympian, had significant problems on his first run, but bounced back with the 10th fastest heat of the race. His time was 1:49.804. His teammate Tucker West of Lake Placid a three-time Olympian, was 17th after a difficult race. His time was 1:50.343.

Hunter Harris of East Fairfield, Vermont was 27th in 56.763. Only the top 20 sleds advance to the second heat.

Max Langenhan and Felix Loch led a Germany 1-2 finish, with times of 1:48.210 and 1:48.440, respectively. Dominik Fischnaller of Italy, a podium regular in years past, earned his first medal of the season by finishing third in 1:48.609.

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Women’s singles

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The women’s race saw problems for a significant portion of the field, particularly out of the wind-exposed curve 14. The U.S. team was no exception. Farquharson showed the speed for a podium finish but hit the left and right walls between curves 14 and 15. The 2022 Olympian posted a two-run combined time of 1:46.108 and finished sixth.

Emily Sweeney of Lake Placid and Summer Britcher of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, both multi-time Olympians and World Cup medalists, tied for 14th place after struggling with the exit of curve 14. They posted times of 1:47.239.

Emma Erickson of Park City, Utah finished in 21st with a one-run time of 59.913. Only the top-20 advance to the second heat of competition.

Madeleine Egle of Austria was the winner in 1:45.642. Anna Berreiter of Germany was second in 1:45.792, with her teammate Merle Fraebel third in 1:45.905.

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World Cup standings

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In women’s doubles, Egle and Kipp lead with 450 points. Degenhardt and Rosenthal are second with 390 points, 10 points in front of Forgan and Kirkby with 380. Chan and Gordon, competing in their second event of the season, are ranked 13th with 81 points.

Mueller and Haugsjaa hold ninth place with 200 points in men’s doubles, while DiGregorio and Hollander are 10th with 187. Dana Kellogg of Chesterfield, Massachusetts and Frank Ike of Lititz, Pennsylvania are out for the season after Kellogg injured his shoulder at the second race of the season. They sit in 21st place with 58 points.

Bots and Plume lead the points chase with 416. Wendl and Arlt are second with 375, and Toni Eggert and Florian Mueller of Germany are third with 341 points.

In men’s singles, Gustafson holds 11th place with 166 points and West is 14th with 142. Aidan Mueller of West Islip did not qualify to compete today and holds 27th place with 60 points. Matt Greiner of Park City, Utah did not race today due to an injury and sits in 29th place with 52 points. Harris, competing in select events, is 40th with 14 points.

Nico Gleirscher of Austria holds the lead with 386 points, with Langenhan second with 371 and Loch third with 315.

In women’s singles, Farquharson and Sweeney are tied for seventh place, with 223 points each. Britcher sits in 11th place with 198 points and Erickson is 20th with 96.

Egle leads the women’s World Cup standings with 359 points. Austrian Lisa Schulte is second with 355 points and Germany’s Julia Taubitz is third with 330.

In team relay standings, the United States is tied for fifth place with Italy with 125 points. Germany is in the lead with 270 points. Austria is second with 245 points, followed by Ukraine in third with 162.