PARK CITY, Utah — The 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 Junior National title, Kleinheinz, of Santa Clara, California, 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 Youth Olympian, Talia Tonn of Cecil, Wisconsin, was second in 3:01.875, followed by Breckan Luedke of Menasha, Wisconsin with a third-place time of 3:03.667.

Mueller, of West Islip, won his first Norton Junior National title with a time of 3:10.701. Logan Barnes of Clarkesville, Tennessee was a close second behind Mueller in 3:10.890. Youth Olympian Orson Colby of 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. Youth Olympians Bivins, of Castleton, and Lux, of Swanton, Vermont, captured their first Norton Junior title in 1:30.541. Youth Olympian Sadie Martin of Vermontville and Brianna Gosnell of Evansburg, Pennsylvania were second in 1:33.271. Marcus Mueller of Brookfield, Wisconsin and Ansel Haugsjaa of Framingham, Massachusetts, who raced as members of the National Team for most of the season, were disqualified for warm runners in their final race as Juniors. Aside from the disappointment, the result does not impact the duo’s standing on the National Team leading into the 2025-26 season.

The National Team is expected to train next week in Lake Placid in preparation for next 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 of Chelmsford, Massachusetts and Sophia Kirkby of Lake Placid 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, on March 30. The race features non-National Team athletes over the age of 30.