LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) Gracie Clapp-Taylor is from Florida, and Trent Kraychir hails from southern California.
Somehow, a winter sport is working for them both.
Clapp-Taylor won her second straight women's title and Kraychir won the men's crown at the U.S. national skeleton push championships on Saturday, the unofficial start to the team's season. Clapp-Taylor finished her two pushes of a wheeled sled at the team's training track in 8.13 seconds, while Kraychir won in a combined 7.38 seconds.
None of the five sliders who represented the U.S. in skeleton at the Sochi Olympics was in the competition.
"I feel stronger than ever and faster than I've ever been, and I had a better progression into push champs," said Clapp-Taylor, who hails from St. John's, Florida and attended college in Miami. "I think it'll be even better going into (team) trials. Winning is a big confidence booster. It helped me a lot last year, and it was one of my goals this summer to win this so that I could have that same confidence going into trials."