Katie Stoever Picked for US Bobsled Trials

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http://www.orugoldeneagles.com/ViewArti ... =205005966
Former Pole Vaulter Stoever Invited to U.S. Bobsled Trials
Courtesy: ORU Media Relations
Release: 10/04/2010

Courtesy: ORU Media Relations

Former pole vault champion Katie Stoever is on the verge of qualifying for the U.S. Bobsled Team.

TULSA—Former Oral Roberts track and field standout Katie Stoever has been selected to participate in the United States Bobsled team trials, Oct. 28-29 in Lake Placid, N.Y.

A former Summit League champion in the pole vault Stoever, a 2010 ORU graduate, earned a spot in the team trials after finishing fourth among all rookies at the Push Championships on Sept. 23. Following team trials Stoever, if selected, will compete as a part of the America’s Cup circuit with competitions in Lake Placid, Park City, Utah and Calgary, Alberta.

“I’m pretty excited,” said Stoever. “This all kind of came out of nowhere. It’s been an amazing experience so far and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Stoever first came to the attention of U.S. Bobsled coaches at a July recruiting event in Tulsa hosted by women’s head coach and Jenks resident Dave Owens.

“(ORU track head coach) Joe Dial told me about the event and said I should go,” said Stoever. “I went over there and performed well and received an invitation to rookie camp in Lake Placid in August.”

Stoever and the other rookies were put through a combine test as part of a week-long training session. At the end of the session, Stoever was invited to return in September for a second combine and a chance at a spot in the Push Championships at the end of trials.

“At the September combine I had to score 600 or better in all of the events,” she said. “We were tested in sprints, broad jump, shot toss, clean and squats. I scored a 624 in the combine and then finished fourth among all the rookies in the Push Championships on Sept. 23.”

Stoever will perform at the team trials next month as a brakeman, the final step in her quest be an official member of the U.S. Bobsled Federation. She is one of six rookies and will eventually be teamed with a driver.

In less than three months, Stoever has gone from former pole vaulter to the brink of qualifying for the U.S. Bobsled team.

“I was preparing to start grad school and now I’m bobsledding”, she said with a chuckle. “I keep telling myself to take it one step at a time, and I’ve put my faith in God that whatever is supposed to happen will.”

U.S. Bobsled Federation also produces a more high-profile World Cup team, one that is financed by the organization. But the America’s Cup squad is paid for by the athletes themselves, and Stoever needs sponsors.

“We’re responsible for all of our own expenses,” she said. “It’s the price we all have to pay in order to have a shot at one day being on the World Cup team. It’s worth it but it isn’t cheap.”

If you’d like to help Stoever as she competes for the U.S. Bobsled team, contact her at katiestoever@yahoo.com or you can donate at katiestover.blogspot.com.

[rainbowgirl28]

GO Katie!

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Let's show our support and stay in the loop by following her blog here - http://katiestoever.blogspot.com/
Bubba

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http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/a ... NSai627637

Tulsan joins U.S. bobsled team

Katie Stoever participates in the national push championships in Lake Placid, N.Y., in September. Courtesy


By KELLY HINES World Sports Writer
Published: 11/9/2010  2:22 AM
Last Modified: 11/9/2010  3:55 AM

After Katie Stoever was born two months premature, doctors said she would have problems developing athletically.

As it turns out, she likes a challenge. Now 22, Stoever is on the women's U.S. bobsled team after being introduced to the sport only a few months ago.

"Being able to come out here and race and compete, it's just amazing," Stoever said in a phone interview while in Park City, Utah, for training. "Everything I've done in the past has been a great experience and really taught me about myself and about life, so I figure to have another opportunity to experience a new sport, God only knows what I'll learn from it."

A lifelong athlete, Stoever had her birth weight - 4 pounds, 7 ounces - tattooed on her ankle as inspiration during college. It seemed to work: As a pole vaulter at Oral Roberts University, she won a Summit League title, set indoor and outdoor school records and finished 10th in the NCAA championships.

Stoever graduated magna cum laude in May with a degree in public relations and advertising. She planned to attend graduate school and become a speech pathologist, but that plan took a different course.

Over the summer, ORU track and field coach Joe Dial told Stoever about a possible opportunity. Dave Owens, a Jenks resident who had been named coach of the national bobsled team, was looking for athletes.

"Katie was one of the ones I thought of because she's an all-around good athlete," Dial said. "You have to have a little size on you to push that sled. Just because you're fast doesn't mean that you're strong, so you kind of have to be fast and strong like a vaulter needs to be. I thought she would be a good fit."

After performing well at a combine, placing fourth among rookies in the national push championships and participating in team trials last month, the 5-foot-7, 165-pound Stoever was named a brakeman for the U.S.

"It's great to see her come into the sport with so much success," Owens said. "She's doing a fantastic job learning the sport, and I look forward to watching her progress."

The turn of events made Stoever realize she wasn't ready to move on from sports.

"A lot of college athletes still have that fire and that desire to compete, and I never really understood that," Stoever said. "But now that I'm done with pole vaulting, I get it. Being an athlete your whole life, it's embedded in your skin and your blood and your heart and it's just something that you love."


Name: Katie Stoever

Age: 22

Hometown: Tulsa

High school: Bishop Kelley

College: Oral Roberts

Athletic career: Gymnast until high school; all-metro pole vaulter at Bishop Kelley; record-setting pole vaulter at ORU; member of the U.S. bobsled team.

Website: To learn more about Stoever or to become a sponsor, visit tulsaworld.com/katiestoever


Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/a ... NSai627637

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I'm also following her blog at - http://katiestoever.blogspot.com/
Maybe we can show some support that way too. Bubba