ESU Alumna Makes History with Bobsled Team

Posted by: admin on March 4, 2015, One Comment

Caitlin Stuetz M’14, helped make history earlier this month when she joined seven other women to compete on bobsled teams internationally.

The four women sleds, one American and one Canadian, broke the gender barrier by racing in the North American Cup in Parks City, Utah on February 7 and 8 as the only two all-women teams racing against male teams.

“It was an honor and privilege to be the first ones to accomplish this but we did it for those who fought for this before us and those who can benefit from it after us,” she said.

Stuetz said the final day of racing was very emotional.

“It was amazing,” she said. “There was a news story [about breaking the gender barrier] and that brought fans out to the race. When we were at the starting line on the second day, there were little girls yelling, “You can do it, you can do it.”

The only Olympic bobsled event for women is the two-person bobsled, which started in 2002. Stuetz and her teammates hope to see the four-women bobsled become its own sport, with possible Olympic recognition in 2018.

While the athlete spent most of her life in sports, she hadn’t spent any time on the iced bobsled track until January. Stuetz was a standout hurdler in track and field in college. After enrolling in the master’s program in exercise science at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania in 2013, Stuetz was looking for a way she could continue to compete at a high level. She settled on bobsledding because her abilities in track could transfer to the running and pushing skills needed for the cold weather sport.

She looked to fellow ESU graduate Chris Fenelon M’14 to train and coach her for a shot at high level competition. Stuetz praised Fenelon, who until recently was the assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Toledo and just accepted a position as a strength and conditioning professional intern for the New York Jets.

“His strength and conditioning program and constant encouragement is what got me to the next level,” Stuetz said.

That training enabled her to take the USA Bobsled “combine test” in Lake Placid last August, which measures power, speed and strength.

She scored well enough to get invited to the U.S. National Push Championships last October in Lake Placid. In this competition, bobsledders use a sled on wheels instead of ice to simulate the experience.

“In the Push Championships, the drivers can scope out talent and have a say in who is on their team,” Stuetz said.

Stuetz was asked to race in the U.S. team trials but hurt her back and had to leave Lake Placid to go home to Glenside, Pa. for two months of physical therapy.

With her back healing, Stuetz went to Park City, Utah for two weeks starting January 26 for the North American Cup. It was then that experienced driver Brittany Reinbolt asked her to join the first four-women bobsled team as a brakeman for the February 7 and 8 races.

Next, Stuetz plans to head to the Nationals at Lake Placid March 9-22, where she will practice and hopes to get selected for a team for the competition.

She said she loves the power and speed of sleds hurtling 80 miles per hour down the track and it has been great being part of a team.

“There’s a lot of trust involved because you’re relying on this driver who you’ve known for about three days to take you down the wildest ride of your life and she’s trusting you to brake,” she said.

Stuetz said her graduate work with ESU’s program and professors contributed greatly to her new path as a bobsledder.

“I cannot thank ESU enough for challenging me to step outside my comfort zone,” she said.