The STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series, The Nation's Premier Lumberjack Competition, Brings the Mid-Atlantic Qualifiers to Penn State Mont Alto

Mont Alto, Pa. (April 7, 2011) – The STIHL^® TIMBERSPORTS^®Series presented by the Ram Truck Brand brings its Mid-Atlantic Collegiate and Professional Qualifiers of the premier wood-chopping, heart-pumping lumberjack competition to the Penn State Mont Alto campus (1 Campus Drive) as part of the annual Mid-Atlantic States Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet April 16-17. Featuring the top professional and collegiate lumberjacks in the Mid-Atlantic region, the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Qualifiers kick off Sunday at 11 a.m. with ESPN cameras onsite to capture the action. The best collegiate competitor and top four pros will advance to the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series Championships at the Oregon State Fair Aug. 26-28.

“We’re looking forward to bringing the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series Mid-Atlantic Qualifiers and the ESPN cameras to Penn State Mont Alto,” said Roger Phelps, promotional communications manager, STIHL Inc. “With both the Collegiate and Professional Qualifiers taking place, fans will get double the action and double the talent with the region’s best collegiate and pro woodsmen.”

Collegiate lumberjacks and jills from Mid-Atlantic schools including: Allegany College of Maryland, Haywood Community College, Montgomery Community College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Penn State Mont Alto, and University of North Carolina-Charlotte will compete for top honors in the Collegiate Qualifier. In the Collegiate Series, the participating universities select their best lumberjack to chop and saw in four disciplines, the single buck, standing block chop, stock saw and underhand chop, using professional-sized wood and rules. The competitor with the most cumulative points after all four disciplines earns a $1,000 scholarship from STIHL for his or her school and advances to the 2011 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Championship.

“The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series Mid-Atlantic Qualifier paired with the Mid-Atlantic Woodsmen's Meet is the biggest event we’ve had at Mont Alto in my 19 years coaching the Woodsmen Team,” said Craig Houghton, Penn State Mont Alto forest technology instructor. “What’s really special is Tom Oliver, a recent forest technology alumnus, is competing as a pro and many other alumni will be here cheering him on.”

Another face in the pro competition is long-time competitor and 2009 U.S. champion Arden Cogar Jr., a civil defense trial attorney from West Hamlin, W. Va., who has competed in the Series for more than two decades and represented the U.S. in the 2010 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS World Championships. Cogar will join nine of the region’s top professional lumberjacks as they face off across six disciplines, the hot saw, single buck, springboard chop, standing block chop, stock saw and underhand chop, racing each other and the clock. Also competing in the Pro Series is Will Roberts from Groton, NY, who will make his sixth consecutive appearance in the Series. He won the 2005 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Championship while attending SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry and has competed as a professional ever since. Roberts made STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series history last year as the first former collegiate competitor to make the final round at the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS U.S. Championship.

The Collegiate and Professional Series air on ESPNU and ESPN2, respectively. In addition to the Mid-Atlantic Qualifier, the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series consists of four other regional Collegiate and Professional Series Qualifiers and the U.S. Championships:

• Southern Qualifier hosted by the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., March 18
• Western Qualifier hosted at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., March 25
• Midwest Qualifier hosted at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., April 9
• Mid-Atlantic Qualifier hosted at Penn State-Mont Alto in Mont Alto, Pa., April 17
• Northeast Qualifier hosted at SUNY-Cobleskill in Cobleskill, NY, April 30
• Collegiate and U.S. Championship at the Oregon State Fair in Salem, Ore., Aug. 26-28

For the second consecutive year, the Oregon State Fair will host the Collegiate and Professional Championships. In the Collegiate Series, the five regional competitors and one wildcard pick face off in the single buck, standing block chop, stock saw and underhand chop to determine the nation’s top collegiate lumberjack. The collegiate champion wins a buy in to the 2012 Professional Series.

In the Professional Series, the top four pros from each qualifier advance to the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS U.S. Championship, where they will compete for a slice of the coveted U.S. title and the opportunity to advance to the World Championship in Holland Sept. 3-4. Additional pros will be selected by officials to represent the U.S. in the World Championship Relay Competition.

Established in 1985 by STIHL Inc., manufacturer of the number-one selling brand of gasoline-powered handheld outdoor power equipment in America*, the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series, billed as the Original Extreme Sport, attracts the world’s top lumberjack athletes in a competition based on historic logging techniques. The Series is seen by more than 20 million viewers annually in more than 62 countries on networks such as Eurosport and ESPN, where it is one of the longest running shows.

Since 2003, the Collegiate Series has traveled to college campuses across the country to seek out the best amateur athletes and give them the opportunity to advance in the sport. More than 50 universities and colleges presently compete in the Series. The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Series grooms student athletes to one day take their place among the professional elite. Additionally, ESPNU provides a national platform to not only highlight the competition and the sport, but also spotlight the hosting schools and their forestry programs in the Collegiate Series competition shows.

Get the latest information and up-to-date news and video on all the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series competitions by going to STIHLTIMBERSPORTS.US. Access behind-the-scenes photos and video on Facebook and YouTube.