Virginia Beach, Va. (May 20, 2009) – Curtis Karboski, a senior at Paul Smith’s College in Paul Smith’s, N.Y., won his second title in the Northeast qualifier in the 2009 STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Collegiate Challenge presented by Carhartt. He won his first title in 2007.
Karboski, a fisheries and biology major, solidified this win with 38 points besting Unity College’s Richard Russ by three points and University of Connecticut’s Corey Christians by six points. Karboski finished first in three of the four STIHL TIMBERSPORTS professional disciplines, the single buck, standing block chop and underhand chop, but struggled with the STIHL stock saw discipline.
At the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover, N.H., the top lumberjacks and jills from regional schools went head-to-head vying for a slice of the Northeast title. Karboski will represent the Northeast region, for the second time in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Championship in Columbus, Ga. June 20-21.
“It is always exciting to bring our Collegiate Series to the Northeast region because of the great sportsmanship and enthusiasm for lumberjack sports that you find here,” said Roger Phelps, promotional communications manager for STIHL Inc. “This is one of the more competitive qualifying events, and in fact our 2008 collegiate champion came from this region.”
Karboski first competed in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Series in 2007. In the Northeast qualifier of the 2008 Collegiate Series, Karboski conceded the Paul Smith’s College spot to upperclassman and teammate, Matt Bolton. Bolton won the 2008 Northeast qualifier and went on to win the Collegiate Championship. Bolton will compete in the 2009 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Professional Series June 5-6 at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah.
The Paul Smith’s College woodsmen team is no stranger to the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Championship being that a competitor from the school has won the Northeast qualifier and advanced to the championship the last four years. The former Northeast qualifier champions from Paul Smith’s College are Karboski (2009), Bolton (2008), Karboski (2007) and Adam LaSalle (2006). Now a student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, LaSalle won the Midwest qualifier this year and will compete in the championship again.
Karboski earned a $1,000 scholarship from STIHL for his school as well as a place in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Championship to be held June 2009 in Columbus, Ga. He will join LaSalle, from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, who won the Midwestern qualifier; Brad Sears, from the University of Arkansas-Monticello, who won the Southern qualifier; David Green from Central Oregon Community College who won the Western qualifier, Montgomery Community College’s Matt Slingerland who won the Mid-Atlantic qualifier and wildcard pick, Logan Scarborough from North Carolina State, who placed second in the Southern qualifier.
The winner of the Collegiate Championship will earn a spot in the 2010 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Professional Series presented by Carhartt.
For the first time ever, STIHL hosted a women’s collegiate lumberjill challenge, which was a one-on-one competition between Northeast regional colleges’ best female lumberjacks. While women have competed in the Collegiate Series before, they did so against men. This was the first time there was a dedicated competition to let the women show their skills against their peers.
Colby College’s Sara Hutchins took this inaugural title by a mere point over University of New Hampshire’s Megan Bujnowski and earned her school a $500 scholarship from STIHL. The lumberjills of Finger Lakes Community College, Kendra Trammell and SUNY-ESF, Ashley Thomas tied for third coming in five points shy of the first-place score. The lumberjills competed in three STIHL TIMBERSPORTS professional disciplines, the single buck, stock saw and underhand chop.
The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Challenge includes 52 colleges and universities in five regional events and runs from the fall of 2008 to the summer of 2009. The Collegiate Series travels to schools around the country to challenge amateur lumberjacks in head-to-head competitions to determine the best all-around collegiate lumberjack.
The entire 2009 season of the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Series will air on ESPNU. Fans of the series can also get the latest information and up-to-date news and video on all the competitions by signing up for the Quick Cuts e-newsletter at
www.stihltimbersports.com
.
Join the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Mobile Community now by texting STS to STIHL (78445) and get the latest news, alerts and special offers direct to your mobile device. Standard mobile service provider rates apply.
For more information, go to
www.ESPNOutdoors.com
and click on TIMBERSPORTS, or visit
www.stihltimbersports.com
.
The final results from the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Northeast Collegiate Challenge hosted by the Dartmouth College:
1 Curtis Karboski, Paul Smith’s College 38 points
2 Richard Russ, Unity College 35 points
3 Corey Christians, University of Connecticut 32 points
4 Ryan Matuszewski, University of New Hampshire 31 points
5 Tyler White, SUNY-Cobleskill 26 points
6 Robert Spry, Finger Lakes Community College 23 points
7 Tim Kuss, ESF-Ranger School 21 points
8 Thomas Nichol, Colby College 16 points
8 Rory Rosenbarker, SUNY-ESF 16 points
10 Dillon Owen, University of Vermont 12 points
11 Luke Mann-O’Halloran, Dartmouth College 11 points
About STIHL Inc.
STIHL Inc. manufactures the world's largest selling brand of chain saws and produces a full line of powerful, lightweight, and versatile handheld outdoor power equipment for homeowners and professional users. STIHL products are sold through independent servicing power equipment retailers from coast to coast – not mass merchants. STIHL products sold through U.S. STIHL dealers are for distribution in the United States only. For more information or for the name of the closest STIHL retailer call toll free 1-800-GO STIHL (1-800-467-8445) or visit STIHL's Web site at
www.stihlusa.com
.
STIHL Inc. is the official underwriting sponsor of the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series. The series airs throughout the year on the ESPN2 cable network, and the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Collegiate Series airs on ESPNU. The STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® SERIES is the pinnacle event in lumberjack sports. Since 1985 the Series has grown to become the premier showcase of the decades old sport of lumberjacking with competitions held around the world.
The term TIMBERSPORTS® is a registered trademark owned by ANDREAS STIHL AG & Co. KG. and refers to the series of disciplines and competitions that are part of the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series. As such, it should not be used as a generic description of the overall sport of lumberjack sports. This trademark refers to all modifications of the term TIMBERSPORTS such as timber sports, or timbersport. The term TIMBERSPORTS should always appear in conjunction with "STIHL."
About Carhartt, Inc
Established in 1889, Carhartt, Inc. exists to provide best-in-class, durable products for the active worker. Carhartt is a family owned, consumer focused, global company that is respectful of its heritage. We lead the way in developing durable, premium, high quality products and services for workers on and off the job. Headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., with more than 4,500 employees worldwide, Carhartt is privately owned and managed by the descendants of the company’s founder, Hamilton Carhartt. For more information, visit
www.carhartt.com
.
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