STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Crowns New Champions

MILWAUKEE, Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cassidy Scheer achieved what most thought was unthinkable. The Golden Valley, Minn.-native defeated six-time U.S. champion Matt Cogar for a thrilling victory in the 2019 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® U.S. Men's Championship. Martha King continued to prove she's one of the best athletes in the sport, winning the Women's Championship. West Virginia University's Andrew Sergent earned the Collegiate Championship.

Going into the final discipline, the hot saw, Scheer trailed Cogar by three points. Scheer finished his hot saw at 5.96, and it was Cogar's turn last. Cogar made his cut, but his hot saw bounced off the ground after the final cut, making contact with the bottom of the log outside the designated cut area, which led to a disqualification. Scheer's final score held up, beating newcomer Nate Hodges by a point. Matt Slingerland finished in third for the third straight year. Scheer will represent the U.S. in the World Championships in Prague in November.

King finished third in the inaugural Women's Division Championship in 2017, and second in 2018, before breaking through this year. She finished in the middle of the pack in the first discipline (stock saw), but then dominated the final two disciplines – the singlebuck and underhand chop – to win. 2018 champion Erin LaVoie finished second and Kate Witkowski finished third.

Sergent has qualified for the Collegiate Championship for four straight years. He previously finished in third (2016) and second (2017, 2018) before breaking through in a truly impressive performance. Sergent won the last three disciplines – the standing block chop, singlebuck and underhand chop – to power his victory. Koby Gutsch (University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point) finished second and Will Kraemer (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo) finished third.

Several records were broken at the U.S. Championships. Cogar set an unofficial world record in the hot saw at 5.02; Matt Marks broke the U.S. stock saw record at 10.006; Cogar broke the U.S. singlebuck record at 9.851; and Hodges broke the U.S. springboard record at 37.271. Wesley Bodenheimer (Montgomery Community College) broke the collegiate Stock Saw record at 10.81.

Scheer and King earned John Deere gators for their victories. Hodges and LaVoie won Duluth Trading Company prize packs for second place. Sergent earned a $2,000 scholarship from John Deere and a $1,500 prize pack from Duluth Trading Company for his win, and Gutsch earned a $1,000 prize pack from Duluth Trading Company and a $500 prize certificate from STIHL for finishing second.

The Championships took place in front of excited and raucous crowds at German Fest in Milwaukee over three days, with 10,000+ fans in attendance. This was the third straight year the Championships took place in Milwaukee.

Fans can watch the Championships on CBS Sports Network beginning on September 9. There will be 15 shows airing on CBS Sports Network throughout the year, and one show broadcast on CBS on November 23.

SOURCE STIHL TIMBERSPORTS(R)