VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — STIHL Inc., creator and producer of the premier lumberjack sports event, the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series presented by Ram Trucks, announced last week the top 40 professional lumberjack athletes who will compete in the 2013 U.S. Series. Logan Scarborough of Polkton is among those picked for the professional series.
From countless applicants, only the top 40 choppers/sawyers have qualified for the premier lumberjack competition. This year’s roster features a strong mix of veteran and rookie competitors who are determined to prove their lumberjack chops as they vie for the national title. For the second year, the Series will return to the Great Smoky Lumberjack Feud in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., for the highly-anticipated STIHL TIMBERSPORTS U.S. Pro and Collegiate Championships June 7-9.
“As the saw-screaming action begins again this March, fans from all over the country will have the opportunity to witness top athletes contend for a slice of the U.S. Championship title,” said Brad Sorgen, producer of the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series. “Since 1985, STIHL has identified the nation’s top lumberjack athletes through the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series. We are thrilled to debut one of our most competitive and diverse fields yet.”
Arden Cogar Jr., a civil defense trial attorney from West Hamlin, W.Va., returns to the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series for his 26th season to defend his national title as the 2011 and 2012 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series U.S. Champion. Tim Benedict, a recent graduate of Penn State, will make his debut among the pros this season after winning the 2012 Collegiate Championship, which gave him an automatic spot in the 2013 Pro Series. In addition, two familiar faces from the Lumberjack Feud, Derek Knutson and Andrew Mattison, will rejoin the ranks of the Original Extreme Sport this year both competing in the Southern Qualifier.
Scarborough is among the additional former collegiate competitors who have moved up into the pro ranks and will compete again this season. Additionally, three sets of father-son lumberjacks will compete this season, including Paul and Matt Cogar (cousins of Arden Cogar), Mel and Jason Lentz and Mike and Matt Slingerland.
The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series pro competition consists of six professional lumberjack disciplines, the hot saw, single buck, springboard chop, standing block chop, stock saw and underhand chop. Held in conjunction with the Collegiate Series, the qualifying rounds pit the top eight lumberjacks in the region against each other with the top four pro athletes from each advancing to the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series Pro Championship at the Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud June 7-9.
These four individuals will not only compete against other competitors from around the country for the championship crown, but will also join together to represent their regions in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Relay Competition. In addition to the ultimate bragging rights in lumberjack sports and a Ram 1500 truck, the top U.S. competitor also advances to the World Championship in Stuttgart, Germany Oct. 25-26. Established in 1985 by STIHL, 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 millions of viewers annually in more than 62 countries on networks such as Eurosport, Outdoor Channel and ESPNU.
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