Thousands of people gathered Saturday in front of the Cathedral of St. Paul to watch the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship and witnessed history being made when Minnesota native Cameron Naasz became the first American to win the contest.

Although the Lakeville native has placed in the race before – taking third in 2014 and second last year – he said he was shocked by the win.

“It feels amazing,” Naasz said shortly after his victory. “I don’t even know what to do with myself. I need to go back to my hotel room and decompress, have a shower and I think then it’ll sink in.”

Naasz trained hard, physically and mentally for this year’s Crashed Ice event. He even learned to watch the large TV screens along the course as he skated to keep track of his opponents.

Naasz said he knew he had to step up his performance to secure a win against Canadian Scott Croxall, who placed first in last year’s race. Sunny Ellen, Naasz’s girlfriend, expressed pride in his hard work.

“I can’t even say in words how excited I am. I am so proud of him. He has worked so hard, he’s so good at this sport, and he’s natural,” Ellen said. “He deserves to win. For him to win the title in the U.S., in his hometown state … there is no way to describe that feeling.”

Before coming to St. Paul for the contest’s final round, the skaters competed in Quebec City, Munich and Jyväskylä, Finland to prepare for the final round. Naasz said being able to race in his home state was important.

“It’s definitely different racing here. I think it’s different because it’s the best. The fans here love it,” Naasz said. “Everybody gets so pumped up here, and they cheer for the USA guys.”

Naasz hopes to defend his title next winter in the 16th annual Crashed Ice championship.

“It is going to be much harder to defend the title because all the guys will be gunning for you,” Naasz said. “I am not going to take it lightly, and I will work hard in the off season and come out just as powerful next year.”

Samantha Yang can be reached at yang6578@stthomas.edu.