ALYESKA, AK Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) added another victory to her already record-breaking season taking the third U.S. slalom title of her career Sunday at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships.
Combined titles, determined from pairing Saturday's downhill results with the slalom, went to Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA). U.S. Development Team racer Julia Ford (Plymouth, NH).
It was a tight second run battle for the women as Vonn and Mancuso were tied going into the second run. Mancuso would end the day in third just behind Sarah Schleper (Vail, CO), who poured on the speed for the fasted second run time to finish .10 seconds behind Vonn.
"It's cool to be duking it out with your friends," said Vonn, who's 2009 season made her the most successful women's skier in American history. "That's what makes U.S. Championships so much fun. Julia and I were tied going into the second run, then Sarah has a super impressive run to move up - it was pretty exciting. It's also great to see all the younger racers. Julia Ford was fast in the downhill yesterday and she was the top junior today, so I'm going to keep an eye on her."
"The girls did a great job today," said U.S. Ski Team women's Head Coach Jim Tracy. "It was pretty exciting seeing Lindsey and Julia battling with Sarah right up there too. There were also some new faces up near the top, which is exactly what you want to see at the U.S. championships. All the athletes did a tremendous job in super tough conditions, even Lindsey had to adjust they way she skis to be fast today."
Before they could begin to prepare the slope for racing, crews had to first clear the pitch of volcanic ash from the nearby Mt. Redoubt explosion, which began to fall following Saturday's downhill.
"The crew here completely deserves all the praise," said Tracy. "We've had 30 inches of snow, wind, volcanic ash falling from the sky, everything you can think of short of an earthquake and these guys have done an amazing job getting the job done."
"With all the crazy weather that has happened this week, I didn't think it was even possible that we'd get in one race," added Vonn. "It's absolutely incredible what they’ve done for us."
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships
Alyeska, Alaska – March 29, 2009
Slalom
Women
1. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 1:43.17
2. Sarah Schleper, Vail, CO, 1:43.27
3. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA, 1:43.48
4. Megan McJames, Park City, UT, 1:44.41
5. Hailey Duke, Boise, ID, 1:44.85
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Women's Juniors
1. Julia Ford, Plymouth, NH, 1:46.08
2. Devin Delaney, North Conway, NH, 1:47.25
3t. Vanessa Berther, Sammamish, WA, 1:48.73
3t. Annie Rendall, South Burlington, VT, 1:48.73
5. Angel Collinson, Sandy, UT, 1:48.88
Women
1. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA
2. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO
3. Kaylin Richardson, Edina, MN
4. Megan McJames, Park City, UT
5. Laurenne Ross, Klamath Falls, OR
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Women's Juniors
1. Julia Ford, Plymouth, NH
2. Devin Delaney, North Conway, NH
3. Angel Collinson, Sandy, UT
4. Vanessa Berther, Sammamish, WA
5. Rose Caston, Salt Lake City, UT
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Complete Results: http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/1228.html?event_id=25231&cal_suchsector=AL
