CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Battling through snow, sleet, wind, and challenging course conditions that took out more than half of the field, Megan McJames of Park City, UT emerged victorious in the women’s giant slalom in day three of the U.S. Alpine Championships at Sugarloaf.
The weather was a far cry from Sunday’s sparkling blue skies, as steady sleet and snow limited visibility and created challenging course conditions throughout the day. Twenty-seven of the 66 racers failed to complete their first run, and an additional ten racers either did not finish their second run or were disqualified. At the end of the day only 24 skiers had completed two full runs.
McJames led from start to finish, though the margin was slim after the first put her into first by just .03 seconds over Foreste Peterson of Berkely, CA. She padded her lead by an addition .3 seconds after the second run, winning with a combined time of 2:05.03.
Peterson held on to second with a combined time of 2:05.36, and Patricia Mangan of Derby, NY rounded out the top three with a combined time of 2:06.85.
As the country’s most prestigious domestic alpine ski racing event, the US Alpine Championships give up-and-coming athletes looking to advance their position on the U.S. Ski Team a chance to face off against A-Team stars.
This year marks the second time in the last three years that Sugarloaf has hosted the Championships. The resort previously hosted the events in 1996, 1997, 2006, 2008, and 2015.
Racing resumes at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday with the men’s giant slalom.
For more information and a complete schedule for the US Alpine Championships, please visit www.sugarloaf.com/usalpine.
