Shiffrin Takes Second Career GS Title
SUN VALLEY, ID (March 27, 2016) – In the final day of action at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships in front of a big crowd of ski racing fans, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO – U.S. Ski Team) wrapped up the season with her second national title in giant slalom Sunday.
“The first GS win in a long time,” said Shiffrin, who also took the GS title in 2013 at Squaw Valley. “A win is a win, but to be honest, it’s nice to make it to the finish in a GS race.”
And though light snow was falling through the air and the sun was not shining, Resi Stiegler (Jackson, WY – U.S. Ski Team) brought the sparkle and sunshine, ahead of Shiffrin by two hundredths of a second on the second run, finishing second overall and flashing a big smile and cheering in the finish with season-ending glee. After the race, slalom specialist Stiegler joked that she had three podiums this season and they were all in GS, "The only podiums I had this year were in GS, so I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should be doing more of that!" Stiegler said with a giggle.
Resi Stiegler celebrates her second-place finish Sunday (USSA)
Overall NorAm champion Megan McJames (Park City, UT – Park City Ski Ed Foundation), continued her strong season-ending results with a third place finish on the day, while another highlight came from 37-year-old former U.S. Ski Team member Sarah Schleper, who now skis for Team Mexico. Schleper hammered both runs, and laid down some ultra-fast skiing, finishing fourth overall and tying with Shiffrin on the second run.
Keep an eye on juniors Nellie Rose Talbot (Vail, CO – National Training Group and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, MA – U.S. Ski Team), who also had some impressive second run times – right in there with the best in the nation.
Former U.S. Ski Team member Sarah Schleper finished fourth Sunday. (USSA)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Mikaela Shiffrin won her second career U.S. Nationals giant slalom title Sunday.
- Slalom specialist Resi Stiegler, finished second, grabbing her third giant slalom podium of the season. Her other podiums were a pair of second place finishes in the Mont Garceau NorAms. Earlier in the month, Stiegler competed in her first Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom since 2013, in Jasna, Slovakia.
- Overall NorAm Champion Megan McJames finished third.
- The West took the 2016 Nations Cup with 2,400 points, followed by Rocky/Central with 1,742 points and East with 1,608.
Mikaela Shiffrin shows that she's a force in GS, winning another national title.
QUOTES
Mikaela Shiffrin
The first GS win in a long time. A win is a win, but to be honest, it’s nice to make it to the finish in a GS race. Both courses were demanding, second course was really turny, and I was struggling a little bit with the timing, which is the age-old story for me.
I’m definitely really happy with the win - it's a promising, great place to be. After watching the first run and watching some of those girls hammering and then making mistakes, they we’re really taking risks, like Sarah Schleper won the top split by almost seven tenths - I'll watch her skiing too, and learn from that a little more. They want it, so it's impressive.
Resi Stiegler takes second at the U.S. Alpine Championships giant slalom.
Resi Stiegler
The only podiums I had this year were in GS, so I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should be doing more of that. I was a little nervous the last couple of days just because you put so much effort into the World Cup and you get a little tired and maybe a little lazy. Going into Nationals it’s really fun, but to stay focused until the last day is important for me, because I can have those little mishaps. The slalom didn’t go well, but I was stoked on my GS today. The hill was awesome and I just went into it focusing on having a lot of fun on my last day.
[On what it's been like mentally in her comeback season, and charging back into the top 15 in the world]
It's been tough. There isn't a day I stop thinking I could get injured ... that's part of the mental struggle. Having this season be so much of a success, I don't want to just be satisfied for top 15, so I think that's what we're going to work on next year - just that mental capacity to understand that it's always going to be there but we need to progress forward. I'm really happy with the results I've had and I think it will be a great base for the next three years.
RESULTS
