ALPINE NATIONALS: Stacey Cook wins national championship super G

By Published On: March 26th, 2006Comments Off on ALPINE NATIONALS: Stacey Cook wins national championship super G

ALPINE NATIONALS: Stacey Cook wins national championship super G{mosimage}CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine – Stacey Cook won the women’s super G at U.S. Alpine Championships on Sunday, just hours after Daron Rahlves, her neighbor in Truckee, California, won the men’s race on the same hill at Sugarloaf.

Cook won in 1 minute 23.90 seconds, which was 0.11 seconds faster than Kirsten Clark. Kaylin Richardson was third, another 0.03 seconds behind Clark, and Olympic giant slalom champion Julia Mancuso was fourth.

Cook was glad to win but said she probably could have skied better: “I was really excited halfway down. I knew I had nailed the hard section and I was just like ‘keep it together’ because I knew I had a fast time through there and so I tried to keep it together for the
bottom.

“I knew I had a good run when I crossed the finish line.”

“I do think I could have done better but that’s ski racing. I enjoyed the experience because it does add a bit more pressure and it just makes me stronger in races in the next coming years to know I can have something happen like that and still perform well,” the new champion said.

She said success by Mancuso, the Olympic giant slalom champion who also won two bronze medals at the 2005 World Championships, and Lindsey Kildow – who’s won four World Cup downhills in the past two seasons – has helped spur the younger skiers to step up their performances. “We have so many young people on our team and the veterans, too, but there’s like five or six girls born in the ’84 year alone. We have a young team and I think Julia and Lindsey’s success definitely pushes us. I know I feed off of it and I see them do it and I know I can do it, too. I just have to get more experience.

Clark said, “There’s times where you’re like, ‘With super G, you have to be chasing the line and risking and putting everything out there, and it’s not always going to feel the best, but it’s going to be fast.’

“I knew there were still some great girls still to come down. You’ve just got to wait and see. I did my job. It’s a tight race. It was fun.”

At the same time, she said she’s got quite a comfort zone racing at Sugarloaf from her years at CVA. Her first U.S. championships came in 1996 when she was the combined gold medalist.

“There’s a big comfort zone. I’ve skied Narrow Gauge numerous times,” she said, “and I love coming down and seeing the crowd. I love racing at home.”

Clark, the only American to win four consecutive U.S. downhill titles, was pleased to see her Olympic teammate earn her first gold medals. “I’m psyched for her,” Clark said. “She’s had a breakthrough year, having some solid results in downhill and she’s kind of struggled a bit in super G, but she’s a great skier and a hard worker and she deserves it.”

Clark, who rebounded a year ago from a horrendous crash in January 2004 but encountered a treacherous staph infection last fall, has said she’d be racing again next winter and she would be looking for a podium Wednesday in the giant slalom.

U.S. alpine nationals
Women’s super G
Sugarloaf, Maine
March 26, 2006

1. Stacey COOK, USA 1:23.90
2. Kirsten CLARK, USA 1:24.01
3. Kaylin RICHARDSON, USA 1:24.04
4. Julia MANCUSO, USA 1:24.38
5. Resi STIEGLER, USA 1:24.53
6. Jonna MENDES, USA 1:24.93
7. Megan MCJAMES, USA 1:25.01
8. Bryna MCCARTY, USA 1:25.30
9. Libby LUDLOW, USA 1:25.39
10. Katharine HITCHCOCK, USA 1:25.62
11. Laurenne ROSS, USA 1:25.74
12. Klara KRIZOVA, CZE 1:25.95
13. Keely Blair KELLEHER, USA 1:26.06
14. Tereza CHAROVA, CZE 1:26.13
15. Laurel CARTER, USA 1:26.25
16. Chelsea MARSHALL, USA 1:26.42
17. Bryana PARK, USA 1:26.83
18. Alice MCKENNIS, USA 1:26.96
19. Kara CROW, USA 1:27.03
20. Leanne SMITH, USA 1:27.21
21. Ann WEST, USA 1:27.56
22. Julia LITTMAN, USA 1:27.60
23. Kiley STAPLES, USA 1:27.71
24. Chelsea LYNCH, USA 1:27.83
25. Courtney HAMMOND, USA 1:27.84
26. Erika GHENT, USA 1:28.06
27. Jamie KINGSBURY, USA 1:28.14
28. Megan HUGHES, USA 1:28.25
29. Lauren ROSS, USA 1:28.32
30. Lisa PERRICONE, USA 1:28.54
31. Chirine NJEIM, LIB 1:28.59
32. Abbi LATHROP, USA 1:28.78
33. Jenny LATHROP, USA 1:28.86
34. Katie HARTMAN, USA 1:29.06
35. Lyndee JANOWIAK, USA 1:29.13
36. Kirsten COOPER, USA 1:29.19
37. Melissa GILL, USA 1:29.33
38. Kristin LEGGETT, USA 1:29.49
39. Victoria STEVENS, CAN 1:29.93
40. Nicole DVORAK, USA 1:30.04
41. Stephanie PETERS, USA 1:30.20
42. Megan PAPINEAU, USA 1:30.98
42. Sabrina MOCELLIN, FRA 1:30.98
44. Heidi HILLENBRAND, USA 1:31.06
45. Hayley JONES, USA 1:31.20
46. Annie RENDALL, USA 1:31.99
47. Jennifer ALLEN, USA 1:32.16
48. Valerie KECHIAN, USA 1:32.26
49. Kirsten TURNER, USA 1:32.65
50. Georgia WETTLAUFER, USA 1:32.70
51. Madison SHEPARD, USA 1:32.81
DNF: Kate Williams, Julia Ford, Hannah Cametti, Corrinne Rotter, Kelsey Roddick, Mattie Ford, Kate Bragg, Caitlin Ciccone, Hannah Victory, Amy Harris, USA; Ashley-Kate Durham, CAN.

Equipment
Women’s SG, Sugarloaf, Maine, March 26, 2006

Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1. Cook, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
2. Clark, Fischer/Lange/Marker
3. Richardson, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker

It is the first National title for Stacey Cook. … Her previous best in a national championship race was third in the DH a day ago. … She had three sixths previous to this season’s championship in combined in 2003, in DH in 2004 and in SG in 2005.

It is the 12th podium in U.S. National Championship competition for Kirsten Clark. … She won the 2006 DH title a day ago.

It is the first podium in US National Championship competition for Kaylin Richardson. … Her previous best had been a fourth in SG in 2004.

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About the Author: Pete Rugh