Grant wins women's NorAm slalom title, Hitchcock second

Grant wins women's NorAm slalom title, Hitchcock second{mosimage}World Cup spots were up for grabs as the final leg of the CIBC Coupe NorAm series commenced March 14 in Panorama, British Columbia. At the end of two days of slalom racing, the U.S. Ski Team's Sterling Grant won her first NorAm race while scooping up the season's title.

Canada has been very good to Grant this season. In the January NorAm series at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Grant earned her first ever Continental Cup podium with a silver medal performance in the second slalom, and earlier this month on the same track she raced to a sixth-place finish at the Junior World Championships.

In the March 14 slalom at Panorama, Grant skied a stellar first run and put herself in position to take the race. American Kaylin Richardson, who spends most of her time on the World Cup and Europa Cup circuits, finished right behind Grant, despite the fact that she started outside the first seed because she didn't have any NorAm points.

Richardson ultimately overpowered Grant and claimed the victory with a blazing run in the afternoon. Katie Hitchcock, Grant's U.S. C team peer, used the disappointment of a poor first run as motivation to turn on the afterburners in run two, skiing the second-fastest second run and jumping onto the podium for the bronze.

"It is so cool to be on the podium with two of the girls from my team," said an excited Hitchcock after the race.

Grant's second-place result moved her to the front of the pack of contenders for the overall title going into the season's final slalom, just a few points ahead of Hitchcock, Caitlin Ciccone (who finished fourth in the March 14 race), and Jenny Lathrop (who finished 21st – tied with her twin sister, Abbi).

The March 15 podium would be all- American, too.

Grant won the morning run for the second time in as many days, tripping the finish beam around nine-tenths ahead of Rowmark's J2 phenom Kiley Staples. But on this day, Grant would not be denied.

Staples slipped back to fifth place after the second run, while Grant's solid second run put her exactly one second ahead of Hitchcock, who finished just behind Grant again, but this time in second.

"I had a lot of confidence today and I stayed really focused," said Grant, adding, "And it obviously paid off."

American Lauren Ross rounded out the podium in third place.

Grant and Hitchcock finishes for the two races earned them the top spots for the season standings, meaning they'll have spots on the 2006-07 World Cup slalom circuit.

Women's NorAm action continues in Panorama with the season's final giant slaloms on March 16 and 17.

CIBC Coupe NorAm SL
Panorama, British Columbia
March 14, 2006
Top 10
1. Kaylin Richardson USA 1:57.83
2. Sterling Grant USA 1:58.48
3. Katherine Hitchcock USA 1:58.74
4. Caitlin Ciccone USA 1:59.18
5. Laurel Carter USA 1:59.31
6. Lauren Ross USA 1:59.46
7. Shona Rubens CAN 2:00.15
8. Megan Ryley CAN 2:00.31
9. Megan McJames USA 2:00.39
Larisa Yurkiw CAN 2:00.39

CIBC Coupe NorAm SL
Panorama, British Columbia
March 15, 2006
Top 10
1. Sterling Grant USA 2:00.03
2. Katherine Hitchcock USA 2:01.03
3. Lauren Ross USA 2:01.04
4. Shona Rubens CAN 2:01.51
5. Kiley Staples USA 2:01.66
6. Caitlin Ciccone USA 2:02.16
7. Veronique Achambault-Leger CAN 2:02.21
8. Megan Ryley CAN 2:02.28
9. Courtney Hammond USA 2:02.42
10. Keely Blair Kelleher USA 2:02.68

For complete results, please click here.

– Alpine Canada contributed to this report.