St. Patrick's power: McJames wraps up overall and season GS titles

St. Patrick’s power: McJames wraps up overall and season GS titles{mosimage}Panorama, B.C. U.S. Ski Teamer Megan McJames, who’d already done some celebrating last month when she won the NorAm super G title, will likely remember this Saint Patrick’s Day for quite some time.

The final race of the CIBC Coupe NorAm season was filled with drama, and at the end of the day, the stage belonged to McJames and the shamrock she was seen sporting on her cheek.

After a solid fourth-place finish in the season’s penultimate super G on March 16, McJames found herself in the middle of a points battle with Canada’s Christina Lustenberger and American Kristen Mielke for the 2006 NorAm giant slalom title. By winning the March 16 giant slalom, Lustenberger launched herself to the front of the standings with 229 points. Mielke’s 11th on the same day dropped her into second place with 212 points, just ahead of McJames’ 204.

“Megan’s in a good place going into tomorrow’s race,” said NorAm/Europa Cup coach John Hale after Thursday’s GS. “There’s not a lot of room for error – if any of these girls go out it’s over – but Megan has a good shot at sneaking into the top two.”

Friday’s bib draw put Mielke starting bib 3, Lustenberger starting sixth and McJames starting seventh.

Mielke’s morning run was not spectacular, but safe and solid. She crossed the finish line at 58.55 while Lustenberger and McJames prepared at the top.

Lustenberger, with an entire season riding on one final run, would not hold up under pressure, as she crashed out of the course just as McJames slid into the starting gate.

McJames saw a window, and she capitlized on it.

Skiing to fourth-place in the first run, .58 ahead of Mielke, who was in sixth, McJames still had some skiing to do in the afternoon. Because Lustenberger was no longer a factor, McJames would virtually be guaranteed one of the top two spots on the season with a solid second run; with an excellent performance, she’d notch another season title to go with her super G win.

McJames, and almost all of her teammates, turned out to be spectacular in the afternoon. Five of McJames’ teammates leaped ahead of Mielke before McJames even crossed the finish line, and the shamrock-clad McJames did her part by sneaking onto the podium to grab a bronze medal… and the NorAm giant slalom crown.

“Megan was feeling a little pressure today’ said coach John Hale after the clinching race, adding, “But she delivered… And the rest of the team was just awesome, too.”

The rest of the American NorAm/Europa Cup squad Hale was referring to was Kaylin Richardson, who won the race, followed by Katie Hitchcock (fourth), Lauren Ross (fifth), Keely Kelleher (seventh), Caitlin Ciccone (eighth) and Julia Littman (ninth).

McJames also claimed the overall crown for this season’s NorAm series, scoring a whopping 988 points across all four disciplines.

Women’s giant slalom
CIBC Coupe NorAm
Panorama, British Columbia
March 16, 2006

1. Christina Lustenberger CAN 1:56.46
2. Shona Rubens CAN 1:57.47
3. Kaylin Richardson USA 1:57.60
4. Megan McJames USA 1:58.17
5. Lauren Ross USA 1:58.59
6. Katie Hitchcock USA 1:59.22
7. Marie-Pier Prefontaine CAN 1:59.38
8. Veronique Archambault-Leger CAN 1:59.46
9. Chelsea Marshall USA 2:00.04
10. Jonna Mended USA 2:00.20

Women’s giant slalom
CIBC Coupe NorAm
Panorama, British Columbia
March 17, 2006
(Unofficial)

1. Kaylin Richardson USA 1:54.05
2. Shona Rubens CAN 1:54.35
3. Megan McJames USA 1:55.01
4. Katie Hitchcock USA 1:55.05
5. Lauren Ross USA 1:55.14
6. Marie-Pier Prefontaine CAN 1:55.55
7. Keely Blair Kelleher USA 1:55.77
8. Caitlin Ciccone USA 1:55.92
9. Julia Littman USA 1:56.38
10. Kristen Mielke USA 1:56.47