Canada's Ryley wins NorAm SL; Staples third

BEAUPRE, Quebec — Megan Ryley and Shona Rubens battled steady rain to finish 1-2 on Friday in a Northwest Mutual Funds NorAm Cup slalom in Mont-Ste-Anne.
BEAUPRE, Quebec — Megan Ryley and Shona Rubens battled steady rain to finish 1-2 on Friday in a Northwest Mutual Funds NorAm Cup slalom in Mont-Ste-Anne.
    Ryley, a member of Canada’s national development team, clocked a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 50.06 seconds, with Rubens second in 1:50.41 and Kiley Staples of the United States third in 1:50.59.
    U.S. racers finished fourth through ninth — Laurel Carter was fourth, followed by Sterling Grant, Gretchen Mielke, Leanne Smith, Chelsea Marshall and Jamie Kingsbury.   
    "The first run I felt pretty good and the course was nicely set for the conditions," said the 20-year-old Ryley, savoring her first career NorAm win.
    "I didn't hold back at all. And the second run came down to who could make it down to the finish. The course was deteriorating quickly. I could hear on the radio there were a lot people going out. So I knew I needed to make sure I had a clean run."
    Last month at the Pontiac GMC Cup event in Nakiska, Ryley won gold and silver in the slalom races.
    "My training in slalom has been good all year," Ryley said. "I'm more confident and I just wanted to perform well here before heading to Europe for some Europa Cup races later this season."
    Rubens was racing slalom for the first time this season. She's been on the podium for all three races this week including a victory in Thursday's giant slalom.
    "It's going very well for me right now, I'm excited about it," Rubens said. "My first run today I was feeling pretty nervous and it wasn't so good. I went into the second run feeling I had nothing to lose and I was a lot more relaxed.  It was a crazy race with so many girls not finishing the second run."
    The Northwest Mutual Funds NorAm Cup in Mont-Ste-Anne ends Saturday with a second slalom.

Mont-Ste-Anne NorAm Slalom Results
1. Megan Ryley, Toronto, 1:50.06
2. Shona Rubens, Canmore, Alta.,1:50.41
3. Kiley Staples, U.S., 1:50.59
4. Laurel Carter, U.S., 1:50.72
5. Sterling Grant, U.S., 1:50.80
6. Gretchen Mielke, U.S., 1:50.93
7. Leanne Smith, U.S., 1:51.11
8. Chelsea Marshall, U.S., 1:51.51
9. Jamie Kingsbury, U.S., 1:51.76
10. Marie-Michele Gagnon, Lac-Etchemin, Que., 1:51.82

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