U.S. Nationals: Cochran, Vonn lead slaloms

SUGARLOAF, Maine — Jimmy Cochran put himself in position to capture his second straight U.S. slalom title, seizing the lead after the first run as racing finally got under way Saturday at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine National Championships.
    On the women's side, reigning World Cup overall champ Lindsey Vonn took a 1.56-second lead on the field after the first run. 
    Cochran, skiing first out of the gate on a windblown course on the Competition hill, clocked a time of 42.34 seconds, surviving a tough section of gates near the bottom of the course that ate up much of the field.
    Sitting second is Cody Marshall at 42.63 seconds, with Tim Jitloff another 0.20 seconds back in third place. The first seed of racers dominated the top of the results sheet after the first run, but J2 Michael Ankeny did squeeze into the top 10 after starting No. 22, finishing ninth in 44.40. 
    Vonn, starting No. 7 in the order, efficiently handled a tricky set and cruised across the line with a time of 44.47 seconds. Former U.S. Ski Team racer and current University of Denver racer Jenny Lathrop matched her start number and sits in second place but 1.56 seconds back. Hailey Duke is 0.08 second back of Lathrop in third. Katie Hitchcock and Courtney Hammond round out the top five.
SUGARLOAF, Maine — Jimmy Cochran put himself in position to capture his second straight U.S. slalom title, seizing the lead after the first run as racing finally got under way Saturday at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine National Championships.
    On the women's side, reigning World Cup overall champ Lindsey Vonn took a 1.56-second lead on the field after the first run.  
    Cochran, skiing first out of the gate on a windblown course on the Competition hill, clocked a time of 42.34 seconds, surviving a tough section of gates near the bottom of the course that ate up much of the field. A total of 14 racers DNFed, and 10 were disqualified for missing gates.   
    Sitting second is Cody Marshall at 42.63 seconds, with Tim Jitloff another 0.20 seconds back in third place. The first seed of racers dominated the top of the results sheet after the first run, but J2 Michael Ankeny did squeeze into the top 10 after starting No. 22, finishing ninth in 44.40.  
    J1 Andrew Phillips sizzled in the opening run, clocking 43.49 seconds to lead the contenders for the junior national slalom title. J1 Nolan Kasper currently sits in 10th, one spot behind Ankeny.
    Vonn, starting No. 7 in the order, efficiently handled a tricky set and cruised across the line with a time of 44.47 seconds. Former U.S. Ski Team racer and current University of Denver racer Jenny Lathrop matched her start number and sits in second place but 1.56 seconds back. Hailey Duke is 0.08 second back of Lathrop in third. Katie Hitchcock and Courtney Hammond round out the top five.
    The men’s second run is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET. while the women are scheduled to resume racing at 2:30 p.m.