Jitloff, McJames win NorAm giant slaloms

BETHEL, Maine — U.S. Ski Teamer Tim Jitloff won a Chevrolet SuperSeries NorAm giant slalom Wednesday at Sunday River, laying down the fastest second-run time to surge past first-run leader and U.S. teammate Andrew Weibrecht.

BETHEL, Maine — U.S. Ski Teamer Tim Jitloff won a Chevrolet Super Series NorAm giant slalom Wednesday at Sunday River, laying down the fastest second-run time to surge past first-run leader and U.S. teammate Andrew Weibrecht.
    Jitloff, wearing bib No. 1 and in second place after the first run, clocked a two-run time of 2 minutes, 26.86 seconds, beating runner-up Scott Barrett of Canada by a full second. Weibrecht posted just the 10th-fastest time in the second run but held on for third place, finishing in 2:27.87. Canadians Jeffrey Frisch and Julien Cousineau rounded out the top five.
    Jitloff finished second behind Will Brandenburg in Tuesday’s opening GS. Brandenburg finished eighth Wednesday. Warner Nickerson, third on Tuesday, made it two top 10s after finishing seventh Wednesday.
    "First podium yesterday and first win today — I'd say that's a pretty good progression for Jitloff," said coach Tom Sell. "He's second in the GS standings and he's pretty psyched … and he should be. Andrew won the first run and then had some mistakes on the second run, but he still hung in there for third, which was fine."
    Head coach Sasha Rearick added, "These two days have been pretty good for us. Andrew's first run was just outstanding, especially on top where there's a lot of terrain and he took some good risks, and the second run had a little more swing, and that suited Tim better … and he took over."
    The Chevrolet Super Series represents the U.S. races in the NorAm Cup series. The men shift from GS to slalom Thursday and Friday.

McJames tops in GS
    BEAUPRE, Que. — Defending giant slalom champion Megan McJames overcame fog and wind Wednesday at Mont Ste. Anne to win a NorAm GS by two-hundredths of a second over Emilie Desforges of Canada.
    McJames — who won the 2006 NorAm overall, GS and super G titles — turned-in a two-run time of 1:50.43, holding off Desforges, who had the fastest final run. Laurel Carter was fourth and Leanne Smith fifth.
    The women will be at Mont Ste. Anne for four days of NorAm competition; they race giant slalom again Thursday before concluding with two days of slalom.

CHEVROLET SUPER SERIES
NorAm Cup — Sunday River
Newry, Maine — Jan. 3, 2007
Men's giant slalom-2
1. Tim Jitloff, Reno, Nev., 2:26.86
2. Scott Barrett, Canada, 2:27.86
3. Andrew Weibrecht, Lake Placid, N.Y., 2:27.87
4. Jeffrey Frisch, Canada, 2:27.88
5. Julien Cousineau, Canada, 2:28.40
–
U.S. skiers in the top 20:
7. Warner Nickerson, Gilford, N.H., 2:28.84
8. Will Brandenburg, Spokane, Wash., 2:29.45
9. Adam Cole, Park City, Utah, 2:29.65
10. Paul Epstein, Carlisle, Mass., 2:29.73
12. Jeremy Transue, Hunter, N.Y., 2:30.21
14. Greg Hardy, Jamaica, Vt., 2:30.59
15. Tim Kelley, Starksboro, Vt., 2:30.63
18. Scott Veenis, Salt Lake City, 2:31.30
19. Mark Heinrich-Wallace, Park City, Utah, 2:31.40
20. Travis Ganong, Olympic Valley, Calif., 2:31.73

Click here for full official results.

ALPINE NORAM CUP
Mont Ste. Anne
Beaupre, Quebec — Jan. 3, 2007
Women's giant slalom-1
1. Megan McJames, Park City, Utah, 1:50.43
2. Emilie Desforges, Canada, 1:50.45
3. Shona Rubens, Canada, 1:51.76
4. Laurel Carter, Norwich, Vt., 1:52.07
5. Leanne Smith, Conway, N.H., 1:52.08
–
U.S. skiers in the top 15:
7. Hailey Duke, 1:52.45
8. Jamie Kingsbury, Waitsfield, Vt., 1:52.60
9. Kiley Staples, Park City, Utah, 1:52.62
10. Lauren Brien, 1:52.65
11. Kelly Kelleher, Big Sky, Mont., 1:52.92
12. Jilyne McDonald, Bellevue, Wash,, 1:53.16
13. Julia Littman, Vail, Colo., 1:53.22
14. Chelsea Marshall, Pittsfield, Vt., 1:53.23  

Click here for official results.