NorAm downhill titles awarded to Frisch and Johnson in Aspen

The 2016 NorAm downhill season came to a close on Sunday in Aspen, Colo., with coveted season titles and World Cup starting rights awarded to the top two North American men and women in the standings.

After the snow had settled following two exciting days of racing down Aspen’s formidable track, American Breezy Johnson and Canadian Jeffrey Frisch walked away with discipline titles. Canada’s Valerie Grenier and American Erik Arvidsson finished second in the standings, also granting them World Cup downhill starting rights next season to go along with their double downhill gold medals from World Junior Championships in February.

In Saturday’s women’s race, American Jacqueline Wiles returned from the World Cup and took the win with a time of 1:44.85 seconds, an impressive 1.37 seconds ahead of Grenier in second. Johnson hung on for a third-place finish, 2.06 seconds back. Grenier was also the fastest junior on the day.

Saturday’s men’s race saw Canadian Morgan Pridy take the win with a time of 1:40.96 seconds, 0.54 seconds ahead of American Downhiller Wiley Maple in second. Arvidsson was third, 0.58 seconds off of the pace. Arvidsson was also the fastest junior.

Sunday saw the race double as the U.S. National Championship, with Johnson taking the win for the women with a time of 1:45.73 seconds. Wiles had to settle for a tie with Grenier for second place, 1.02 seconds back. Johnson was also the fastest junior.

For the men, Maple took the win in his hometown with a time of 1:41.48 seconds, a scant 0.05 seconds ahead of Frisch in second. Arvidsson claimed his second podium of the weekend in third, 0.44 seconds back. Arvidsson was also the top junior.

“It feels pretty good to win at home,” said Maple. “I was probably the favorite coming in and it was cool to perform under pressure and win in front of the home crowd defending my title. It was a super fun track that I think everyone enjoyed.”

NorAm action continues in Aspen with men’s and women’s super G scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. Be sure to check back with SkiRacing.com for continued coverage of NorAm finals, and view full from the completed results here.