Who’s Leading Prior to the NorAm Finals?

By Published On: March 13th, 2023Comments Off on Who’s Leading Prior to the NorAm Finals?

Dasha Romanov Stifel US Alpine Team: Photo Credit: Brad MacMillan

It was a busy week of NorAms on the eastern coast of the U.S. and Canada. The bulk of the season’s GS races took place over five days in the first week of March, with two separate tech series for men and women. It was the final series before the NorAm finals head to western Canada and determine the overall and discipline top two that will earn World Cup spots for the next season. The battle is tight for many of the titles, with Alpine Canada and U.S. Stifel team members leading the hunt.

Georgian Peaks, Nina O’Brien, Cassidy Gray and Britt Richardson Photo Credit: Brad MacMillan

The Men at Mont-Tremblant

The men started their week-long NorAm racing at Mont-Tremblant, Northwest of Montreal, Canada. Two GS and slalom races took place over the course of three days, including a double-header slalom on the final day of the series.

It was a strong series for Alpine Canada on home turf. Teammates Asher Jordan and Liam Wallace extended their NorAm overall leads in the GS standings. On day one, Wallace recovered from a fourth-place first run to win the second run, placing second overall behind Team Global Racing’s Brian McLaughlin. Stifel US Alpine Team member Isaiah Nelson rounded out the podium in third to further his lead in the overall standings.

Jordan finished with a top-five finish before overcoming his teammate the following day, landing 2-3 with Wallace behind. The second-day win went to George Steffey for his first NorAm win this season. Jordan and Wallace sat neck and neck in the GS standings ahead of the GS series at Burke.


Photo Credit: Brad MacMillan

Last Men’s Slaloms Before the NorAm Finals

Closing out the series at Tremblant, the men raced in back-to-back slaloms. The Canadian men found their stride and won both races with Asher Jordan and Declan McCormack. In the morning race, Jordan edged ahead of Junior World Champion and U.S. Stifel skier Benjamin Ritchie by 0.07 seconds. Teammate Jimmy Krupka landed in third for his first NorAm podium in 2023. Just behind was Justin Alkier of Canada by another 0.07 seconds making it a tight morning of competition for the men’s opening slalom.

International representation highlighted the second race. Silver went to Switzerland’s Tanguy Nef, and bronze to Billy Major skiing for Great Britain. The race for the slalom overall title remains between Isaiah Nelson and Justin Alkier, sitting just 13 points apart.

“I remain in a tight battle for the slalom title and in the mix for the overall,” said Alkier.“I’m focused on bringing my best skiing to Whistler, skiing fast and  making something happen.”

The Ladies at Georgian Peaks

Meanwhile, the ladies were 7 hours west at Georgian Peaks for their tech series. They opened with 2 GS races with the ladies back from Europe and NCAA races. Alpine Canada’s Cassidy Gray grabbed back-to-back GS wins in the series to move her ahead in the GS overall standings. She leads teammate Britt Richardson who finished the series with double third-place finishes. Richardson trails in the GS standings by 59 points.

It was a bit of a Canadian sandwich with U.S. Stifel ladies in between. Katie Hensien finished 0.43 seconds behind Gray in the first race. Comeback hero Nina O’Brien continued her momentum from the week prior with double NorAm wins to finish second in the GS behind Gray in the second race.


Olser Bluff, Lila Lapanja Photo Credit: Brad MacMillan

Women’s Slalom at Osler Bluff

The following two days, the ladies traveled 15 minutes down the road to Osler Bluff for the slalom portion of the series. It was a fun showing for the former Rowmark Academy alumni who joined each other on the podium every day.

Canada’s slalom queen Ali Nullmeyer joined the fun back from Europe, racing at her local hill for the slaloms. On day one, she barely out-skied University of Utah’s Madison Hoffman for the win by 0.06 seconds. Hoffman shared the podium with former Rowmark teammate Katie Hensien of the Stifel US Alpine Team who finished third. Independent World Cup slalom skier Lila Lapanja led fellow American skiers in fourth through sixth place, with an array of NCAA skiers rounding out the top 10.

The following day was a battle between Hensien and Hoffman for the top spot after Nullmeyer skipped out. Hensien lead the first run with teammate Zoe Zimmermann in second and Hoffman in third. Hoffman took a faster second run to edge Zimmermann for the silver, and Hensien claimed the win. Nina O’Brien was 0.02 seconds behind Zimmermann in fourth.


Photo Credit: Brad MacMillan

The Final Races

The men and women split again, this time in the U.S. with the men at Burke and women at Stratton.

Unfortunately, the first GS for the men was cancelled due to weather, which meant only one final GS race to set the stage for the overall and GS titles leading up to Whistler. Asher Jordan extended his lead in the GS title with the win at Burke ahead of teammate Liam Wallace who finished fifth for the day. Wallace sits 35 points behind Jordan for the title.

Young gun Cooper Puckett of the Stifel US Alpine Team started his momentum at Tremblant with two top-10 GS finishes. Moving into the race at Burke, Puckett grabbed his best GS finish of the year in sixth.

“I was just going for it and I felt balanced. It was a great week,” said Puckett. “I’m excited for the (NorAm) finals. I have nothing to lose, so it’ll just be another fun week of all-out racing and trying to ski my best.”

Those on the hunt for the overall title were distributed throughout the top ten. Isaiah Nelson leads the hunt with 641 points and finished 10th. Teammate Jimmy Krupka finished seventh and has racked up 477 points, tying for second with Justin Alkier. Alkier finished behind Nelson in 11th at Burke.

“Most of the NorAm GS season got squeezed into the past week, which was nice if you peaked and had everything clicking,” said Alkier. “My performances were mixed with some good and bad skiing. It was important to forget about the previous day’s race and try my best in every race.”


Britt Richardson: Photo Credit Brad MacMillan

First NorAm Podiums at Stratton

There was sisterly love and an array of firsts for the last women’s NorAm racers prior to Whistler. U.S. Stifel member Mary Bocock snagged her first NorAm GS win ahead of GS title leader Cassidy Gray. Bocock clocked the fastest first run time and withheld the lead after placing third in the second run. Gray overcame Madison Hoffman and Elisabeth Bocock sitting second and third, respectively, for the silver. Elisabeth Bocock grabbed her first NorAm podium  with her older sister. Hoffman finished fourth.

In the final race, Hoffman finally got her long-awaited win. She started the morning with the fastest run by nearly a second. Even with a third place on the second run, she had buffered a lead to take the top spot by 0.41 seconds.

But this podium was even more special to share with two former teammates. The Bocock sisters were separated by 0.09 seconds for the podium, with Mary in second and Elisabeth in third. Bocock and Hoffman skied together in their junior years at Rowmark Ski Academy and shared their first podium together as a Rowmark sweep.

“It was so fun to cap off a long stretch of races with my first NorAm win,” said Hoffman. “It feels even better standing next to the Bocock sisters and getting the Rowmark sweep!”

U.S. Stifel member Mary Bocock sits third in the overall GS NorAm standings with 348 points. She finished with an 11th and 8th place at Georgian Peaks, respectively, and gained points at Stratton to sit her comfortably behind the Canadians Gray and Richardson for the overall hunt.

Gray and Mary Bocock will battle for the NorAm overall title in Whistler. The two sit 9 points ahead, with Gray in the lead and nearly 100 points over Allie Resnick in third. Bocock leads the super-G standing, while Gray leads in GS and overall.

NorAm Finals at Whistler

Whistler will host NorAm finals from March 21-28. The men and women will take part in 6 events, including two super-G and downhill races. Following the finals, the overall winner in each discipline will secure a World Cup start for the 23rd-24th season.

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About the Author: Karina Schwartznau

Born and raised in Bonney Lake, Washington, Karina grew up ski racing for Crystal Mountain and PNSA. She competed for 14 years across the world until settling in Salt Lake City, where she attended the University of Utah and achieved degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. She currently resides in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.