American ladies win NorAm overall and slalom titles

By Published On: March 22nd, 2016Comments Off on American ladies win NorAm overall and slalom titles

While international ski fans focused on the World Cup titles being handed out in St. Moritz, NorAm Cup titles were being awarded in Colorado, where the final women’s slalom races of the season commenced.

The U.S Ski Team’s Lila Lapanja came back from injury to claim the 2016 NorAm Cup slalom title. Lapanja previously won the slalom title in 2014 but then missed the majority of the 2014-15 season with a back injury. While her performances in the final two races of this year were not her strongest – a DNF and a ninth place – her accumulated 489 points grabbed her the title by 99 points. University of Vermont’s Laurence St. Germain of Canada finished in second in the slalom standings after a first and second-place finish in the final races.

Both athletes started racing World Cups this year with mixed results. Lapanja had one top 30 finish as did St. Germain. They are now guaranteed World Cup slalom starts for next season thanks to their final NorAm rankings.

Photo from Megan McJames Facebook page

Photo from Megan McJames (Facebook)

The ladies overall title was awarded to American Megan McJames with a total of 975 points in large part thanks to her giant slalom results this season, which earned her that discipline title as well. McJames has raced on the World Cup since 2006.

“I won the NorAm overall title this season,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “This qualifies me for my own start in every World Cup, every discipline next winter.”

Valerie Grenier of Canada, the World Junior Champion in downhill, sat more than a win behind the veteran McJames in the NorAm standings with 862 total points. Grenier will not have the same World Cup start opportunities as McJames next season, but she has scored World Cup points in super G over the past two seasons.

Top American athletes are now in Sun Valley, Idaho, for U.S. Alpine Championships and will compete for national titles from March 22-27.

Results from the final slaloms are available here: Race 1 and Race 2.
The final overall standings are available here.
The final slalom standings are available here.

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About the Author: Gabbi Hall

A California native, Gabbi moved to Vermont to ski on the NCAA circuit for St. Michael’s College, where she served as team captain and studied journalism. Before joining Ski Racing, she worked as a broadcast TV producer and social media manager in higher education. She can be reached via email at gabbi@skiracing.com