Gagnon claims opening NorAm in Jackson
Canadian World Cup tech ace Marie-Michele Gagnon claimed a decisive victory in the opening NorAm of the season, a slalom held at Snow King Resort in Jackson, Wyo., on Tuesday. After laying down the fastest first run, Gagnon was challenged by closest competitors – and fellow World Cup skiers – Erin Mielzynski and Resi Stiegler, neither of whom was able to complete the second run. Gagnon ultimately claimed the win by 1.08 seconds in her first slalom race since undergoing shoulder surgery in the spring. Her Canadian teammate Laurence St. Germain was second and University of Denver skier Tuva Norbye of Norway finished third.
The surface on the race slope was prepared by former U.S. Ski Team coach Trevor Wagner who took a grassy hillside just one week prior and worked near magic to ensure the races would occur as scheduled. In anticipation of the men’s races at the end of the week, additional water was applied to the lower third of the trail, and this made for a particularly slick surface in that section for the ladies. More than 40 percent of the field failed to complete the first run and only 22 out of 46 starters finished the race in total.
Junior U19 Tricia Mangan of the U.S. development team finished a noteworthy fourth on the opening run but did not finish the second. On the other end of the spectrum, veteran slalom skier Stiegler was on her way to a solid result in her hometown (as she returns from a torn ACL last season) when she straddled a flush in the lower portion of the second run. And in her first race back since March of 2014, C Teamer Lila Lapanja recorded the third-fastest second run and finished sixth overall, a promising result to build on moving forward.
Early-season NorAms which have traditionally been held in Colorado attracted larger and stronger fields in the past, but most current World Cup women preparing for the upcoming races at Aspen opted against traveling to Wyoming this year. The women will race another slalom Wednesday before the men take on Snow King Nov. 26-27.
Unofficial Results
| 1 | 16 |
GAGNON, Marie-Michele
|
CAN
|
SR
|
52.73 (1)
|
55.97 (2)
|
1:48.70
|
|
| 2 | 2 |
ST-GERMAIN, Laurence
|
CAN
|
SR
|
54.03 (5)
|
55.75 (1)
|
1:49.78
|
|
| 3 | 20 |
NORBYE, Tuva
|
NOR
|
U21
|
54.03 (5)
|
56.38 (5)
|
1:50.41
|
|
| 4 | 3 |
HAUGEN, Kristine Gjelsten
|
NOR
|
SR
|
54.47 (9)
|
56.30 (4)
|
1:50.77
|
|
| 5 | 6 |
TOMMY, Mikaela
|
CAN
|
U21
|
54.16 (7)
|
56.90 (8)
|
1:51.06
|
|
| 6 | 18 |
LAPANJA, Lila
|
USA
|
SR
|
55.11 (10)
|
56.05 (3)
|
1:51.16
|
|
| 7 | 17 |
KIYOSAWA, Emiko
|
JPN
|
SR
|
54.44 (8)
|
56.73 (7)
|
1:51.17
|
|
| 8 | 10 |
HUEBNER, Monica
|
GER
|
SR
|
55.59 (11)
|
56.41 (6)
|
1:52.00
|
|
| 9 | 21 |
HOLE, Kari Bergheim
|
NOR
|
SR
|
55.86 (12)
|
58.02 (11)
|
1:53.88
|
|
| 10 | 5 |
O BRIEN, Nina
|
USA
|
U19
|
56.93 (13)
|
57.33 (9)
|
1:54.26
|
|
| 11 | 22 |
SMART, Amelia
|
CAN
|
U19
|
56.98 (14)
|
57.70 (10)
|
1:54.68
|
|
| 12 | 46 |
CASHMAN, Keely
|
USA
|
U19
|
57.00 (15)
|
59.08 (14)
|
1:56.08
|
|
| 13 | 30 |
WEARMOUTH, Antonia
|
CAN
|
U19
|
57.74 (18)
|
58.87 (13)
|
1:56.61
|
|
| 14 | 13 |
FLECKENSTEIN, Stefanie
|
CAN
|
U19
|
57.72 (17)
|
59.50 (16)
|
1:57.22
|
|
| 15 | 29 |
LORD, Madison
|
USA
|
U19
|
59.10 (19)
|
58.86 (12)
|
1:57.96
|
|
| 16 | 40 |
SCHOEPKE, Sandra
|
USA
|
U19
|
59.88 (21)
|
1:00.38 (17)
|
2:00.26
|
|
| 17 | 25 |
REINHART, Jessica
|
USA
|
U21
|
1:01.29 (22)
|
59.28 (15)
|
2:00.57
|
|
| 18 | 28 |
WRIGHT, Isabella
|
USA
|
U19
|
59.29 (20)
|
1:01.34 (19)
|
2:00.63
|
|
| 19 | 41 |
CUTLER, Haley
|
USA
|
U19
|
1:01.58 (23)
|
1:01.76 (20)
|
2:03.34
|
|
| 20 | 37 |
DRILLER, Tenaya
|
USA
|
SR
|
1:02.18 (24)
|
1:02.06 (21)
|
2:04.24
|
|
| 21 | 44 |
TALBOT, Nellie Rose
|
USA
|
U19
|
1:03.11 (25)
|
1:01.21 (18)
|
2:04.32
|
|
| 22 | 35 |
DEKKO, Madeleine
|
USA
|
U19
|
1:04.13 (26)
|
1:02.56 (22)
|
2:06.69
|
|
| 7 |
MIELZYNSKI, Erin
|
CAN
|
SR
|
52.86 (2)
|
DNF
|
|||
| 14 |
STIEGLER, Resi
|
USA
|
SR
|
53.45 (3)
|
DNF
|
|||
| 8 |
MANGAN, Patricia
|
USA
|
U19
|
53.89 (4)
|
DNF
|
|||
| 9 |
WOODHOUSE, Emma
|
CAN
|
U21
|
57.23 (16)
|
DNF
|
|||
| 33 |
KLOMHAUS, Storm
|
USA
|
U19
|
1:04.59 (27)
|
DNF
|
|||
| 45 |
SYMONS, Jennie
|
USA
|
U19
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 43 |
OSTERGREN, Madison
|
USA
|
U19
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 42 |
ENGLISH, Francesca
|
USA
|
U19
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 38 |
CURRIE, Stephanie
|
CAN
|
U19
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 36 |
HUST, Rosie
|
USA
|
U19
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 34 |
BAILEY, Lucia
|
USA
|
U19
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 32 |
HENRY, Mia
|
CAN
|
U21
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 31 |
UTTER, Kathleen
|
USA
|
U19
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 27 |
KNOWLES, Natalie
|
CAN
|
SR
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 26 |
LEBBY, Stephanie
|
USA
|
U19
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 24 |
LYCHE, Benedicte Oseid
|
NOR
|
SR
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 23 |
MERRYWEATHER, Alice
|
USA
|
U21
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 19 |
FRIGON, Genevieve
|
CAN
|
U21
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 15 |
TESCHNER, Randa
|
CAN
|
SR
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 12 |
NULLMEYER, Ali
|
CAN
|
U19
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 11 |
WARDLE, Galena
|
USA
|
U19
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 4 |
MCCARTHY, Jocelyn
|
CAN
|
U21
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 1 |
GARTNER, Stephanie
|
CAN
|
U21
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
|||
| 39 |
KOPRUCKI, Elizabeth
|
USA
|
U21
|
DQg62
|
DNS
|
|||
About the Author: C.J. Feehan
