Jitloff, Marno grab national super G titles at Sun Valley

The third day of racing at the 2016 Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships didn’t disappoint as men’s and women’s super G titles were awarded under overcast skies in Sun Valley, Idaho. The men’s race took place in the morning with a full reset and inspection for the ladies before their race got underway in the afternoon.

Men’s action was full of surprises as DNFs and costly mistakes were once again deciding factors down Sun Valley’s formidable Greyhawk venue. The U.S. Ski Team’s Tim Jitloff surprised many by laying down the the winning time on a steep and technical slope with a time of 1:18.06 seconds, 0.61 seconds ahead of his teammate Ryan Cochran-Siegle in second. World Junior downhill gold medalist Erik Arvidsson managed to grab his first ever alpine championships podium in third, 0.87 seconds off of Jitloff’s pace. Arvidsson was also the fastest junior.

Thursday’s win was Jiloff’s sixth career national title, but his first in super G after five giant slalom titles from 2008-2015. Jitloff admitted that he never really thought he would have a chance at a championship super G, but explained that the technical aspects of the hill definitely played into his GS skill set.

“It was definitely tough but it played kind of into my deck of cards there, it was perfect,” Jitloff said. “It’s technical, it’s very GS-y, it’s steep … and I just charged. It was really fun.”

Thursday’s result was Cochran-Siegle’s first championship podium appearance since finishing runner-up in the super G in 2011. Cochran-Siegle was forced to take nearly two years off due to injury and was excited to cap his season off with a trip back to the podium.

“It’s a special moment,” Cochran-Siegle said. “I’m really happy with my skiing, I was kind of surprising myself. To be competitive here was definitely a good feeling. The last time I was at U.S. Nationals, I actually found out that my knee was pretty messed up and I had to take a year-and-a-half off from that and I’m still coming back from that so it’s a nice little redemption song.”

Arvidsson has also had quite a stellar season, capturing World Junior gold as well as World Cup starting rights in super G, downhill, and alpine combined via his performances at the NorAm level. Looking ahead, the California kid has his sights set on big things.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Arvidsson explained. “I’ve had a really good season but it feels good to come here and get to race against the big boys and show a little speed. I’m really, really psyched with my result. I didn’t start skiing till October, so it was sweet to get the training throughout the season and start ripping. I really want to improve on my success in the Europa Cup and then, obviously, I’m excited to get some World Cup starts next year and see what I can do.”

Marco Sullivan also capped of an impressive career that spanned the better part of 15 years on the national team by taking his final competitive run wearing lederhosen and stopping at various points during his run to thank coaches and friends lining the course. Crossing the finish line to cheers, Sullivan enjoyed a champagne shower as teammates and friends flooded the finish to pay their respects to the patriarchal American Downhiller.

After the men’s race had wrapped up, temperatures began to warm as course setting was underway for the women. The ladies were granted a slightly more forgiving course set than in the days prior, but smart, aggressive skiing was still required for the win.

Anna Marno walked away with her maiden alpine championship title, taking the win with a time of 1:14.04 seconds, 0.28 seconds ahead of veteran U.S. Ski Teamer and World Cup regular Laurenne Ross in second. Landing in a surprise third place was development team member Patricia Mangan who snagged her second podium in as many days, 0.63 seconds back. Mangan was also the fastest junior.

“It feels great,” Marno said. “I’ve been to eight nationals now and I’ve been close a few years, so this is a good place to do it. I love Sun Valley, I’ve had some good results here and to finally make it up to the top step is awesome.”

Ross, who ended her World Cup season exceptionally strong, finished outside of the top 10 only twice since the beginning of February and now has national runner-up honors to add to that impressive string of results.

“It feels good,” Ross said “It’s so nice to be here back in the U.S. and have American fans and have some sunshine today. It’s awesome.”

“It’s a little bittersweet because I feel I’m just finding my groove and would like to keep going,” Ross added about her season-ending string of top-10 World Cup results. “But at the same time I’m pretty low on energy so I’m happy with where it ended and happy to be done.”

For Mangan, the past two days have been the cherry on top of an impressive first season on the national team for the Northeast native. She’s eager for more as she now looks ahead to the tech events.

“It feels pretty good,” Mangan explained. “I actually like to consider myself a super G skier as well, but it’s still kind of a surprise so it feels awesome. Towards the end of the season I was starting to ski a little bit faster, so hopefully that continues into the slalom and these results will definitely help the confidence.”

Racing action continues on Friday with men’s and women’s slalom.

Photos courtesy of USSA

Unofficial Men’s Results

Unofficial Women’s Results