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NorAm Cup Finals: Gagnon captures GS title - 2010/03/27 18:10
Holderness' Ford takes first among Juniors, 10th overall
The women wrapped up their first event of the 2010 NorAm Cup Finals as Marie-Michele Gagnon won the Giant Slalom Overall and Julia Ford, of Holderness, won the Giant Slalom Juniors under sunny blue skies in Waterville Valley.
Gagnon finished her two runs with a total time of 2 minutes, 14.84 seconds to easily top a deep and talented field in the Women's GS event here at the Waterville Valley Ski Resort Wednesday. The Canadian skier was joined on the podium by two American skiers, Sarah Schleper (2nd, 2:16.86) and Megan McJames (3rd, 2:17.48).
Completing the top five were Americans Jessica Kelley (4th, 2:17.62) and Leanne Smith (5th, 2:17.83).
Ford earned a top 10 finish overall as she placed 10th in 2:18.44.
Abbie Fucigna, a 2009 Waterville Valley Academy graduate, placed third in the Juniors division. Fucigna started as a Mitey Mite in the BBTS Ski Club and then transitioned into Waterville Valley Academy, the BBTS full time academic and snowsports training program.
"My GS has come a long way since last year," said Fucigna. "I felt good, aggressive and clean after the first run. ... During the second run I hit a cross rut which slowed me down a bit, but that's ski racing!"
Even with that bobble, Fucigna's total time for runs one and two was fast enough to give her 19th overall.
"There's a lot more pressure to be able to put two solid, clean runs together," Fucigna pointed out. "Because if you don't, just like today, you get bumped back due to the stacked field of competition."
Ford, a Holderness resident and a graduate of the Holderness School, was the top American finisher in two events at the World Juniors Ski Championships in France last month: the downhill (22nd) and the super giant slalom (38th).
Before the world championships, Ford had posted a second in the super G and a third in the downhill at the NorAm Cup's Lake Louise event, and second-place finishes in the super G and the combined at Panorama.
In December, Ford made her World Cup debut at an event in Aspen. There she was the second-best American finisher in the slalom, outperforming both Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso.
A member of the U.S. Ski Team, Ford is currently in second place overall in the NorAm Cup standings.
Rounding out the top 10 overall finishers were Canadian Marie-Pier Prefontaine (6th, 2:18.08), American Kiley Staples (7th, 2:18.10), American Stacey Cook (8th, 2:18.32), Norway's Anne Cecilie Brusletto (9th, 2:18.35), and Ford.
Today, it will be the men's and women's slalom events. The men's first run will be at 9:30 a.m. with the women taking their first run at 10:45 a.m. The afternoon will have the men hitting the slopes at 1 and the women at 2:15. The awards ceremony is set for 4 p.m.
The winner of the NorAm series is awarded an individual start right on the World Cup for the following season. The NorAm winner must still be entered by their respective national governing body in each World Cup. The NorAm spot will be awarded to a North American athlete. There is no minimum requirement for the number of starts to be eligible for the NorAm spot.
NorAm points are earned in each race. NorAm points are the same as the FIS points awarded at each race. For example, if the points value of the race is 400, then the winner receives 400 points toward the NorAm spot. NorAm points are also cumulative throughout the season. For instance, if a racer competes in five events, the total points awarded are the sum of their points received in each of those five events. Points are per discipline (separate points for SBX, HP and Alpine).
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