JASNA, Slovakia (March 3) - Katie Ryan (Aspen, CO; Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club) took an aggressive line Monday to open women's speed competition at the FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships with fifth in super G, just .24 from the podium. Joining Ryan, who has already locked the 2014 NorAm downhill title, was Katharine Irwin (Vail, CO; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail) in eighth. One run of slalom was also contested Monday with the two-run combined time determining the super combined champion. Lila Lapanja (Incline Village, NV; Sugar Bowl Academy/Diamond Peak) posted the top finish for the U.S. Ski Team with 17th. Action continues Tuesday in Jasna with men's giant slalom and women's downhill training.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Katie Ryan (Aspen, CO; Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club) opened women's speed competition at the 2014 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships with fifth in super G.
- Also in the top 10 was fellow U.S. Ski Team athlete Katharine Irwin (Vail, CO; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail) with eighth.
- Paula Moltzan (Lakeville, MN; Buck Hill Ski Team/Ski and Snowboard Club Vail) finished 27th, Breezy Johnson (Salt Lake City; Rowmark Academy) 31st and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, MA; Stratton Mountian School) 37th.
- The start was lowered due to high winds, removing the steepest terrain from the course.
- One run of slalom was also staged Monday with the two-run combined time counting for the super combined title.
- Lila Lapanja (Incline Village, NV; Sugar Bowl Academy/Diamond Peak) posted the top U.S. Ski Team combined result with 17th.
- Merryweather landed 31st, Ryan 32nd, Irwin 43rd, Johnson 51 and Moltzan did not finish the slalom.
- Corinne Suter of Switzerland took gold in the super G and Elisabeth Kappaurer of Austria won the super combined.
- Action continues Tuesday with the men's giant slalom medal event and women's downhill training.
QUOTES
Katie Ryan
I was shooting for the podium, but I'm still pretty proud of the days outcome. The run was interesting in that the start was moved down several gates which took out some of the pitch. I decided to get a little hairy with it and took a deeper line than I would normally and got a little off into the soft snow. Other than that I was technically sound.
I'm coming back from tearing my ACL - almost a year ago now - and was able to race some World Cup this season. It's also been a good winter in that we've been able to run a lot of speed. I've had some wins here and there in the NorAms and was able to score the NorAm downhill title. Now I'm ready to round it out. I'm in contention for the NorAm overall title and feel like that's within reach, but first I'd like to ski well in downhill here.
I've been waiting around in Slovakia to finally get to the big race. Hopefully we have some clear days ahead so that the fog doesn't come into play. My goal is to stand on this downhill podium.
Katharine Irwin
I think I left some speed on this hill. I made a few mistakes that I would like to clean up for the downhill, but overall it was a pretty good day. We were on this hill last year for the Europa Cup and I unfortunately crashed and was injured in that race, so I'm excited to get my redemption on this hill.
The snow here is awesome. It's pretty firm and grippy and should hold up for the downhill. Tomorrow we have two runs of downhill training in the same day and then if the weather cooperates, we'll race the downhill on Wednesday.
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