Thread Tools

**truebluefan** · 02-15-2008, 07:43 PM

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (Feb. 9) - Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) had the third-fastest second run Saturday and finished seventh behind Reinfried Herbst of Austria, who led both runs to win. Ligety was the lone American to reach the second run, while 32 skiers failed the finish the challenging first run.

"We were too inconsistent for my liking," Men's Head Coach Phil McNichol said. "It was a tough, challenging course, for sure, and it punished skiers all day. But that's no reason we didn't do better."

Herbst won with a two-run time of 1:42.00. Ligety, who was ninth in the first run despite a mid-course mistake, finished in 1:43.40.

"Ted had a huge mistake in his first run, but he saved it and then he ripped the second run. He continues to show he's in the hunt, and if he hadn't had that first-run problem, I'm sure he could have been on the podium," the coach said.

Men's overall leader Bode Miller (Bretton Woods, NH) was one of the first-run casualities, skiing out. However, he held onto his overall points lead; after 29 races, Miller has 1,067 points to 969 for Austrian Benjamin Raich. Ligety is No. 6 with 612.

McNichol said the men's group with ski in a couple of Europa Cup slaloms before Sunday's slalom in Zagreb, Croatia.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2008 AUDI FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER - Feb. 9, 2008
Men's Slalom
1. Reinfried Herbst, Austria, 1:42.00
2. Manfred Moelgg, Italy, 1:42.65
3. Ivica Kostelic, Croatia, 1:43.18
4. Cristian Deville, Italy, 1:43.29
5. Julien Lizeroux, France, 1:43.30
-
7. Ted Ligety, Park City, UT, 1:43.40
-
DNF-1:
Bode Miller, Bretton Woods, NH; Jimmy Cochran, Keene NH; Tim Kelley, Starksboro, VT; Cody Marshall, Pittsfield, VT; Paul McDonald, Bellevue, WA;

**truebluefan** · 02-15-2008, 07:45 PM

Francis Wins NDS Giant Slalom-2

PARK CITY, Utah (Feb. 13) - Kevin Francis (Bend, OR) of the U.S. Ski Team won a giant slalom Wednesday that opened the NDS Invitational at Park City Mountain Resort, a race blending U.S. Ski Team members, National Development System and regional club athletes, and Junior World Championships-bound racers.

Francis had a two-run time of 1:51.00 with Scott Veenis (Salt Lake City), a University of Utah racer, runner-up in 1:51.73. Max Hammer (Jackson Hole, WY), one of six who leave on the weekend for Junior Worlds in Spain, finished third (1:52.01). Bump Heldman (Auburn, ME), another Junior Worlds selection, was 12th.

"They were awesome races," Francis said. "They have the snow set well. The coaches that set the courses are World Cup coaches, so they were fast, exciting courses. It was fun."

"We had a great day," said U.S. Competition Director Walt Evans. "We've had endless snow over the last three weeks, so conditions have been soft, but Park City Mountain Resort, with an incredible commitment from Karen Korfanta and the race crew, kept things groomed and conditions were outstanding for the race.

"Regional coaches sent a half-dozen from each of their regions, we took the six going to Junior Worlds and we added a few U.S. Ski Team racers for an excellent field. It was a great opportunity for these NDS kids and others to face some top competition before they go up against their peers in Spain."

A second GS is scheduled for Thursday with two slaloms Friday.

**truebluefan** · 02-15-2008, 07:46 PM

PARK CITY, Utah (Feb. 14) - Jake Zamansky (Aspen, CO) won the second National Development System Invitational giant slalom Thursday, edging former World Championships medalist Erik Schlopy (Park City, UT) by 0.24 seconds.

Zamansky's winning time was 1:53.81 with Schlopy timed in 1:54.05. Third place went to another U.S. Ski Team racer, Kevin Francis (Bend, OR) - Wednesday's GS winner - who finished in 1:54.37.

University of Utah racers Scott Veenis (Salt Lake City) and Tague Thorson (Park City, UT) were fourth and fifth. Then came five straight skiers bound for Junior Worlds: Andrew Phillips (Park City, UT) in sixth, Travis Ganong (Olympic Valley, CA) in seventh place, Max Hammer (Jackson Hole, WY) eighth, Bump Heldman (Auburn, ME) ninth and Nolan Kasper (Warren, VT) 10th.

"It was a fun race," said Zamansky, who also lives in Park City for training opportunities. "It's nice to be out here at home, in my own bed, with my family and friends here. The race crew did a great job prepping the hill, and it was a great competition."

Winning helped make up for skiing out Wednesday early in the race. "I really wanted to win after making a big mistake yesterday and going out on the third gate. It was a little redemption," Zamansky said.

He also praised the idea of the NDS Invitational, noting, "It's great for [the juniors] to size themselves up against folks like Erik Schlopy. He's top 30 in the world. You get to gauge yourself against the best guys in the nation. You get to start closer to them than you normally would."

The NDS series of four races is designed to give some top-level racing to athletes heading this weekend to the FIS Alpine Junior World Championships in Spain and other top juniors from around the nation. It brings together top-ranked racers from each division in the country to compete alongside one another - and against several U.S. Ski Team athletes (e.g., Zamansky, Schlopy, Francis). The Invitational concludes Friday with a pair of slaloms.

Thread Tools

View more Skiing photos