It was the University of Utah's turn to show off a little on the race course Sunday. The U.S. men's team did it Saturday on the inter Games Wilbere Ridge course, and the Ute women followed the same path.
The Utes took three of the top four spots, including first and second. Kjersti Nilsen won the women's slalom in the elite event of the Utah Winter Games, and Katja Lesjak was runner-up.Meanwhile, in Park City, the U.S. men's team was continuing a course set on Saturday - winning. The U.S. skiers took five of the top six finishes, including the first three.
Jack Miller, a six-year U.S. team veteran who failed to be a part of Saturday's domination of the slalom at Snowbird, won the Sunday event. He was followed by Tim Hanson and Todd Schneider.
The Utah Winter Games continue Monday with giant slalom events at both Park City and Deer Valley.
The women's race was a practice in high-speed skiing under low-light conditions. It was cloudy, and at times a little snow fell. And unfortunately, so did some of the skiers - like Ute standout Gillian Frost and U.S. ski team members Megan Gerety and Picabo Street. The three were 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively, after the first run.
Nilsen and Lesjack were one-two after the first run and finished that way. Karianne Borge Eriksen of Norway, was third. Nilsen's two-run time was 1:22.10, Lesjack's 1:23.78 and Eriksen's was 1:24.53. Utah's Heidi Dahlgren moved into fourth.
One-third of the field of 90 racers fell or were disqualified from the women's event.
Ian Witter, a junior from the University of Colorado, winner of Saturday's slalom, was leading the GS Sunday when he made a small mistake that pushed him back to fourth. Miller, third after the first run, moved up with a good second run to win in 1:52.57. Hanson's time was 1:52.95 and Schneider's was 1:52.96.