PARK CITY — The conditions were far from ideal.
They were fair, though, and Johnny Spillane took advantage of a pair of strong jumps to win the U.S. ski jump championship Sunday on the K90 hill at the Utah Olympic Park amid snow flurries and several delays in the action.
"Definitely a hard competition," Spillane, from Steamboat Springs, Colo., said. "The weather didn't exactly cooperate today. But it was fair for everyone. We all had to jump in it."
Spillane's win came after seeing the podium in other competitions but not quite reaching the top step over the weekend's events. So to wrap up the season with a national championship sent him home with a smile.
"I was hoping for it," he said. "After the trial jumps, I was getting into the groove for it."
Spillane had a first jump of 92 meters and followed that up with a leap of 91 meters for a final score of 233.5. Bill Demong, who outraced Spillane in the cross country portion of Saturday's Nordic combined event, placed second with jumps of 91.0 and 91.5 meters for 232.0 points.
Ander Johnson, who won a national title on the K120 hill Saturday, placed third with 231 points after 91.5 and 90.5 jumps.
Jessica Jerome capped the weekend with another victory — this time on the K90 hill.
After catching a break with the wind and conditions to post a 95 meter jump in the first round, her second round mark of 78.5 meters was still good enough to give her the win with 208.0 points while Brenna Ellis had 204 points based on marks of 90.0 and 84.0 meters.
Abby Hughes was third — jumping 90.0 and 78.5 meters for 193.5 points.
"It"s a winter sport," Jerome, who also won the Super Tour competition Friday and the K120 event Saturday, said. "So the conditions were fair."
Her season has been great over the past month or two with wins and podium placements around the world.
"I feel a lot better now," she said. "It"s a good way to top off the season. I was struggling for a little while. So I"m definitely very satisfied with the way I ended the season."
U.S. Ski Jumping Championships
K90 Hill (first jump, second jump) final points
Men
1. Johnny Spillane, Steamboat Springs, Colo., (92.0, 91.0) 233.5
2. Bill Demong, Vermontville, N.Y., (91.0, 91.5) 232.0
3. Anders Johnson, Park City, Utah, (91.5, 90.5) 231.0
4. Chris Lamb, Lake Placid, N.Y., (89.5, 91.0) 226.0
5. Nick Alexander, Lebanon, N.H., (87.5, 86.5) 210.5
Women
1. Jessica Jerome, Park City, Utah, (95.0, 78.5) 208.0
2. Brenna Ellis, Park City, Utah, (90.0, 84.0) 204.0
3. Abby Hughes, Park City, Utah, (90.5, 78.5) 193.5
4. Sarah Hendrickson, Park City, Utah, (90.0, 72.5) 184.0
5. Karin Friberg, St. Paul, Minn., (86.5, 81.0) 183.0
E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com