Lapanja, Hoffman, Winters Win US Nationals Sun Valley Slalom
The sun came back out for the final day of national championship racing at Sun Valley for the Toyota U.S. Alpine Championships presented by Stifel. Lila Lapanja and Madison Hoffman tied for the slalom win for the women and Luke Winters won the men's race. Winters and Lapanja took home the titles of slalom national champions, as Hoffman races for Australia.
Sun Valley crowds gathered throughout the day to watch both the men and women race the slalom. The hill was firm and the set was tricky, tripping up many on the first run, including World Cup slalom aces Paula Moltzan and Jett Seymour, who did not finish.
Lapanja led the first run and held onto the lead, but University of Utah’s Madison Hoffman had a fast second run to share the top podium spot with her in a tie. Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s Zoe Zimmermann rounded out the podium in third. It is Lapanja’s second slalom title in a row.
Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Luke Winters unsurprisingly scored the win—his third slalom title in his career—with his young teammate Camden Palmquist in third. Croatian skier Matej Vidovic was second.
On the juniors side, Elisabeth Bocock snagged her third juniors victory of the weekend, having also won the super-G overall and juniors, and finishing second overall and first in juniors in the giant slalom. Palmquist led the juniors, with Stanley Buzek in second and local boy Ryder Sarchett in third.
The Toyota U.S. Alpine Championships presented by Stifel has officially wrapped, with juniors heading to NorAms in Panorama and many of the World Cup athletes taking a much-needed break.