The second day of the Alaska Best Water December FIS series, a four-day alpine skiing event at Alyeska Ski Resort, presented soft snow conditions that worked out well for Madeline Johnson and Patrick Romano.
Johnson won a women's slalom event by a narrow margin, and Romano cruised to a convincing victory in a men's slalom Thursday.
Johnson was the only woman to break 42 seconds in the first run and held a lead of nearly a second going into the second run. Despite going faster on her second run, Johnson's victory margin shrunk to less than a half second. She finished with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 22.16 seconds, edging runner-up Sierra Ryder, who posted 1:22.59. Abbie Macey was close behind in third at 1:22.87.
The men's race wasn't so tight, with Romano posting the fastest times in each run. His two-run total of 1:14.69 was more than two seconds better than runner-up Wyatt Queirolo's 1:17.06. Romano finished his first run in 37.74 seconds and improved to 36.95 in his second run.
Racing continues Friday at 2 p.m., and continues Saturday at 11 a.m.
Alaska Best Water December FIS series
Thursday's slalom
Men -- 1) Patrick Romano, 1:14.69; 2) Wyatt Queirolo, 1:17.06; 3) Trent Balin, 1:18.30; 4) Sean O'Rourke, 1:20.39; 5) Jim Henderson, 1:37.50.
Women -- 1) Madeline Johnson, 1:22.16; 2) Sierra Ryder, 1:22.59; 3) Abbie Macey, 1:22.87; 4) Nicole Ritchie, 1:24.44; 5) Meghan McCormack, 1:29.08; 6) Sarah Lundgren, 1:29.22; 7) Leika Scott, 1:29.42; 8) Jennifer Rowland, 1:29.59; 9) Katharine Guest, 1:30.65; 10) Heather Desino, 1:34.49; 11) Liz Mitina, 1:35.21; 12) Lee Foden, 1:38.52; 13) Manya Montanelli, 1:40.96.
Anchorage Daily News