CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine — A week’s worth of world-class racing concluded at Sugarloaf on Sunday as David Chodounsky of Crested Butte, Colorado, claimed his third national slalom title in the final event of the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships.
Chodunsky, who placed fifth in the giant slalom earlier in the week, finished with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 43.88 seconds to capture the slalom.
AJ Ginnis, no stranger to the resort’s Narrow Gauge trail, trailed Chodounsky by .25 seconds to take home a silver medal while Tim Kelley clenched third with a time of 1:44.77.
Kelley held a more than a half second lead over Chodounsky after the morning’s first run, which earned them the 29th and 30th start positions for the second run.
A challenging course set and firm snow conditions culled nearly half of the field following the first run.
Coming through the finish with a marginal lead over Ginnis in the second run, Chodounsky watched in anticipation for the one person that could bump him from the top spot — Kelley, the front runner after the first run. Kelley encountered some trouble on the final pitch, causing him to scrub speed and lose the lead.
Brothers and Carrabassett Valley Academy alumni Ben and Sam Morse finished in 10th and 14th with two-run combined times of 1:49.51 and 1:51.02, respectively.