Lapanja wins combined; Schleper takes 18th
Locals making hay in Aspen
Lila Lapanja, of Truckee, California, won the U.S. Alpine Championships women’s combined in Aspen in a race run over two days because of spring weather,
Lapanja was fifth in Tuesday’s super-G, won by Nina O’Brien, who used to be an Edwards resident, and finished second in Wednesday’s slalom for the victory. Boulder’s Storm Klomhaus was second and Canada’s Kiara Alexander third.
Locals started punching in with results, beginning with Nicola Rountree-Williams. The Vail Mountain School alumna finished ninth and had the third-fastest slalom time on Wednesday.
Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Liv Moritz was in 10th. A reminder: National championships are nice place to win national championships. They’re also a great place for skiers like Rountree-Williams and Moritz to make so-called closing arguments to the U.S. Ski Team coaching staff with regard to their status on the team now and for the future.
Nellie Rose Talbot ended up in 15th. She’s a SSCV alumna and just finished racing for Montana State this year.
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Speaking of alumna, Sarah Schlepper, 42 years young, finished 18th. Now racing for Mexico, Schlepper, of course, spent 15 years with the U.S. Ski Team, including a win in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, in 2005. A five-time Olympian (four for the United States and one for Mexico), Schleper finished 41st at worlds in GS back in February.
Nina O’Brien and Emma Resnick were DNFs.
So we’d expect to see Schlepper again Thursday when the U.S. Alpine Championships continue with GS.
