Canadian Ana Goodman wins U.S. slalom title

Canadian Ana Goodman was handed the slalom title on a miscue by American Mikaela Shiffrin.

Charles Krupa/AP

SQUAW VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- World champion Mikaela Shiffrin straddled a gate in the final run, handing the slalom title to Canadian Ana Goodman on Sunday in the U.S. Alpine Championship.

The 18-year-old Shiffrin, from Vail, Colo., had a 1.22-second lead after the opening run, but straddled the gate in the tight middle section in the second run.

"I just caught a little bit of a weird groove and pressured on the wrong spot and my ski went on the other side. It happens," Shiffrin said. "I thought the conditions held up great, especially for how warm it is and the sun is hitting the hill basically all day. It was really good.

"Everybody's going for it out there and there's some really good skiing. It's a great competition and a great way to end the season."

Goodman, a student at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, had the fastest second run. She recently won the NorAm slalom title.

"I just tried to really go for it, especially at the bottom because on the first run I felt like that's where I lost a lot of time," Goodman said. "So, I just went as hard as I could and survived basically.

"I finished the season winning the overall slalom NorAm and then I decided to take a trip to Germany to do the last World Cup. I barely qualified, but then I won the second run, so I that was a huge thing for me because I've never won a run."

Resi Stiegler of Jackson Hole, Wyo., was second, and Norway's Tonje Sekse, also a Westminster student, finished third.

"I'm so bummed," Stiegler said. "I didn't think Mikaela was going to make a mistake, so I was just excited to come down in the top three. Then I was a little bummed that I didn't kick at the end. But it's fun. It was a good group of girls and we all have a really good time together. I'm just happy I'm here. I haven't skied a while because I hurt my back, so I'm happy that today went all right. It's always fun to be on the podium."

Katie Hartman of Breckenridge, Colo., won the combined title with the fastest total time from the super G and slalom. Lila Lapanja of Incline Village, Nev., was second, followed by Paula Moltzan of Lakeville, Minn.