Steamboat Pilot & Today

Despite leading the first run of Tuesday's slalom, Vail skier Julia Littman wasn't about to be conservative on her second attempt of the day at Howelsen Hill.

"I just ran right at it," Littman said of the second-run course. "I had nothing to lose, and I wanted to make sure I didn't have any regrets when I crossed the finish line."

The gamble paid off as the racer posted two of the fastest runs of the day to win the first of two Rocky Mountain Trophy Series slalom races with a combined time of 1 minute, 26.5 seconds. Buck Hill's Sterling Grant finished in second at 1:26.54, and Lucie Zikova of the University of Colorado finished in third at 1:26.92.

Zikova won Rocky Mountain Trophy Series giant slalom events Sunday and Monday in Steamboat Springs.

Claire Abbe, who also skis for the Buck Hill ski team, finished fourth, and former Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club skiers Gladys Weidt and Jennifer Shively were fifth and ninth, respectively.

Lisa Perricone, a Winter Sports Club member, was 11th with a time of 1:30.58. Her teammates Madeline McLean finished 19th with a time of 1:33.98, and Tina Roberts finished 21st with a time of 1:35.33.

"I was happy with my first run," Perricone said. "It was kind of disappointing to put yourself in a good position for the second run and then make mistakes."

Other impressive finishes for the Winter Sports Club included Kathleen Lyon who moved from a 66th start position to 30th in the overall results, and Jennifer Allen who placed 32nd after starting the race in the 90th slot.

Tuesday's race, the third for the women in Steamboat Springs this week, featured more than 90 of the top women's ski racers in the region.

The same field will wrap up the Rocky Mountain Trophy Series with one last slalom race at Howelsen Hill on Wednesday afternoon.

--To reach John F. Russell call 871-4209

or e-mail jrussell@steamboatpilot.com