CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Before each of her ski races, Colby College junior Sierra Leavitt watches a video of Mikaela Shiffrin for motivation.

“I try to get the right motions in my head,” said Leavitt, a Casco native who recently placed ninth in the giant slalom at the NCAA championships.

Saturday was even better.

“I got to watch her in person,” said Leavitt.

Shiffrin was the main attraction in the U.S. women’s slalom championships at Sugarloaf. Her appearance drew a huge crowd at the finish area and she didn’t disappoint.

Shiffrin won the title with two near-perfect runs down the Narrow Gauge. Her two-run time of 1:33.02 was a stunning 4.31 seconds ahead of Paula Moltzan, who came in at 1:37.33. Megan McJames finished third in 1:39.91.

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It was third national slalom title for Shiffrin, who turned 20 on March 13.

The victory adds to her impressive resume. Shiffrin has won the last three World Cup slalom titles, and twice has won world championships in the slalom. In 2014 she became the youngest skier to win an Olympic gold medal in the slalom.

On Saturday, she made it look easy on an icy course that caused trouble for nearly everyone else.

She had the fastest time on each run, her first run of 45.38 seconds prompting the race announcer, Craig Marshall, to say, “She showed us what the best in the world looks like.”

And after each run, she spent time with the fans, who surged forward against the webbed fencing for autographs and photos.

THE FACE OF THE FUTURE

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This is what happens when you are the most recognizable face in your sport. Shiffrin is the leader of the next generation of great American ski racers, a group that also includes Moltzan, a 20-year-old who won the first slalom gold for the U.S. in the world junior championships in February.

“She’s definitely already made her name and I’m just starting to make my name,” said Moltzan, who also took second in the U.S. women’s giant slalom Thursday. “So I’d say, yeah, we’re definitely the next generation.”

And going against someone like Shiffrin can only make her better. Moltzan noted she was two seconds behind Shiffrin on each run Saturday.

“It’s so much better to have such an incredible teammate to work towards and keep saying, ‘OK, last year I was four seconds behind her on every run, now it’s (down to) two,’ ” said Moltzan. “It’s nice to have a benchmark to see how you’re progressing and skiing.”

And as McJames said, “It’s great to have someone like her here and show what is possible.”

While Shiffrin was clearly the best skier in the field, she said it’s important to compete at nationals, even after a full World Cup season.

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“These kinds of races mean a lot because of who comes,” she said. “It’s the next generation of skiers who shows up and watches and hopefully gets inspired by all of the racing, not just me and not just the U.S. team athletes. It’s cool for me to see that excitement.

“It makes me excited, too. I think it’s the perfect way to end the season. It gives me some motivation to keep pushing it and keep trying to do my best because there are thousands of kids here trying to do their best, too.”

And while Shiffrin knows she’s part of that next generation, she said she’s not so much different than the newest skiers at nationals.

“I see a bit of myself in all of these kids because it was not so long ago that I showed up for U.S. nationals for my first time and thinking, ‘I don’t know if I can do well here. I don’t know if I’m that good of a skier,’ ” she said. “So since then, really since that first U.S. nationals, it’s been going quite quickly.”

And even though she’s only 20, fellow skiers often come to her for advice.

“That’s a little bit surreal,” said Shiffrin. “Sometimes I don’t know what to tell them because, honestly, I don’t have that much more life experience than you. I’ve traveled a little more. I can tell you kind of how to handle the jet lag, otherwise I don’t know what else to say.”

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Shiffrin remains true to her friends and embraces quiet time with them. Moltzan said the two have similar tastes away from the mountain.

“We both like to knit and crochet together,” she said. “We like to watch a lot of movies. We love ‘Despicable Me’ and ‘Frozen.’ We spend a lot of quality time together.”

‘BE FASTER THAN THE BOYS’

That Shiffrin is atop the women’s slalom world isn’t a surprise to anyone who watched her grow up. Shiffrin is from Eagle-Vail, Colorado but attended Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont. And even before she earned her first World Cup podium at 16, she was opening eyes in youth races.

Sam Morse, the Carrabassett Valley native who is one of the top up-and-coming ski racers on the men’s side, remembers competing against Shiffrin in races throughout New England.

“She was always beating (the boys) when we were younger,” he said last week. “I’m glad she’s gone on to do well because I would be totally sad if she didn’t.”

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Shiffrin laughed when told Morse’s remark and said, “Hopefully I’ll be seeing more of him on the World Cup circuit. Maybe we can train together, maybe even race together again.”

Her goals, she said, haven’t changed.

“Obviously it feels like it’s been so long since I raced with the boys and tried to beat them,” said Shiffrin. “But one of my mottos has always been, ‘Be faster than the boys.’

“I still have it on my helmet and I’m still going for it. The boys are just a little bigger now.”

Jeanne Barthold, a Colby College senior who raced in her final slalom in the nationals Saturday, got to know Shiffrin while growing up in Vermont. She said Shiffrin isn’t so different now.

“She’s always been great,” said Barthold. “She’s a hard worker, for sure. And I don’t think she’s done. I think she has more to do for sure.”

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Shiffrin would hope so.

“I have several more good years in me, I think,” she said.

That means the other skiers have a big challenge. Asked what it takes to beat Shiffrin, McJames simply smiled.

“Well nobody’s done it so far, we’re still trying to figure that out,” said McJames. “She’s just technically sound and polished so she does clean runs, and trying to match that is our goal.”

 


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