CARRABASSETT VALLEY, MAINE — U.S. Ski Team veteran and 2022 Olympian Paula Moltzan took home the national title in slalom today at Sugarloaf, dominating the field of North America’s fastest skiers and winning by nearly three seconds at the Toyota U.S. Alpine Championships.

On the men’s side it was Colorado native Jett Seymour, a two-year veteran of the U.S. Ski Team and the 2019 NCAA Slalom Champion, taking home the national championship in convincing fashion.

Moltzan’s blistering first run set the tone for the day, and her time of 43.73 was not only tops in the women’s field, it was the third fastest time of the day for all racers, men included. Her second run time of 48.55 gave her a combined time of 1:32.28, nearly three seconds faster than second place finisher Katie Hensien (1:35.09) and third place finisher AJ Hurt (1:35.13).

Seymour’s first run of the day (42.96) was one of the only two faster than Moltzan’s, and put him at the front of the men's field before his second run of the day (45.20) sealed the deal. His combined time 1:28.18 was a half second better than runner up Benjamin Ritchie (1:28.71) and third place finisher George Steffey (1:28.98).

Weather has been the dominant storyline of this year’s U.S. Alpine Championships, with winds, snow, rain, and ice all variously causing delays and cancellations throughout the first week. Even today’s slalom, which was run under partly sunny skies, was moved up a day from its originally scheduled date in anticipation of adverse weather on Friday.

Forecasts are looking favorable again tomorrow, however, and racing is set to continue with the men’s national championship giant slalom races, beginning at 9:30am. The U.S. Alpine Championships will conclude on Thursday with the women’s national championship giant slalom.

As the country’s most prestigious domestic alpine ski racing event, the US Alpine Championships give up-and-coming athletes looking to advance their position on the U.S. Ski Team a chance to face off against A-Team stars.

This is the eighth time Sugarloaf has played host to the championships, having previously done so in 1996, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2015, 2017, and 2019.