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Shona Rubens of Calgary earned her fourth win in five races this season on the Pontiac GMC Cup alpine skiing circuit on Saturday with a victory in the women's slalom to open the second stop at Nakiska Mountain.
Rubens, who took three of the four races at Panorama Mountain in B.C., last month, clocked a two-run combined time of 2:04.87 under cold conditions. Taryn O'Flynn of Beaumont, Alta., was second in 2:05.05 and Anastasia Skryabina of Whistler, B.C., was third in 2:08.13.
''I didn't have a good showing at the NorAm last week in Quebec so it's nice to get some confidence back today,'' said Rubens, 18, who missed most of last season in order to finish high school. ''It felt really solid and I really went for it. The cold wasn't too much of a factor. It was such a large field that we could stay indoors a lot longer before our runs.''
O'Flynn was also looking rebound from some tough races on the NorAm circuit.
''I'm really happy,'' said O'Flynn. ''I had an awesome first run and the second one was pretty good too. The confidence is back. The conditions were good with some fresh snow. I moved across the flats and really let it run off the pitch.''
Skryabina earned her first medal this season on the circuit.
''I wasn't particularly pleased with my times on either run but I'll take the medal,'' she said. ''I skied the pitches very well but it was hard to let it run on the flats. It was hard to land a super clean run.''
Not far behind Skryabina, with a solid 6th place finish, was BC Ski Team's Kendall Benbow of Whistler. Rounding out the top 15 for BC were Sandra MacDonald (Apex Mountain Ski Club) in 11th place, Charlotte Whitney (BCST/Whistler) finishing 13th and Megan Kidston (Sun Peaks Alpine Club) coming in 14th.
In the men's slalom, Scott Hume of Whistler won both runs to earn the gold in 1:56.80. Brett Haney of Calgary was second in 1:57.60 and Dustin Fraser of Quadra Island, B.C., third in 1:58.84.
''I'm the old guy here so I figure I should be a favorite,'' said Hume, 22, who'll head overseas after this event to compete on the Europa Cup. ''But this was a challenge for me with the flats. This kind of course is not my forte and I tried to gain as much speed as possible early on.''
Haney, 17, was in third spot after the first run.
'When I'm aggressive like today, the results follow,'' said Haney, savoring his first medal on the circuit this season. ''I just wanted it more.''
Fraser, 19, doesn't specialize in the slalom.
''My primary focus was to make it through the first run because I haven't finished too many this season,'' he said. ''I stayed pretty balanced through both runs.''
Four other BC athletes finished Saturday's slalom in top-15 positions: BC Ski Team's Graham Kraft (Vernon Ski Club) took 5th place, team mate Ben Chaddock (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) finished 9th, Marcus Waring of North Vancouver was right behind Chaddock with a 10th place finish and Whistler's Chris Colpitts captured the 13th spot.
The Pontiac GMC Cup series features 32 races in four provinces before the national championships in March. The series culminates with the 2005 Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships at Mont Ste-Anne and Le Massif, in Quebec, from March 17-22, 2005. The best young athletes from Canada compete head-to-head against athletes from the Canadian Alpine Ski Team in speed and technical events.
The Nakiska stop continues through to Tuesday with Men's and Women's Giant Slalom on the agenda.
Saturday's leading slalom results at the Pontiac GMC Cup alpine skiing competition
Men: 1. Scott Hume, Whistler, B.C., 1:56.80; 2. Brett Haney, Calgary, 1:57.65; 3. Dustin Fraser, Quadra Island, B.C., 1:58.86; 4. Cameron Stuart, Calgary, 1:58.97; 5. Graham Kraft, Vernon, B.C., 1:59.09; 6. Gareth Sine, Calgary, 1:59.72; 7. Dustin McLeay, Calgary, 1:59.88; 8. Brady Leman, Calgary, 2:00.63; 9. Ben Chaddock, Richmond, B.C., 2:00.85; 10. Marcus Waring, Vancouver, 2:01.09.
Women: 1. Shona Rubens, Calgary, 2:04.87; 2. Taryn O'Flynn, Beaumont, Alta., 2:05.05; 3. Anastasia Skryabina, Whistler, B.C., 2:08.13; 4. Kayla Birdgeneau, Calgary, 2:09.91; 5. Kristen Tarchuk, Banff, Alta., 2:10.01; 6. Kendall Benbow, Whistler, 2:11.81; 7. Andrea Bliss, Edmonton, 2:11.87; 8. Kelly McBroom, Canmore, Alta., 2:12.20; 9. Kayla Leman, Calgary, 2:13.59; 10. Katherine Austin, Canmore, 2:14.20.