The Day Belongs to McGrath, Melander

It might have been a great day for fairy tales.

Poised at the top of two slalom courses on the final day of the U.S. National Alpine Championships were two golden tales waiting to unfold. On one, Mark Tache, an Aspen, Colo., native and the veteran of five years on the U.S. Ski Team, was ready for what would be the final slalom run of his career.

Tache was in second place after the opening run and a fast trip through a picket of closely packed gates would give him his first-ever national championship.

An hour and a half earlier, young Eva Twardokens stood on the brink of her own golden moment. At 19, the Reno, Nev., resident already had won the national giant slalom crown. A fast finish would give her a rare triple, since the combined title certainly would be hers.

But fairy tales come true most often under bright sunshine, not in blustery snowstorms. When it was over, interlopers Felix McGrath and Ann Melander had run away with the ski races and the fantasies. It was close enough to earn a rating for high drama.

Tache came within an eyelash of scripting his final chapter, losing by just 23-hundredths of a second. For Twardokens, who 11 days ago earned a bronze giant slalom medal at the World Championships, the difference was even more agonizing. Melander, a former member of the Swedish Olympic team and currently a student at the University of Wyoming, won the race by the most narrow margin possible, one hundredth of a second.

“I made a few little mistakes, just little ones, on that last run,” Twardokens said. With that kind of timing, Melander didn’t need a big one. The sturdy Swede had for six years been a mainstay of her country’s World Cup team, four times finishing in the top 10.

Third place, and a possible trip to the upcoming World Cup races in her hometown, went to 18-year-old Amy Livran of Vail, Colo., who ran the race of her life. She, along with the rest, benefited from the absence of Tamara McKinney, who had won this race for each of the last three years, but who watched from the sidelines after injuring her knee prior to Thursday’s downhill. The spectator list also included world giant slalom champion Diann Roffe, hurt slightly in a Saturday fall.

The list of casualties within the race also included highly ranked Karen Lancaster, second in the giant slalom on Saturday, and highly regarded Julie Furtado. But the women who fell were nothing compared to the tumbling act staged by the men. No fewer than 46 racers failed to negotiate the first run.

For a long moment it seemed that Tache would win it. From second place, he skied strongly and well and had a solid lead over Tiger Shaw, with only McGrath able to beat him. The 21-year-old from Norwich, Vt., did it with style, posting the best time for both runs.

Tache took it philosophically, but there could be no doubt that he wanted to go out a winner.

“I decided just this week that this would be my last race. I set some standards for myself during the January World Cup races and it just didn’t happen,” said Tache, who will join the Peugeot pro tour next week at Park City, Utah. “If I’m going to make a move, now is the time to do it. This will give me a few pro races to become orientated for next season.”

Shaw’s third place, coupled with an earlier giant slalom victory, made him a surprising--and surprised--combined champion. Hansi Standteiner was second and Steve Hegg third. Veterans Cindy Nelson and Debbie Armstrong trailed Twardokens in women’s combined, with Coloradans Lynda McGehee and Heidi Bowes fourth and fifth.