SKIING U.S. ALPINE CHAMPIONSHIPS : Terzian Puts Away Field in Giant Slalom

Kristi Terzian made a yawner out of the women’s giant slalom Wednesday, blowing away her competition with a blistering second run for a victory margin of more than two seconds at the U.S. Alpine Ski Championships.

Terzian, 22, of Salt Lake City was nearly a full second faster than the field on the second run, recording a time of 1 minute 18.80 seconds for a combined time for two runs of 2:35.99.

Heidi Bowes of Steamboat Springs was a distant second at 2:38.01. Bowes had rallied from eighth place after the first heat with a second-run time of 1:19.76 that bettered every skier but Terzian.

Krista Schmidinger of Lee, Mass., was third in 2:38.63, followed by her twin sister, Kim, in 2:38.82. Eva Twardokens of Santa Cruz was fifth in 2:39.00.

Diann Roffe of Williston, Vt., the favorite in the event, nearly fell on her first run but recovered, then missed a gate on her second run.

Terzian paced the first run as well, taking a lead of 0.13 seconds over Kim Schmidinger.

Terzian leads U.S. skiers with 12 top-15 finishes this season on the World Cup circuit and ranks second to Roffe among U.S. skiers in overall points.

The men’s giant slalom is scheduled for today.