SKIING / U.S. ALPINE CHAMPIONSHIPS : McGrath and Pelletier Race to Slalom Titles

Slalom specialist Felix McGrath withstood an impressive second run by his longtime rival, Tiger Shaw, to claim an unprecedented third consecutive national slalom title Friday, the final day of the U.S. Alpine Ski Championships.

McGrath, 26, of Shelburne, Vt., was the lone 1989 national champion to repeat.

In the women’s slalom, Monique Pelletier, 20, of Hood River, Ore., won both of the women’s runs to gain a 1.8-second victory over Kristi Terzian of Salt Lake City, who rallied from fourth place after the first run to take second. Pelletier’s time was 1:27.89.

Women’s co-defending champions, Diann Roffe and Tamara McKinney, were not factors. Roffe missed a gate and exited the course on the first run, and McKinney is recuperating from a broken leg.

McGrath prevailed by 18-hundredths of a second over Shaw, recording times of 44.69 seconds and 51.83 seconds for a cumulative time of 1:36.52. McGrath had a lead of six-tenths of a second over Ian Witter in the first run. Shaw was third, 1.11 seconds back.

In the second run, Shaw, of Stowe, Vt., was nearly a full second quicker than McGrath in the second run. His 50.89 gave him a total of 1:36.70.