Adgate Takes Slalom; Steele Off Pace

Ben Steele finished in the middle of an 80-man field in Thursday's U.S. Nationals Slalom at Pat's Peak, N.H. U.S. team member Cary Adgate continued his hot streak from the World Cup circuit with a narrow victory over fellow U.S. ski team members Geoff Bruce and Bobby Cochran. Bruce led at the end of the first run by .6 seconds, but both he and Cochran raced conservatively on the second run, leaving the way open for a go-for-broke attack by Adgate.

Steele said he lost the most time when he sat back on one turn in the flats near the finish of the first run and slid off line.

Slight mistakes in national skiing competition cost dearly, though. Karl Anderson, who beat Steele by only .02 second in Monday's qualifying race, finished fourth overall Thursday. Steele's combined time was about five seconds more than Adgate's. On his brilliant second run, Adgate clocked 48.1, Steele 50.44.