CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (Jan. 31) – Buck Hill Ski Club’s Matthew Strand (Lakeville, MN) finished eighth in the FIS Junior World Alpine Ski Championships slalom Monday in Crans-Montana. Switzerland’s own Reto Schmidiger won gold.

Laying down two consistent runs, Strand finished the race strong cracking the top 10 and leading the U.S. charge with a time of 1:31.83.

“It was really mature for him to assess the situation and then put two solid runs together. It was very athletic skiing today, so I’m very proud of him,” said National Competition Director Walt Evans.

Brennan Rubie (Salt Lake City) was next in line for the U.S. finishing in 26th. Sunday’s race marked Strand’s first appearance in a Junior World Championship event.

Schmidiger was all business Monday, winning the race by a convincing margin of over a second and a half ahead to teammate Justin Murisier. Murisier won silver, making it a host country one-two sweep. France’s Mathias Rolland finished third to take the bronze.

The FIS Junior World Alpine Ski Championships continue Tuesday with the women’s downhill.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Junior World Alpine Ski Championships
Crans-Montana, Switzerland – Jan. 31, 2011
Slalom

Gold: Reto Schmidiger, Switzerland, 1:28.54
Silver: Justin Murisier, Switzerland, 1:30.08
Bronze: Mathias Rolland, France, 1:30.57
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8. Matthew Strand, Lakeville, MN (Buck Hill Ski Club), 1:31.83
26. Brennan Rubie, Salt Lake City (U.S. Ski Team/Snowbird Ski Team), 1:34.93
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35. Ryan Siegle, Starksboro, VT (U.S. Ski Team/Mt. Mansfield Ski Club), 1:38.35
44. Michael Ankeny, Wayzata, MN (U.S. Ski Team/Buck Hill Ski Club), 1:41.15
63. Kieffer Christianson, Anchorage (U.S. Ski Team/ Burke Mountain Academy), 1:54.21
–
DNF: Nick Daniels, Tahoe City, CA (U.S. Ski Team/Squaw Valley Ski Team)

For complete results: www.fis-ski.com
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