COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. -- Following up on a solid day one of slalom skiing on Tuesday, Denver's Andrea Komsic was finally able to put two runs together to end up on the podium on day two of the Copper Mountain women's slalom Nor-Am series on Wednesday.

Going into the first run, Komsic says she felt calm and motivated after having skied the hill the day before. Ikon Pass' Copper Mountain has hosted Nor-Am events before, but this series was hosted on a brand new venue, one that is steep and demanding, likely one of the most difficult hills the women of the Nor-Am circuit will compete on over the course of the season. Throw some variable weather into the mix and the race became a battle of grit and perseverance. Seventeen women were unable to finish their second run when put to the test, but Komsic was able to hang on.
 
Komsic's confidence showed as she was the leader of the pack after the first run, ahead of the day's winner, Lila Lapanja, by 0.03 seconds. Unfortunately, a bit of discomfort due to a pinched back nerve and a couple of tiny mistakes was enough to knock the All-American back, but not enough to knock her off the podium. Komsic finished the day in third overall, behind Lapanja and the U.S. Ski Team's Keely Cashman. 
 
"Getting third and fourth in the Nor-Ams at the beginning of the season is a great push for the rest of it," said Komsic. "It's always nice to score some points and to know I can be as fast as the other girls are, I just have to combine two good runs."
 
Immediately after the race, Komsic hauled back to Denver, putting her skis aside to hunker down and study for a couple of exams that she has over the next few days. Looking ahead, conquering these exams is her main focus. Even further down the road, she hopes to see more success on the Nor-Am circuit, and some top-30 finishes on the World Cup tour representing Denver and the Croatian National team.
 
Her teammate, Storm Klomhaus, once again fought from the middle of the pack to break into the top ten. After the first run, Klomhaus sat in 17th overall, which lit a fire in her that pushed her to come out fast and strong the second half of the day. After getting a few runs on the steep and challenging course under her belt, Klomhaus put together her cleanest run of the series, so clean that she smoked the field by 0.46 seconds, overall winning the second run.
 
"I made really stupid mistakes every single run except for the last one of the four," said Klomhaus. "It is making me hungry for what is to come."
 
Next on the docket for Klomhaus is the Killington World Cup, the second World Cup start of her career. 
 
Katie Hensien also started in Copper during day two for the Denver Pioneers, but was once again stumped by the second run, and did not finish. Hensien had been fourth overall after the first run. Hensien will join teammates Klomhaus, Komsic, and Amelia Smart racing the World Cups at Killington.
 
For full race results of the November 20th slalom Nor-Am, click here.

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