As forerunner at Killington Cup, Spofford teen shares slopes with skiing elite

Nov. 29—KILLINGTON, Vt. — The Killington Cup drew the top female skiers from all over the globe this past weekend, and a Spofford teen was among those to barrel down the mountain.

Shelby Graves, 17, a competitive skier, said she was chosen by her coaches to be a forerunner for the two-day event because they knew she could handle the icy terrain based on her experience as a racer. Forerunners ski down the course before the competition begins to make sure the track is race-ready.

She said it was the hardest course she's ever skied.

"It was super icy and turny, but it was definitely really cool and something that not many people get to experience," she said.

This was the sixth time that Killington Resort in Vermont hosted the women's FIS Ski World Cup on its renowned Superstar trail. It was the first event of the season after the scheduled opening weekend in Soelden, Austria, was canceled due to poor conditions.

Shelby, from Spofford, attends Killington Mountain School.

The skiers competed in the giant slalom (Saturday) and slalom (Sunday), with Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland taking first in the former and Anna Swenn-Larsson of Sweden and Wendy Holdener of Switzerland tied for first in the latter.

Two-time Olympic gold-medalist Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. finished the slalom event in fifth place. Shiffrin had won the slalom race at Killington five straight years and was the leader after Sunday's first of two runs. She got off to a fast start on the top of the course in her second run, but slowed in the bottom half and fell to fifth. Shiffrin calls Killington her home course, as she lived and trained at Burke Academy in Vermont as a teenager.

This year's Killington Cup drew an estimated 37,000 spectators between the two events and Friday's opening ceremonies, according to a news release.

Shelby's dad, Sean Graves, said he hopes there's foreshadowing in this experience for his daughter.

"Having Shelby have the opportunity to forerun is really special. There's been a lot of girls who have forerun before her that have successful ski careers," Sean said.

Shelby has been skiing since she was 2 and racing since she was 5. She's a senior at Killington Mountain School, which she's attended since the 7th grade.

In the past year she has trained in Switzerland, Austria and Colorado.

"It's something that I found that's really fun and I'm good at, and so I just kept building on it," she said.

And she said the support of her friends and family also helps push her forward.

"Everyone that's supported me over the years, I know they have done a lot for me," she said. "So, to be able to keep getting better and having them watch me is really cool."

Jamie Browder can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1427 or jbrowder@keenesentinel.com