Josefin Hirst of Florida won the inaugural Sportsinsurance.com Queen's Cup women's slalom tournament at Little Mountain Lakes in Maiden, N.C., on Sunday, defeating surprise finalist Joy Kelley in the head-to-head final.
Kelley outlasted No. 1 seed Chelsea Mills in the semifinals, but had a fluke early fall on her opening pass in the final, leaving Hirst with an easy path to the title. It was the fourth round of the day for both after two rounds of qualifying Saturday.
Kelley, a Women 5 skier from Tennessee, entered the Sweet 16 as the No. 4 seed. Hirst, a Women 2 skier, was the No. 2 seed.
Jennifer LaPoint finished third, Mills was fourth and Lori Krueger fifth.
The Queen's Cup, promoted by area Nautique dealer Race City Marine of Mooresville, N.C., drew 24 entrants from across the nation and Canada, and saw three records fall during Saturday's qualifying. Legendary Leeza Harrison, skiing in her second tournament since moving into Women 7, broke the division record in the first round with four at 35 off. She ran 3.5 at 35 in the second round, which also would have broken the record.
Canadians Maureen Mosteller and Rhonda Powell played tug-of-war with their nation's Women 5 record. Powell ran 2.5 at 35 and Mosteller got 3 at 35. Both scores topped the division record in Canada.
The Queen's Cup had a $12,000 purse in cash and prizes, and attracted some 40 sponsors.
-- By Marjo Rankin