By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

CARRABASSETT VALLEY – As endings go, Daron Rahlves ranks about a seven, which is just fine by him.

The winningest downhill and super-G racer in American history sped into retirement Sunday with his seventh super-G title at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Sugarloaf.

Fellow Californian Stacey Cook won the women’s super-G, denying Raymond’s Kirsten Clark three straight wins on her home hill.

Rahlves capped his 13-year career by collecting his third consecutive national super-G championship, which was also his fourth in the discipline and seventh overall.

“I was high-fiving a few guys at the start,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve let myself settle in and realize this is it. That was even more of a motivational factor, to come out and try to throw it down today, and it felt good.”

Second out of the starting gate, Rahlves reached speeds of nearly 67 MPH while conquering the hard and fast Narrow Gauge trail in 1:18.80. Scott Macartney finished second (1:19.11) and Thomas Lanning third (1:19.55). Bode Miller, who beat Rahlves in his last downhill race on Saturday, placed fourth (1:19.64) after clipping a gate near the bottom of the course.

“I hooked my arm right when I came into view on that bottom flat,” said Miller. “I slammed myself pretty good. My arm was all numbed up. I think I skied well on the whole thing really. The bottom’s too flat. If you make a mistake, your time goes away really quickly.”

The 32-year-old Rahlves’ run wasn’t flawless, either, but he received a rousing cheer from the crowd when he crossed the finish line in first place.

“It was tough. I had a few mistakes in two turns, but I kept the skis clean. That’s the most important thing right there,” he said. “I did a good job around the island. Yesterday, I made a mistake on the island down here and it cost me.”

A darker sky and firmer course greeted the women in the afternoon. Three of the first five racers did not finish, but Cook followed up her first podium at nationals in Saturday’s downhill with a straight line that earned her the best time in all three intervals and a winning time of 1:23.9, ahead of Clark (1:24.01), Kaylin Richardson (1:24.04) and Olympian Julia Mancuso (1:24.38).

“I was really excited halfway down. I knew that I had handled the hard sections,” said Cook. “I just tried to keep it together for the bottom.”

Clark, who called Sugarloaf home while attending Carrabassett Valley Academy, won Friday’s and Saturday’s races and was leading Sunday before Cook crossed the finish line.

“I knew that there were still some great girls up there to come down. You’ve just got to wait and see,” she said. “I’m happy for (Cook). She’s had a breakthrough year with some good, solid results in downhill. She’s kind of struggled a little bit in super-G, but she’s a great skier, a hard worker and she deserves it.”

Cook has been overshadowed by fellow 21-year-old’s Mancuso and Kildow this year, but Mancuso’s fourth-place finish knocked her off the podium for the first time in 13 races. Fellow Olympian Lindsey Kildow did not compete after crashing Saturday.

More young blood emerged in the men’s race, as Lanning, 21, a member of the U.S. Ski Team’s “B” squad, and Andrew Weibrecht, 20, a member of the “C” team who finished fifth behind Miller, both had impressive showings over the weekend. Gould Academy student Bump Heldman of Auburn also continued his strong nationals debut with a solid 30th-place finish (1:23.27).

With such talent moving up through the ranks, Rahlves, who praised Miller as a long-time teammate, said he’s not worried that his retirement will leave the 2005 World Cup champion with a competitive void.

“Those guys will start catching up. he said. “Bode won’t be the only one up there (on the podium).”