Methven, New Zealand – Ohakune, New Zealand’s Ben Griffin this week was crowned the Overall, Super G, Super Combined and Giant Slalom winner in the 2010 Australia-New Zealand Cup (ANC) series. Sarah Jarvis, of Whakapapa, New Zealand, was crowned the women’s Overall and Giant Slalom winner, and Queenstown’s Taylor Rapley is the Golden Bib winner in Super G and Super Combined.nBy virtue of their ANC titles, all three New Zealand athletes have earned the right to start as number 31 in all other Continental Cup races in the coming year if they are not already ranked in the top 30 in the world.

In the New Zealand National Alpine Championships, Griffin and Jarvis were named the Overall 2010 NZ National Alpine Championship winners. They were followed very closely by two juniors — Adam Barwood (Queenstown) and Rapley.

“It’s great to see the juniors vying for the overall position. It shows that we have some talent coming up through the system,” said Snow Sports New Zealand Alpine Manager, James Lazor.

Griffin’s season was highlighted by his second place finish in the Giant Slalom at the Air New Zealand Japanese FIS Southern Cup race at Coronet Peak in August. The podium spot was a record success for Griffin, propelling him into the top 125 in the world and the country’s best world ranking position in 20 years.

The Super G National Championship races were also won by Griffin and Rapley.