Jerome posts 5th in World Cup large hill finale

PLANICA, Slovenia – Jessica Jerome took 5th place Saturday, taking advantage of the second large hill competition of the year and making a statement at the final World Cup of the 2014 season.

Jerome soared to 117 and 124 meters, scoring 232 points. World Cup champion Sara Takanashi of Japan was 1st and teammate Yuki Ito was 2nd. Julia Clair of France was 3rd.

"Jumping the bigger hills is always a blast and being able to have the finale with the guys was a lot of fun. My jumps were what I would consider OK," Jerome said. "Of course I'm satisfied with my result, but there were still some small technicalities missing."

Jerome finished the season 10th in the season-long World Cup standings, her third consecutive season ranked in the top 10 in the world. The ranking this year was particularly impressive for Jerome considering she sat out six World Cup events to stay home and prepare for her debut in the Olympic Winter Games.

Takanashi claimed the overall title with 1720 points, a full 914 points ahead of Olympic champion Carina Vogt of Germany in second. Yuki Ito finished third on the season.

Visa Women's Ski Jumping Team members will take off the month of April and then commence training in May. Lindsey Van is recovering from ACL surgery and will be in rehab the majority of the summer. Sarah Hendrickson recently underwent a maintenance surgery on her knee to clean out scar tissue. She's expected back in training in early summer.