2010 U.S. alpine ski team named

By USSA
Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Erik Fisher will join the U.S. ‘A’ Team. (GEPA)PARK CITY, UT (June 23) – Two-time World Cup overall champion and double World Championships gold medalist Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) along with Olympic gold medalists Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) and Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA) lead a high-caliber group of athletes named to the 2010 U.S. Alpine Ski Team.

The Team includes four training groups competing across the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup, Europa Cup and Nor-Am Cup levels. Separate teams will also be named for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and FIS Alpine Junior World Championships.

Vonn moves into the Olympic season on the heels of the most successful season in U.S. women's alpine skiing history. In five months, Vonn defended her World Cup overall and downhill titles, added the super-G title, captured two gold medals at the World Championships and nine World Cup victories across four disciplines, including an international record four consecutive super-G wins. She also finished in the top 10 World Cup standings for slalom and giant slalom, making the 24-year-old a solid medal contender in five events.

"It goes without saying that we have the reigning World Champion and two-time World Cup overall champion in Lindsey Vonn on this Team," said Women's Alpine Head Coach Jim Tracy. "She's already doing whatever it takes to continue that run in both the World Cup and at the Olympics."

Mancuso was an underdog going into the Torino Games, yet exited the event as a 21-year-old Olympic giant slalom champion. Now, a proven winner on the World Cup, she enters the 2010 season following a winter that didn't live up to her ability or expectations, which is more than enough motivation for Mancuso.

"Julia is the defending Olympic giant slalom champion and that's something she's serious about defending," added Tracy. "She's taking charge of her program and so are all the athletes on this Team. We now have a number of racers with the experience and talent to make their mark. That's the tone we're setting this season."

Already a proven medal threat after stunning the 2006 Olympic field with a combined gold medal, Ligety earned a bronze medal in giant slalom at the recent World Championships and is the discipline title winner from the 2008 World Cup season.

Joining Ligety are World Cup winners Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) and Steven Nyman (Provo, UT), along with a solid group of young guys eager to make a personal impact on international skiing. Last season, the men's program produced the greatest finish in U.S. Ski Team history as five Americans finished in the top 10 during a downhill in Val Gardena, Italy.

"This is a larger Team than we've had in the past, but it's still a very young Team" said Men's Alpine Head Coach Sasha Rearick. "The average age of the A Team is 26 and that says a lot about the future of this program. We also have a group of C Team athletes with tremendous talent and they're going to push the other guys. It's a good balance."

Also named are a group of 15 Development Team athletes all with birthdates in the early 1990's. The Development Team is the first step on the U.S. Ski Team ladder and includes the best young athletes from some of the top ski racing clubs in the country.

2010 U.S. Alpine Ski Team
(including birthdate, hometown and club program; * indicates Olympian):

A TEAM
Men
Erik Fisher (3/21/85; Middleton, ID; Bogus Basin, Rowmark)
Tim Jitloff (1/11/85; Reno, NV; Park City Ski Team)
TJ Lanning (8/27/84; Park City, UT; Park City Ski Team)
Ted Ligety (8/31/84; Park City, UT; Park City Ski Team)*
Scott Macartney (1/19/78; Crystal Mountain, WA; Crystal Mountain Alpine Club)*
Steven Nyman (2/12/82; Provo, UT; Park City Ski Team/Sundance)*
Marco Sullivan (4/27/80; Squaw Valley, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team)*
Andrew Weibrecht (2/10/86; Lake Placid, NY; New York Ski Education Foundation)

Women
Julia Mancuso (9/9/84; Olympic Valley, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team)*
Lindsey Vonn (10/18/84; Vail, CO; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail/Buck Hill Ski Team)*

B TEAM
Men
Thomas Biesemeyer (1/30/89; Keene, NY; New York Ski Education Foundation)
Will Brandenburg (1/1/87; Spokane, WA; Schweitzer Alpine Racing)
Jimmy Cochran (5/29/81; Keene, NH; Cochran's/Mount Mansfield Ski and Snowboard Club)*
David Chodounsky (6/25/84; Crested Butte, CO; Dartmouth Ski Team)
Tim Kelley (5/20/86; Starksboro, VT; Cochran's/Mount Mansfield Ski and Snowboard Club)
Cody Marshall (11/15/82; Pittsfield, VT; Burke Mountain Academy)
Paul McDonald (6/25/84; Bellevue, WA; Crystal Mountain Alpine Club)
Jeremy Transue (6/1/83; Hunter, NY; Green Mountain Valley School)
Jake Zamansky (6/26/81; Park City, UT; Aspen Valley Ski/Snowboard Club)

Women
Stacey Cook (7/3/84; Mammoth, CA; Mammoth Mountain Ski Team)*
Hailey Duke (9/17/85; Boise, ID; Park City Ski Education Foundation/McCall Ski Team)
Sterling Grant (6/1/87; Amery, WI; Buck Hill Ski Team)
Keely Kelleher (8/12/84; Big Sky, MT; Rowmark Ski Academy)
Jessica Kelley (10/5/82; Starksboro, VT; Cochran's/Mount Mansfield Ski and Snowboard Club)
Chelsea Marshall (8/14/86; Pittsfield, VT; Green Mountain Valley School)
Megan McJames (9/24/87; Park City, UT; Park City Ski Education Foundation)
Kaylin Richardson (9/28/84; Edina, MN; Team Gilboa)*
Sarah Schleper (2/19/79; Vail, CO; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail)*
Leanne Smith (5/28/87; Conway, NH; Mt. Washington Valley Ski Team)
Resi Stiegler (11/14/85; Jackson Hole, WY; Park City Ski Team/Jackson Hole)*

C TEAM
Men
Tommy Ford (3/20/89; Bend, OR; Mount Bachelor Ski Education Foundation)
Will Gregorak (9/30/90; Longmont, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail)
Nolan Kasper (3/27/89; Warren, VT; Burke Mountain Academy)

Women
Alice McKennis (8/19/89; Glenwood Springs, CO; Rowmark Ski Academy)
Laurenne Ross (8/17/88; Klamath Falls, OR; Mount Bachelor Ski Education Foundation)
Kiley Staples (2/2/89; Park City, UT; Rowmark Ski Academy)

U.S. Alpine Development Team
Men
Michael Ankeny (1/17/91; Deephaven, MN; Buck Hill Ski Team)
Nick Daniels (4/5/91; Tahoe City, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team)
Colby Granstrom (9/21/90; Lake Stevens, WA; Mission Ridge Ski Education Foundation)
Wiley Maple (5/25/90; Aspen, CO; Aspen Valley Ski Club)
Keith Moffat (2/3/91; Berkeley, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team)
Ben Morse (4/23/92; Carrabassett Valley, ME; Carrabassett Valley Academy)
Hunter Schleper (3/26/91; Vail, CO, Iced Out Racing)

Women
Vaneesa Berther (2/11/92; Sammamish, WA; TAS Alpental Snoqualmie Ski Foundation)
Felicia Byers (12/17/91; Sandy, UT; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation)
Greta Byrne (5/12/93; Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail)
Rose Caston (7/20/92; Salt Lake City, UT; Park City Ski Team)
Devin Delaney (2/24/91; North Conway, NH; Green Mountain Valley School)
Julia Ford (3/30/90; Plymouth, NH; Holderness Ski Team)
Anna Marno (11/23/92; Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club)
Lauren Samuels (10/13/92; Minneapolis, MN; Team Gilboa)

Unforgettable Season

As the snow began fading away in early to mid-March, the 2008-2009 season for the Hunter Mountain Freestyle Snowboard Team was coming to a close. For a majority of our athletes, this was prime time to begin setting up lines and training for their biggest competition yet, 2009 National Championships at Copper Mountain, Colorado. Despite a few breaks and injuries the team suffered in the beginning portion of our season, our entire team recovered and progressed greatly finishing the season stronger than ever. With great help from the Terrain Park Crew and the newly renovated and re-designed terrain parks, our team enjoyed the weekend sessions on the boxes, jump lines, and newly added features such as the Nike 6.0 Car and Burton/Snowpark Staircase. These new features as well as bigger and better jumps served as a training ground for individual progression as well as preparing the team for competitions at other mountains and Nationals. We'd like to thank everyone who made this season unforgettable for the entire team and helped us grow to where we are now!

Thanks again and have a great summer!
Coaches Adam and Tyler

USASA Nationals 2009

USASA Nationals 2009 was held at Copper Mountain, Colorado. From the Hunter Mountain Competition Team(s), we had 7 athlete's total attending the event, including Garrett Malone, a younger skiier. Our athletes participated in a range of events that they qualified for throughout the season, these events include Boardercross/Skiiercross, Slopestyle, Halfpipe, Giant Slalom, and Slalom. The Radaelli brothers did well in their races in Giant Slalom and Slalom but were unfortunately quickly bumped out of the runnings for Boardercross. Michael Buldo-Liccardi also ran solid in the alpine events and advanced one round in the Boardercross heats. Robby Meehan competed in all the events pulling some great freestyle runs for Halfpipe and Slopestyle and running good times in the alpine and Boardercross events. Chris Frignoca had two good halfpipe runs and Mike Palella raced against some of the best kids in his group in Boardercross. Overall, no matter what the results were, the kids learned a lot from experience. For those who had never ridden large mountains and even larger racing and terrain park facilities, it was eye-opening for all of them and they learned a lot from their competitors and teammates making it a successful closing to a season.
- Tyler and Adam

Here a some photos from the Nationals.

Mammoth Spring: Transue on the rise

Saturday, 18 April 2009
Jeremy Transue is wrapping up his comeback season in top form, as proven with another win at the FIS Spring Series super-G race at Mammoth Mountain on April 15.

The 26-year-old who tore his ACL in the Europa Cup downhill in January last year, notched a handful of top 10s on the Europa Cup this January, won a FIS SG in Vermont last month, took bronze in this year's national DH race in Alyeska and took a couple of top 10s in Nor-Am on the Mammoth hill in February.


Jeremy Transue won the FIS Spring Series super-G race at Mammoth Mountain on April 15. (GEPA/file shot).

He won the Spring Series SG race in 1 minute, 4.04 seconds, with Samuel Sweetser on his heels (1:04.85) and World Cup racer Erik Fisher about a second back (1:05.00).

For results and more of the story click here: Ski Racing