2009 U.S. Snowboarding Team boasts depth, experience

A crew of America’s best riders will highlight the 37-athlete roster for U.S. Snowboarding in 2009. The group includes X Games gold medalist Gretchen Bleiler, Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott, Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter, Olympic silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis, Olympian Elena Hight, U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix overall champion Louie Vito and four-time X Games gold medalist Nate Holland.
A crew of America’s best riders will highlight the 37-athlete roster for U.S. Snowboarding in 2009. The group includes X Games gold medalist Gretchen Bleiler, Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott, Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter, Olympic silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis, Olympian Elena Hight, U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix overall champion Louie Vito and four-time X Games gold medalist Nate Holland.

With nearly the entire 2008 roster making a return to the program, U.S. Snowboarding will showcase a group that garnered three X Games gold medals, 20 World Cup podium finishes, seven of which were wins, and 13 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix podiums, four of which were wins.

“We have an incredibly talented group of riders in our 2009 programs. All the major players are back and ready for a busy season with Grand Prix, X Games, Action Sports Tour, and the U.S. Open all taking place,” said U.S. Snowboarding Program Director Jeremy Forster. “This year, the World Cups will be a focus to begin locking down 2010 Olympic start spots and it’s a World Championship season which is a big focus for the alpine and SBX athletes.”

Snowboardcross will feature a powerhouse team with Wescott, Jacobellis, Holland and Shaun Palmer leading a pack of athletes hungry for success. Olympian Graham Watanabe, who won his second World Cup during the 2008 season, Jeep King of the Mountain overall winner Callan Chythlook-Sifsof and Olympian Jayson Hale, who is returning to competition after an 18-month hiatus, will all be in the hunt for the podium.
At the top of the halfpipe class, expect to see Bleiler, Vito and Teter, along with X Games gold medalist Steve Fisher contending for the top of podiums around the world.

Also adding to the talent pool will be Clair Bidez and Ellery Hollingsworth, who each placed in the final two stops of the 2008 Grand Prix. Greg Bretz who went from traveling with U.S. Snowboarding to winning a World Cup, finishing second in the overall standings, and being named to the Pro Team in less than a year, will also be a standout on the squad.

The entire alpine roster will be making a return in 2009 with World Cup podium performers Tyler Jewell, Michelle Gorgone, Justin Reiter and Adam Smith trailblazing the way for the team to make waves on the World Cup circuit. Newcomer Andi Jo Stump, along with veterans Erica Mueller and Lindsay Lloyd round of the women’s alpine roster.

In his 15th season as U.S. Snowboarding head coach, Peter Foley leads the snowboardcross athletes along with Jeff Archibald. Mike Jankowski is back for his third season as the halfpipe head coach along with U.S. Snowboarding alum Ricky Bower, a halfpipe world champion. Steve Persons, who was on the podium during U.S. Snowboarding’s most successful alpine World Cup season, returns for his third season as head coach of the alpine program along with Jan Wengelin as the tech head coach.

2009 U.S. Snowboarding Roster (birthdate, hometown and * if Olympian)

Halfpipe Men
Pro Team
Greg Bretz (12/19/90; Mammoth Lakes, CA)
Steve Fisher (10/21/82; Breckenridge, CO)
Scott Lago (11/12/87; Seabrook, NH)
Elijah Teter (3/7/84; South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Louie Vito (3/20/88; Columbus, OH)
Tommy Czeschin (6/15/79; Mammoth Lakes, CA)*

Halfpipe Women
Pro Team
Gretchen Bleiler (4/10/81; Aspen, CO)*
Elena Hight (8/17/89; South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Hannah Teter (1/27/87; Belmont, VT)*
Ellery Hollingsworth (9/2/91; Stratton, VT)
Clair Bidez (8/7/87; Minturn, CO)

SBX Men
A Team
Nick Baumgartner (12/17/81; Iron River, MI)
Jayson Hale (6/26/85; Sierraville, CA)*
Nate Holland (11/8/78; Squaw Valley, CA)*
Shaun Palmer (11/14/68; South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Graham Watanabe (3/19/82; Sun Valley, ID)*
Seth Wescott (6/28/76; Sugarloaf, ME)*

B Team
Jonathan Cheever (4/17/85; Saugus, MA)
Alex Deibold (5/18/86; Manchester Center, VT)
Pat Holland (5/5/82; Tahoe City, CA)
Jason Smith (1/11/82; Durango, CO)*

SBX Women
A Team
Lindsey Jacobellis (8/19/85; Stratton Mountain, VT)*

B Team
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (2/14/89; Girdwood, AK)
Brooke Shaw (5/12/91; Litchfield, CT)
Marni Yamada (8/26/78; Seattle, WA)

Men’s Alpine
A Team
Tyler Jewell (2/21/77; Steamboat Springs, CO)*
Justin Reiter (2/2/81; Steamboat Springs, CO)
Adam Smith (9/7/80; Bend, OR)

B Team
Zac Kay (8/18/81; Mount Shasta, CA)
Chris Klug (11/18/72; Aspen, CO)*
Vic Wild (8/23/86; White Salmon, WA)

C Team
Josh Wylie (7/7/81; Londonderry, VT)

Women’s Alpine
A Team
Michelle Gorgone (10/18/83; Boston, MA)*

B Team
Erica Mueller (7/25/81; Steamboat Springs, CO)
Lynn Ott (10/20/67; Bend, OR)

C Team
Lindsay Lloyd (2/18/81; Centerville, UT)
Andi Jo Stump (9/10/86; Wenatchee, WA)

The World Cup season opened Sept. 6 in Cardona, New Zealand, with men’s and women’s halfpipe. The following week, snowboardcross athletes got their first taste of World Cup action in Chapelco, Argentina, and alpine opens Oct. 10 in Landgraaf, Netherlands.
The World Cup tour makes its lone stop in the U.S. at in Sunday River, Maine, on Feb. 27 for men’s and women’s alpine and snowboardcross races.
The U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix kicks off domestic snowboard competition Dec. 10-13 at Copper Mountain in Summit County, Colo.