WC champs Vonn, Ligety lead U.S. alpine team

Reigning World Cup champions Lindsey Vonn, Ted Ligety and Olympic gold medalist Julia Mancuso will headline the 2009 U.S. alpine team, which was named Thursday.
The 46-member team (25 men, 21 women), which includes 12 Olympians and three World Championships medalists, is headlined by World Cup downhill and overall champ Lindsey Vonn on the women’s side and World Cup GS champ Ted Ligety for the men.
“This is an amazing group of athletes that clearly stepped up to the next level last season,” U.S. Ski Team Alpine Director Jesse Hunt said. “On the World Cup we had tremendous results with Ted and Lindsey taking titles as well as a first World Cup win by Marco [Sullivan] and podium performances by Julia [Mancuso], Scott [Macartney] and Steven [Nyman]. This positions the team well and gives us great momentum going into the 2009 World Championship season.”

Reigning World Cup champions Lindsey Vonn, Ted Ligety and Olympic gold medalist Julia Mancuso will headline the 2009 U.S. alpine team, which was named Thursday.
The 46-member team (25 men, 21 women), which includes 12 Olympians and three World Championships medalists, is headlined by World Cup downhill and overall champ Lindsey Vonn on the women’s side and World Cup GS champ Ted Ligety for the men.
“This is an amazing group of athletes that clearly stepped up to the next level last season,” U.S. Ski Team Alpine Director Jesse Hunt said. “On the World Cup we had tremendous results with Ted and Lindsey taking titles as well as a first World Cup win by Marco [Sullivan] and podium performances by Julia [Mancuso], Scott [Macartney] and Steven [Nyman]. This positions the team well and gives us great momentum going into the 2009 World Championship season.”
The 2008-09 season is highlighted by the World Alpine Championships scheduled for Feb. 3-15 in Val d’Isere, France.
In 2008, Vonn wrapped up one of the greatest seasons for an American woman in U.S. history as the first woman to win the World Cup overall title since Tamara McKinney in 1983. With five downhill wins, Vonn surpassed Daron Rahlves and childhood hero Picabo Street to become the most successful American downhiller and captured the World Cup downhill title. 


Mancuso, who landed World Cup podiums in four disciplines to complete her fourth consecutive winter in the top 10, has hired a personal consultant and coach who will work in concert with the U.S. Ski Team’s coaching staff. Fritz Vallant, a native of Austria who coached the U.S. women’s team in the late 1980s and early 90s before returning to Austria to coach the men’s technical team there, will help design a highly customized training program for Mancuso.
Completing the women’s A team roster is speedster Stacey Cook, slalom/super G racer Kaylin Richardson, who will return after sitting out most of last season, and Resi Stiegler, who is rehabbing from injury and will miss much of preseason on-snow training. 


Veteran coach Jim Tracy is returning as the women’s alpine head coach, replacing Patrick Riml. Tracy, who was women’s head speed coach from 1997-2004, brings an extensive background having worked five Olympics and eight World Championships in his career before retiring from the team in 2006.


“Jim is returning to lead a very powerful women’s team. He has the experience and staff in place to keep the momentum going and this will be invaluable as we prepare for the big events in the coming seasons,” Hunt said.


Anchoring the men’s team is Ligety, the 2006 Olympic gold medalist who won the final two giant slaloms of the season to capture the discipline title, one of five World Cup titles won by Americans last season. 


Following a season of domination in the GS, Ligety, who produced the fastest second run at World Cup Finals to clinch his title, returns along with Jimmy Cochran, who racked up three top 10 finishes in slalom to earn a birth at the World Cup Finals. 

 The men’s speed roster is captained by Sullivan, Nyman and Macartney, all of whom where on the downhill podium last season. Sullivan captured his first World Cup victory at the famed Kandahar in Chamonix, France, while Nyman opened the season with a second at Beaver Creek. However, both men will be fueled by the return of Macartney, who was third in a downhill at Val Gardena, Italy, before suffering a season-ending crash at Kitzbühel.
Leading the men’s program is Sasha Rearick, who was promoted from head technical coach in April to replace the departed Phil McNichol.


“Sasha has demonstrated great leadership skills as a head coach at the European and World Cup levels, the athletes and staff are all excited to see him take over the leadership responsibilities of the team,” Hunt said.
Europa Cup winners TJ Lanning, Chris Beckmann and Hailey Duke will join veterans Erik Schlopy, Sarah Schleper and Caroline Lalive in the U.S. lineup.


Schlopy missed two months of last season for the birth of his second child, a boy named Charles Robert Spider, while Schleper also returns following her wedding to Federico Gaxiola and the birth of their son Lasse.


World Cup overall champion Bode Miller is again planning to train under his own program, with coaches Forest Carey and Mike Kenney overseeing the program. John McBride ledt after last season and hasn’t been replaced as of yet.
“Bode had great success last year with his own program and we expect that to continue,” said Hunt. “While our primary focus is on the athletes training in our U.S. Ski Team program, we want to also support Bode in achieving his success.”


Several other athletes who did not qualify are training with the team, according to Hunt. Former A team athletes Bryon Friedman and Dane Spencer have both been participating in team camps and have an open invitation to continue, as have Europa Cup podium performers Paul McDonald and Katie Hitchcock.
“While these top athletes didn’t qualify by the team selection criteria, we want to make our camps and coaching available to them to be as prepared as possible for the season,” Hunt said. 


Veteran Lalive, who was injured last season, has been named as a reserve and will participate in team training. Lalive is making a strong recovery and anticipates being back in competition by the start of the season.


Many members of the team are currently participating in month-long training camps in New Zealand and Chile, with the World Cup season set to open Oct. 25-26 in Sölden, Austria.

The 2009 U.S. Alpine Ski Team (with date of birth, hometown and club program)


A TEAM

Men

Jimmy Cochran (5/29/81; Keene, NH; Cochran’s/Mount Mansfield Ski & Snowboard Club)

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)



Women

Stacey Cook (7/3/84; Mammoth, CA; Mammoth Mountain Ski Team)

Julia Mancuso (9/9/84; Olympic Valley, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team)

Kaylin Richardson (9/28/84; Edina, MN; Team Gilboa)

Resi Stiegler (11/14/85; Jackson Hole, WY; Park City Ski Team/Jackson Hole)

Lindsey Vonn (10/18/84; Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail/Buck Hill Ski Team)


B TEAM

Men

Erik Fisher (3/21/85; Middleton, ID; Bogus Basin)

Tommy Ford (3/20/89; Bend, OR; Mount Bachelor Ski Education Foundation)

Kevin Francis (6/13/82; Bend, OR; Mount Bachelor Ski Education Foundation)

Tim Jitloff (1/11/85; Reno, NV; Park City Ski Team)

Tim Kelley (5/20/86; Starksboro, VT; Cochran’s/Mount Mansfield Ski & Snowboard Club)

TJ Lanning (8/27/84; Park City, UT; Park City Ski Team)

Cody Marshall (11/15/82; Pittsfield, VT; Burke Mountain Academy)

Erik Schlopy (8/21/72; Park City, UT; Park City Ski Team)

Jeremy Transue (6/1/83; Hunter, NY; Green Mountain Valley School)

Andrew Weibrecht (2/10/86; Lake Placid, NY; New York Ski Education Foundation)



Women

Hailey Duke (9/17/85; Boise, ID; Park City Ski Education Foundation/McCall Ski Team)

Jessica Kelley (10/5/82; Starksboro, VT; Cochran’s/Mount Mansfield Ski & 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)

Sarah Schleper (2/19/79; Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail)

Leanne Smith (5/28/87; Conway, NH; Mt. Washington Valley Ski Team)



C TEAM

Men

Chris Beckmann (10/9/86; Guilderland, NY; New York Ski Education Foundation)

Will Brandenburg (1/1/87; Spokane, WA; Schweitzer Alpine Racing)

Travis Ganong (7/14/88; Squaw Valley, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team)

Tague Thorson (1/9/85; Park City, UT; Romark Ski Academy)



Women

Sterling Grant (6/1/87; Amery, WI; Buck Hill Ski Team)

Keely Kelleher (8/12/84; Big Sky, MT; Rowmark Ski Academy)

Julia Littman (7/21/84; Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail)

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)

Will Gregorak (9/30/90; Longmont, CO; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail)

Nolan Kasper (3/27/89; Warren, VT; Burke Mountain Academy)

Wiley Maple (5/25/90; Aspen, CO; Aspen Valley Ski Club)



Women

Felicia Byers (12/17/91; Sandy, UT; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation)

Julia Ford (3/30/90; Plymouth, NH; Holderness Ski Team)

Kayla Fry (5/1/90; Reno, NV; Team Savage Ski Racing)

Alice McKennis (8/19/89; Glenwood Springs, CO; Rowmark Ski Academy)

Jennie VanWagner (6/22/89; Traverse City, MI; Rowmark Ski Academy)



Reserve

Caroline Lalive (8/10/79; Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club)