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**truebluefan** · 02-15-2008, 07:41 PM

PARK CITY, Utah (Feb. 8) - Fourteen athletes were named Friday to compete Feb. 23-March 1 in the 2008 FIS Alpine Junior World Championships in Spain, the U.S. Ski Team announced. Junior Worlds gives developing skiers a chance to measure themselves against their age group internationally and is a vital tool in gauging how they compare.

U.S. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt said the group includes seven young men and seven young women, including defending NorAm slalom champion Kiley Staples (Park City, UT).

The U.S. team (date of birth, hometown, club) for the Junior World Championships, which will be racing in Formigal, Spain:

Men
Tommy Ford, 3/20/89; Bend, OR (U.S. Development Team/Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation)
Travis Ganong, 7/14/88; Olympic Valley, CA (U.S. C Team/Squaw Valley Ski Team)
Max Hammer, 1/29/88; Jackson Hole, WY (U.S. Development Team/Jackson Hole Ski Team)
Bump Heldman, 10/25/88; Auburn, ME (U.S. Development Team/Gould Academy Snow Sports Club)
Nolan Kasper, 3/27/89; Warren, VT (U.S. Development Team/Burke Mountain Academy)
Wiley Maple, 5/25/90; Aspen, CO (Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club)
Andrew Phillips, 5/18/89; Sandy, UT (U.S. Development Team/Rowmark Ski Academy)
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Women
Lindsay Cone, 7/1/88; Killington, VT (U.S. Development Team/Burke Mountain Academy)
Kirsten Cooper, 11/12/88; Eagle, CO (U.S. Development Team/Team Summit/Santa Fe Ski Team)
Julia Ford, 3/30/90; Plymouth, NH (U.S. Development Team/Holderness Ski Team)
Katie Hartman, 9/2/88; Breckenridge, CO (Team Summit)
Alice McKennis, 8/19/89; Glenwood Springs, CO (Rowmark Ski Academy)
Laurenne Ross, 8/17/88; Klamath Falls, OR (U.S. Development Team/Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation)
Kiley Staples, 2/2/89; Park City, UT (U.S. C Team/Rowmark Ski Academy)

"We're sending a strong team to Junior Worlds and we have expectations of medals. Travis Ganong has shown his capabilities, as has Kiley Staples, who won the NorAm slalom title last season. We know they can perform," Hunt said. "This group also has some promising younger juniors getting some experience against their international peers, which is so important as they look to advance to the World Cup and beyond."

U.S. Competition Director Walt Evans will serve as team leader. U.S. alpine coaches John Hale and Randy Pelkey, respectively, will serve as women's and men's team captains.

**truebluefan** · 02-15-2008, 07:41 PM

"She's getting bigger but still such a little peanut," laughed Clark, who delivered daughter Casey Clark Rickenbach on Jan. 20. She was five pounds, 10 ounces, according to Clark, who retired last spring after three Olympics and 13 seasons with the U.S. Ski Team. She is the only person to have won four consecutive U.S. downhill titles, and also won a World Cup DH and was super G silver medalist at the 2003 FIS Alpine World Championships.

Clark, 30, and Andreas Rickenbach, a former U.S. Ski Team World Cup racer and then coach in the Nineties, were married in 2003. They live in Olympic Valley, CA.

Schlopy and wife Summer Sanders, the Olympic swimming gold medalist, welcomed their second child, son Spider, on Jan. 15. He weighed eight pounds, seven ounces and joins sister Skye, who is closing in on her second birthday. He shares his birthday with his paternal grandfather, "Pops," a.k.a., Kent Schlopy. "We thought that was pretty cool because Skye shares her birthday with her other grandfather ["Poppa" Bob Sanders]," the three-time Olympian said.

Schlopy, 34 and a seven-time U.S. champion, is in his 13th season with the Ski Team. He was bronze medalist in giant slalom at the 2003 World Championships.

Schleper, 28, and her husband, Federico Gaxiola, named their new son Lasse in honor of Norwegian great Lasse Kjus, who, coincidentally, won five medals at the 1999 Worlds in Schleper's hometown. The infant was born Jan. 30 in Vail and weighed seven pounds, nine ounces.

"Bringing him out was no easy task. More challenging than any interval training," Schleper said. "The day he was born was the best day of my life. When he was placed on my chest, I cried and cried. It was so natural and beautiful - a league ahead of any ski race wins.

"My family is really excited to train and race next winter," she added. Her husband and son will travel on the World Cup circuit with the three-time Olympic skier who is in her 11th season with the Ski Team. She has won four U.S. slalom titles. "Family Gaxiola is preparing to start training and preparing to get ready for a season on the road in Europe next winter."

**truebluefan** · 02-15-2008, 07:56 PM

PARK CITY, Utah (Feb. 14) - The U.S. Ski Team will send nine ski jumpers and four nordic combined athletes to compete Feb. 21-28 in the 2008 FIS Nordic Junior World Championships in Zakopane, Poland.

U.S. Nordic Director Luke Bodensteiner said the Team, which follows the naming of a 22-member cross country squad, includes nine ski jumpers and and four nordic combined skiers.

"This is a young team, and this event is an important experience for what can be long and successful international careers for these athletes. Ski jumping, which requires the skill and courage to explode at 50mph out of a 10-story building and then fly skillfully through the air, also requires athletes to develop high-level skills at a young age," Bodensteiner said. "Nordic combined adds the aerobic power and endurance of cross country skiing, the development of which also has to happen at a young age. This championship will be a great test for all of these athletes."

The U.S. teams for jumping and nordic combined (date of birth, hometown, club program) at the 2008 FIS Nordic Junior World Championships Feb. 21-28:

Men's Ski Jumping
Nick Alexander, 8/24/88; Lebanon, NH (New York Ski Education Foundation)
Buck Bailey, 9/15/89; Park City, UT (National Sports Foundation)
Nick Fairall, 7/6/89; Andover, NH (Andover Outing Club)
Anders Johnson, 4/23/89; Park City, UT (National Sports Foundation)
Chris Lamb, 6/21/89; Andover, NH (New York Ski Education Foundation)

Women's Ski Jumping
Avery Ardovino, 2/13/92; Park City, UT (U.S. Ski Team/National Sports Foundation)
Brenna Ellis, 3/13/88; Park City, UT (U.S. Ski Team/National Sports Foundation)
Karin Friberg, 11/17/89; Roseville, MN (St. Paul Ski Club)
Sara Hendrickson, 8/1/94; Park City, UT (National Sports Foundation)

Nordic Combined
Brett Denney, 2/26/90; Steamboat Springs, CO (Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club)
Dan Englund, 9/18/89; Iron Mountain, MI (Kiwanis Ski Club)
Taylor Fletcher, 5/11/90; Steamboat Springs, CO (Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club)
Nick Hendrickson, 6/20/91; Park City, UT (National Sports Foundation)

Bodensteiner said Martin Bayer from the Steamboat Springs (CO) Winter Sports Clubis team leader for nordic combined, Women's Head Coach Kjell Ivar Magnusson leads the women jumpers and Jochen Dannenburg is team leader for the men jumpers.

The championships originally were set for Szczyrk, Poland, but were shifted because of poor snow conditions. The cross country Junior Worlds and Under-23 championships, which are staged concurrently, will be held in Malles, Italy.

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