Caston Named to World Junior Championship Team!

Congratulations to SRD's and Spyder Speadfreak's Rose Caston for being named to the USA World Junior Championship team! We wish you good luck in Germany!

PARK CITY, Utah (Feb. 18) – The U.S. Ski Team has named 14 athletes to compete in the Alpine World Junior Championships in Germany beginning Feb. 28. The Championships are the highest level of international competition for athletes 15-19 years old.

The U.S. team includes seven men and seven women. They will compete in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Feb. 28 to March 8 in downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom and overall (slalom, GS, downhill). The team includes six former World Junior Team members.

"Qualifying for the World Junior Team through international results is a major accomplishment for development athletes," said U.S. Ski Team Alpine Director Jesse Hunt. "We're proud of this team that includes some great club athletes and some young U.S. Ski Team members."

The team will be led by Men's Head Coach Randy Pelkey and Women's Head Coach John Hale.

2009 Alpine World Junior Championship Team
Name (year of birth), USSA club, hometown
Men
Michael Ankeny (91), U.S. Ski Team/Buck Hill Ski Club, Wayzata, MN
Thomas Biesemeyer (89), N.Y. Ski Educational Foundation, Keene, NY
Tommy Ford (89), U.S. Ski Team/Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation, Bend, OR *
Colby Granstrom (90), U.S. Ski Team/Mission Ridge Ski Team, Lake Stevens, WA
Will Gregorak (90), U.S. Ski Team/Ski Club Vail, Longmont, CO
Nolan Kasper (89), U.S. Ski Team/Burke Mountain Academy, Warren, VT *
Wiley Maple (90), U.S. Ski Team/Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, Aspen, CO *

Women
Rose Caston (92), Park City Ski Team, Salt Lake City, UT
Angel Collinson (90), Snowbird Ski Team, Snowbird, UT
Devin Delaney (91), Green Mountain Valley School, North Conway, NH
Julia Ford (90), U.S. Ski Team/Holderness School, Plymouth, NH *
Alice McKennis (89), U.S. Ski Team/Rowmark Academy, New Castle, CO *
Kiley Staples (89), U.S. Ski Team/Rowmark Academy, Park City, UT *
Jennifer VanWagner (89), U.S. Ski Team/Rowmark Academy/Grand Traverse Ski Club, Traverse City, MI

* Indicates past Team member.

Report From The Czech Republic..... or Aspen

Hi everyone. This is my first blog entry in a long time. I've been very busy with school and races. I've been having a fun season so far and just got back from one of my favorite races. The Prater Cup in Crested Butte which is the J4 JO qualifier for the Rocky Mountain Division. They have lots of activities besides the races. My favorite is the country teams. Every kid is assigned to a country team and you can earn points for your team with good race results or by showing good sportsmanship and team spirit. They have some really cool prizes for the winning teams. I was on the Czech Republic Team and we didn't win anything, but it was still fun. I think it's really cool because it allows some of the kids that don't qualify for JO's to still get a chance to win something.

I did better in the races than my country team did. I got a 1st in slalom and a third in GS. This gives me a first seed for JO's so I'm pretty excited for Winter Park.

I'm also think it's really cool that SRD is leading in the competition with the Speedfreaks. Go SRD and good luck to everyone the rest of the season.

.)) Andrew Hancock

Kyle Tops The Podium!

Hey Everyone,

I haven't blogged in a while because I have been packed with school and races. Anyway's, during February I had a little of everything, 1 GS, 1 SL, 1 SG, and 3 days at speed week in Sunday River. In the GS, I won completing the sweep of all the GS's in the Mid Vermont Council. In both the SG and SL I was 4th. The SL, which was at Killington, my home mountain, was our last Mid Vermont Council race so this weekend is states at Stratton. I had a great council season, winning overall as a first year which gives me a spot at JO's, and winning all of the GS races. I plan to use this as confidence going into states and JO's. My goals for states is to be top 3 in every event. This would give me a lot of confidence for JO's and hopefully some more great results. GO SRD!!!!

.)) Kyle Burcin