Five members of the Palisades Tahoe Alpine Meadows Ski Team have been named to the 2017 U.S. Alpine Ski Team, making Palisades Tahoe | Alpine Meadows the most represented team in the country. Athletes names in today's announcement are Travis Ganong, Julia Mancuso, Bryce Bennett, Erik Avidsson and Keely Cashman.

From News Release...

[Olympic Valley, Calif.] Dec. 7, 2016 – The 2017 U.S. Alpine Ski Team has officially been announced for the 2016-17 season. The U.S. Ski Team, which consists of 50 athletes (31 men and 19 women), is broken down into a A, B, C and Development Teams as well as a University Team, all of which receive a high level of world-class program support, access to the USSA Center of Excellence, elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine and high performance staff, and education opportunities.  

With five members named to this year’s U.S. Ski Team, Palisades Tahoe Alpine Meadows is the most represented team in the country. A Team members Travis Ganong and Julia Mancuso, B Team member Bryce Bennett, C Team member Erik Arvidsson and Development Team member Keely Cashman all came up through the Palisades Tahoe Alpine Meadows development system and have seen tremendous success in International Ski Federation (FIS) competition.

“We are extremely proud of our five athletes who have been named to the U.S. Ski Team,” said Todd Kelly, Palisades Tahoe Alpine Meadows Teams program director. “Having five athletes named to the team is a testament to the quality and dedication of both our coaching staff and resort management. With incredible terrain and conditions for training, our staff has been fortunate enough to work with the sports elite as well as our youth who remain the future of alpine ski racing.”

Additionally, Tim Jitloff (Park City Ski Team) and Garret Driller (Montana State University) have spent significant parts of their careers as a member of the Alpine Meadows and Palisades Tahoe Teams.

With nearly 1,800 members, ages 4-18, on the Palisades Tahoe Alpine Meadows Ski Team, these aspiring young athletes and youth across the region will have the opportunity to experience World Cup racing in their backyard for the first time in nearly 50 years. The Audi FIS Women’s Alpine World Cup at Palisades Tahoe will return on March 9-12, 2017, bringing Olympic champions like Mikaela Shiffrin and Palisades Tahoe’s own Julia Mancuso to the legendary Red Dog run, the same course as the women’s slalom and giant slalom events of the 1960 Winter Olympics and the 1969 World Cup. With over 1,200 feet of vertical drop in the giant slalom and nearly 700 feet in the slalom, Red Dog run is full of excitement and challenges, including fall-away pitches, side hills and bank turns, and is expected to be one of the more difficult courses on the tour.

For more information about the 2017 Audi FIS Ski World Cup at Palisades Tahoe, visit WorldCupSquaw.com.