PARK CITY, Utah (May 12) - Nineteen athletes, including World Cup champions Laurie Stephens (Wenham, MA) and Chris Devlin-Young (Campton, NH), and four other current or past World Championships or Paralympics winners have been named to the 2006 U.S. Disabled Alpine Ski Team. The cross country squad will have nine skiers, including World Cup and world champion Steve Cook (Salt Lake City, UT), for the 2006 Paralympic season.

Stephens, who swept all four alpine World Cup titles last season, and Devlin-Young, the men's super G champion and reigning two-time World Championships title-holder are among the Worlds and World Cup champions on the alpine squad. The squad has won the alpine Nations Cup, symbolic of overall team supremacy, the last two seasons.

Disabled Program Director Sandy Metzger said the two teams include 18 men and 10 women. Nineteen Paralympians – 14 on the alpine team, five cross country racers – are part of the '06 Ski Team.

"These are two highly motivated teams as we move toward the 2006 Paralympics," Metzger said. "Kevin Jardine and his coaches have done an outstanding job in rebuilding the alpine team after the retirements of 2002 and '03. They've had strong team leadership from Chris, Monte Meier, Clay Fox and the other veterans. At the same time, 'JK' [nordic Coach John Kreamelmeyer] doesn't have the numbers of alpine, but his athletes are equally motivated. Steve [Cook] is a textbook example of how hard work can produce tremendous success."

The 2006 U.S. Disabled Ski Team (including disability class, hometown, previous Paralympics experience):

Alpine Men
A Team – Kevin Bramble (mono-ski; Truckee, CA; 1998 Paralympics), Nick Catanzarite (mono-ski; Mishawauka, IN; 2002 Paralympics), Chris Devlin-Young (mono-ski; Campton, NH; 1994, 2002 Paralympics), Clay Fox (standup; Gillette, WY; 2002 Paralympics), Monte Meier (standup; Park City, UT; 1994, '98, 2002 Paralympics), George Sansonetis (standup; Fraser, CO; 1998, 2002 Paralympics), Joe Tompkins (mono-ski; Juneau, AK; 2002 Paralympics) and Tyler Walker (mono-ski; Franconia, NH).

B Team – Carl Burnett (mono-ski; Cape Elizabeth, ME; 2002 Paralympics), Ralph Green (standup; Brooklyn, NY) and Roger Lee (mono-ski; Wildomar, CA).

C Team – Andy Parr (blind; Rockland, ME; 2002 Paralympics).

Alpine Women
A Team – Sandy Dukat (standup; Chicago, 2002 Paralympics), Laurie Stephens (mono-ski; Wenham, MA) and Stephani Victor (mono-ski; Park City, UT; 2002 Paralympics).

B Team – Allison Jones (standup; Colorado Springs, CO; 2002 Paralympics) and Lacey Heward (mono-ski; Boise, ID; 2002 Paralympics).

C Team – Hannah Pennington (standup; Denver; 2002 Paralympics) and Elitsa Storey (standup; Sun Valley, ID).

Cross Country Men
A Team – Bob Balk (mono-ski; Long Beach, CA; 1994, '98, 2002 Paralympics), Steve Cook (mono-ski; Salt Lake City; 1998, 2002 Paralympics), Mike Crenshaw (standup; Boulder, CO; 1994, '98, 2002 Paralympics), Chris Klebl (mono-ski; Heber City, UT), Greg Mallory (mono-ski; Portland, OR) and Dan Perkins (standup; Syracuse, NY).

Cross Country Women
A Team – Monica Bascio (mono-ski; Denver), Candace Cable (mono-ski; Truckee, CA; 1992, '94, '98, 2002 Paralympics) and Kelly Underkofler (standup; St. Paul, MN; 2002 Paralympics).

Last fall, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) officially sanctioned a change in disabled alpine ski racing to reduce races from 12 classes to three disabled categories - standup, sitting (mono-ski) and blind.