PARK CITY, Utah — U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced the 55 athletes nominated to the Stifel Alpine Ski Team, and several of Lake Tahoe’s top racers are among those slated to represent the program next season.

Team Palisades Tahoe skiers Nina O’Brien and Bryce Bennett headline Wednesday’s announcement, and will be part of the 10 athletes that are on the nation’s A Team.

Bennett, 30, is a longtime veteran of the team and will be entering next season after posting a 10^th place finish at the downhill World Cup event in Aspen, Colorado as his best performance of the 2022-23 campaign. He finished last season 35^th in the World Cup downhill rankings.

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O’Brien , 25, had her best performance of last season in Italy, where she finished 10^th in giant slalom. She closed the year ranked 26^th in the world in giant slalom.

Another Team Palisades Tahoe skier, Keely Cashman, was named to the B Team. The 24-year old season-best 27^th place in downhill at the World Cup stop in Italy in January. She also picked up four first-place finishes in FIS racing and finished the season ranked 44^th in the downhill World Cup standings.

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North Tahoe’s AJ Hurt was also named to the women’s B Team. Hurt, 22, hasn’t competed since December due to an ankle injury that required surgery.

Erik Arvidsson, 26, was also given a B Team nomination. The Team Palisades Tahoe skier was a runner-up at last month’s national championships in super-G. Arvidsson also captured the Nor-Am Cup downhill season championship.

Sugar Bowl’s Luke Winters, 26, also earned a B Team nomination after finishing 31^st in the World Cup slalom standings. Winters finished in second at last month’s slalom national championships.

Alix Wilkinson, 22, will also represent Team Palisades Tahoe at the national level as part of the C Team nominations. Wilkinson missed last season after fracturing her ankle during downhill training in Chile last September.

Truckee’s Allison Mollin, 18, earned a D Team nod, marking her first time being nominated to the U.S. program. The Team Palisades Tahoe skier captured four top-five finishes in FIS and Nor-Am Cup racing last season. She finished the season sixth in the Nor-Am Cup downhill standings.

“This list of nominations shows strong skiers across all disciplines,” said Alpine Director Patrick Riml in Wednesday’s announcement. “We have already seen the potential that these athletes have in our spring camps across Mammoth, Norway and Palisades Tahoe. We are excited to see the progress this summer.”