National Junior Water Ski Teams Named

Top junior water ski athletes from across the nation have been selected to the National Junior Water Ski Team and the National Junior Development Water Ski Team for 2009. The 36 selections, decided upon by the American Water Ski Association’s Junior Development Committee and International Activities Committee, are based upon tournament performances during the 2008 tournament season.

Based on the selection criteria, the top-12 athletes are named as National Junior Water Ski Team members, while the remaining 24 are named to the National Junior Development Water Ski Team. The teams will not compete in any international tournaments, but they may train together.

Selected to the 2009 National Junior Water Ski Team were: Caroline Hensley (Hixson, Tenn.), Zack Worden (Deltona, Fla.), Adam Pickos (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.), Lauren Morgan (Odessa, Fla.), Leif Abel (Hickory, N.C.), John Lex Kenerly (Jesup, Ga.), Brittany Greenwood (Little Rock, Ark.), Erika Lang (Gilbert, Ariz.), Makayla Haw (San Mateo, Calif.), Ryan Hinkle (Rio Linda, Calif.), Haywood McDonald (Fayetteville, N.C.) and Michael Stevenson (Gilbert, Ariz.).

Selected to the 2008 National Junior Development Water Ski Team were: Steven Brooks (Canyon Lake, Calif.), Alison Lindy (Circle Pines, Minn.), Chelsea Whatley (Haines City, Fla.), Dylan Schaffer (Owens Cross Roads, Ala.), Carli Guyer (Pierson, Fla.), Robert Morris (San Diego, Calif.), Monica Seal (Panama City, Fla.), Dylan Alvarez (Homestead, Fla.), Kara MacIntyre (Knoxville, Tenn.), Nikki Waitt (Clermont, Fla.), Mason Mechler (Milford, Ohio), Morgan Young (Boise, Idaho), Courtney Brooks (Canyon Lake, Calif.), Elizabeth Montavon (Dixon, Ill.), Alexis Pickos (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.), Scott Humphreys (Fremont, Calif.), Brandi Lund (Winter Garden, Fla.), Ryan Nason (Yuba City, Calif.), Garrett Karber (Cypress, Texas), Alston Roberson (Cartersville, Ga.), K.C. Wilson (Winter Springs, Fla.), Tyler Scott (Covington, La.), Blake Alessandroni (Wolfeboro Falls, N.H.) and Kyle Karempelis (Roswell, Ga.).

Many of these athletes will compete for a spot on the 2009 U.S. Junior Water Ski Team at the U.S. Water Ski Team Trials, June 19-21, in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. The U.S. Junior Water Ski Team will represent the United States at the Can Am Challenge, Sept. 4-6, in St. Louis, Mo.