The Stifel U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team spent the last two days racing the downhill World Cup opener in Santa Caterina, Italy, where Kelsey O’Driscoll and Andrew Kurka both continued their hot streaks, both landing on the podium in third place. 

On day one, O’Driscoll led the way for the U.S. ,finishing third, her second career podium. Audrey Crowley was right behind in fourth place in the women’s standing category. On the men’s side, Kurka finished fifth followed by Andrew Haraghey in seventh, Jesse Keefe in 13th, Patrick Halgren in 14th, Spencer Wood in 15th, Tyler McKenzie in 17th and Noah Bury in 22nd. 

The following day, Kurka found himself back on the podium for the first time this season. O’Driscoll finished just off the women’s standing podium in fourth followed by Crowley in fifth. Wood finished the event 11th, Keefe 14th and McKenzie 18th. 

Next up the crew is on their way to St. Moritz, Switzerland for the first tech events of the season Dec. 19-21.

RESULTS
Downhill 1
Women
Men

Downhill 2
Women
Men

On day three of racing in Steinach am Brenner, Austria, Kelsey O’Driscoll put on a show, taking the top spot to earn her first career World Cup podium and first career win. Following her World Cup debut on Wednesday, where she finished fourth overall, O’Driscoll finished out the weekend with a bang. Andrew Kurka and Audrey Crowley also finished in the top 10, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively. 

“I’m of course beyond excited, but also feeling really grateful,” said O’Driscoll. “So many people have helped make this possible, from teammates and coaches, to my family and friends, and especially my medical team. I couldn’t do this without any of them.”

“My main goal for the rest of the season is to gain as much experience as possible on the World Cup circuit before the Games in March. I want to make mistakes and learn from them, and most importantly, to have as much fun as possible. I absolutely love to ski, and plan on enjoying every second of it!”

O’Driscoll is a rookie on the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, earning her nomination after a successful World Championships debut last season. After being named to the team this summer, O’Driscoll underwent surgery to get herself in the best shape possible in time for the season. 

“I had an Olympic dream in high school and college, which I wasn’t able to make a reality,” said O’Driscoll. “That was a really hard dream to let go of. Para ski racing has given me a second shot at making that dream come true, except at the Paralympics. Having given up an Olympic dream once, I wasn’t about to let a couple of surgeries get in the way of my second chance. I fought for an aggressive timeline that got me back on snow in November, and just put in as much work as possible over the summer/fall between surgeries. I’ve wanted to go to the Games since 2002, and I’m determined to make that dream a reality this year.” 

The entire Stifel U.S. Ski Team had great results on Friday. Outside of the three in the top 10, Patrick Halgren finished 11th, Jesse Keefe and Robert Enigl 15th, Matthew Brewer 16th, Ravi Drugan and Spencer Wood 17th, Andrew Haraghey 20th, Tyler McKenzie 21st and Noah Bury 25th. This rounds out a successful first World Cup of the season, with seven top 10 finishes across three days of racing. 

The Stifel U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team athletes are headed straight into their next World Cup event next week in Santa Caterina, Italy, for the first downhill races of the season, Dec. 16-17.

RESULTS
Women
Men

The Stifel U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team is in Steinach am Brenner, Austria for the World Cup season opener, and rookie Kelsey O’Driscoll shone in her World Cup debut, finishing just off the podium in fourth place in alpine combined. 

Steinach is a familiar stop for these athletes as they have kicked off the World Cup season in Austria for the last three years. Alpine combined in composed of one run of super-G and one run of slalom with athletes’ times combined to get their final placement.

After run one of super-G, Andrew Kurka was sitting in first place in the men’s sitting classification and O’Driscoll was in third. Audrey Crowley, Andrew Haraghey and Robert Enigl did not finish run one. 

This season, Kurka, a known speed specialist, is also skiing slalom for the first time in years, with this event being his first World Cup attempt since 2019.  This event was an excellent start for the speedster, where he finished sixth overall after placing 10th in the slalom run. O’Driscoll finished sixth in run two, giving her a fourth place finish. Nine U.S. athletes made it through to the second run, including Jesse Keefe, who finished eighth overall, a great start to his season in the standing classification, followed by Patrick Halgren in 11th, and Spencer Wood in 17th. Ravi Drugan finished in 12th in the men’s sitting category.

Tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 11th, the team will take on super-G, which is sure to excite following the run one placements in alpine combined. Tune in at 4:30 am ET on FIS. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

U.S. Ski & Snowboard officially announced the 12 athletes who have accepted their nominations and been named to the 2025-26 Stifel U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team roster across all classifications and disciplines. 

The 2025-26 Stifel U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team is highlighted by Paralympic gold medalist Andrew Kurka. He is joined by two-time Paralympian and Paralympic silver medalist Thomas Walsh and exciting up-and-comers Jesse Keefe and Audrey Crowley. Crowley had a standout 2024-25 season, including her first World Cup podiums and a bronze medal in giant slalom at the 2025 FIS Para Alpine World Championships. 

New to the team this year is Kelsey O’Driscoll, who came onto the scene last season and made it her own, finishing top-five at World Championships. Joining her are Tyler McKenzie and Saylor O’Brien, who made a big impact on the World Cup circuit during the 2024-25 season with multiple World Cup podiums.

“After showing strong improvements last season, the team has been putting in lots of work to start the off-season to prepare for a Paralympic year,” said Erik Leirfallom, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Para Sport Director. “With new fresh faces and accomplished veterans, I am excited to see all they can accomplish.”

The 2025-26 season is set to kick off in Steinach am Brenner, Austria, Dec. 10-12, 2025. The team will make stops in Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France through February before the top athletes head to represent Team USA at the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, Mar. 6-15, 2026. 

2025-26 Stifel U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team

(Hometown; Club; College; Birthdate)

A TEAM
Women

• Audrey Crowley (Grafton, WI; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; University of Denver; 3/1/2007)

Men

• Patrick Halgren (Tolland, CT; National Sports Center for the Disabled; 6/24/1992)
• Jesse Keefe (Sun Valley, ID; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; University of Colorado Colorado Springs; 3/26/2004)
• Andrew Kurka (Palmer, AK; Alyeska Ski Club; 1/27/1992)
• Thomas Walsh (Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail/Green Mountain Valley School; Savannah College of Art and Design/DeVry University; 1/30/1995)
• Spencer Wood (Pittsfield, VT; Killington Mountain School; University of Colorado Boulder; 1/17/1997)

D TEAM
Women

• Allie Johnson (Chicago, IL; National Sports Center for the Disabled; Colorado State University; 12/23/1994)
• Saylor O’Brien (Woodland, UT; National Ability Center; 4/28/2003)
• Kelsey O’Driscoll (Glens Falls, NY; National Sports Center for the Disabled; SUNY Adirondack; 1/24/1994)

Men

• Ravi Drugan (Eugene, OR; Oregon Adaptive Sports; 12/19/1989)
• Andrew Haraghey (Enfield, CT; National Ability Center; Westminster University; 12/16/1995)
• Tyler McKenzie (Leominster, MA; National Ability Center; Bates College; 8/20/1991)

2025-26 PARA ALPINE COACHES AND STAFF

Chief of Sport: Anouk Patty
Para Sport Director: Erik Leirfallom 
Head Coach: Ryan Pearl
Assistant Coach: Lyndsay Strange
Assistant Coach: Sawyer Mattsson
Athletic Development Coach: Brian Neff 
Lead Para Alpine Service Technician: Chris Newey 
Para Press Officer: Ryan Odeja

FOLLOW THE STIFEL U.S. PARA ALPINE SKI TEAM

Instagram: @usparaskisnowboard 
Facebook: @usskiandsnowboard
TikTok: @usskiandsnowboard
Twitter/X: @usskiteam
YouTube: @usskisnowboardteam 
Threads: @usskiteam 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION 
Ryan Odeja - Stifel U.S. Para Alpine Team Press Officer
[email protected]