Brighton 8th-Grader Set to Compete in Her Third Junior Olympics

For 14-year-old Scranton Middle School 8th-grader Morgan Myers, skiing is just something she does for fun. 

Morgan also does it well, qualifying for the third time for the Junior Olympic team in Alpine Ski Racing. She is one of ten Michigan girls in her age bracket that will be competing in Beaver Creek, Colorado this weekend. 

"I just feel so free when I go in the course," she said. "I just forget about everything."

Morgan will compete in two speed events, downhill and Super-G, and two technical events, GS or Giant Slolam and Slolam.

GS involves skiing between sets of poles, or gates, spaced at a greater distance to each other, while Slolam is skiing between poles paced closer together. 

This weekend will not be Morgan's first trip to Colorado, she regularly travels there with family. She has already been twice this past fall for ski camps. 

"I love Colorado," she said. "It's just so pretty. I love how you can go on a run and it takes a half hour to get to the bottom. The trees here, they're not real and out there, they are natural. It's at a higher elevation and it's just gorgeous."

Morgan has been on skis since she was 2-years-old and began racing at age 7. Weather permitting, she trains about two hours a day at Mt. Brighton, now known as Epic, after the recent purchase of the local ski hill by Vail Resorts.

Morgan's mother, Kelly Myers, said her family is really excited about Vail's purchase of Mt. Brighton. 

"They're opening up some opportunities for kids like Morgan, who are racers, to go train out west in either the fall or the spring when our snow is gone," Myers said. "They're really raising the race program, which we're thrilled about."