{"id":2454293,"date":"2020-02-08T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-08T07:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=320533"},"modified":"2020-02-08T00:01:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T07:01:00","slug":"aspen-teen-jake-morgan-headed-to-slovenia-for-pokal-loka-first-ski-races-overseas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspen-teen-jake-morgan-headed-to-slovenia-for-pokal-loka-first-ski-races-overseas\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen teen Jake Morgan headed to Slovenia for Pokal Loka, first ski races overseas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.8856065367693\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-320533-597\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-1024x712.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Aspen High School alpine team skier Jake Morgan, center, watches skiers compete during the first run of the Aspen High School giant slalom at Aspen Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School alpine team skier Jake Morgan, center, watches skiers compete during the first run of the Aspen High School giant slalom at Aspen Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-1024x712.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen High School alpine team skier Jake Morgan, center, watches skiers compete during the first run of the Aspen High School giant slalom at Aspen Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-1-1024x768.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-1-1024x768.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-2-1024x741.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Aspen High School alpine team skier Jake Morgan skis to the bottom of the giant slalom course after finishing his first run Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020 at Aspen Highlands. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School alpine team skier Jake Morgan skis to the bottom of the giant slalom course after finishing his first run Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020 at Aspen Highlands. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-2-1024x741.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen High School alpine team skier Jake Morgan skis to the bottom of the giant slalom course after finishing his first run Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020 at Aspen Highlands. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-3-1024x768.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan, here with this coaches, will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan, here with this coaches, will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-3-1024x768.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan, here with this coaches, will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-4-1024x693.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Evelyn Leibinger, left, hugs teammate Jake Morgan after he fell during his first run of the Aspen High School giant slalom at Aspen Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13\">\n<p><strong>Evelyn Leibinger, left, hugs teammate Jake Morgan after he fell during his first run of the Aspen High School giant slalom at Aspen Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-4-1024x693.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Evelyn Leibinger, left, hugs teammate Jake Morgan after he fell during his first run of the Aspen High School giant slalom at Aspen Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-5-1024x646.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Jake Morgan of Aspen High School\u2019s alpine team competes in the first run of the giant slalom at Aspen Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Jake Morgan of Aspen High School\u2019s alpine team competes in the first run of the giant slalom at Aspen Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-5-1024x646.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Jake Morgan of Aspen High School\u2019s alpine team competes in the first run of the giant slalom at Aspen Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-6-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-6-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy of AVSC | Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo courtesy of AVSC)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo courtesy of AVSC)<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy of AVSC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-6-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo courtesy of AVSC)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-7-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-7-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy of AVSC | Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo courtesy of AVSC)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo courtesy of AVSC)<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy of AVSC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/jakeski-atd-020820-1-7-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, 2020. (Photo courtesy of AVSC)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-teen-jake-morgan-headed-to-slovenia-for-first-ski-races-overseas\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-teen-jake-morgan-headed-to-slovenia-for-first-ski-races-overseas\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Outside of the Olympics and the World Cup, there aren\u2019t many opportunities for young ski racers to compete internationally for their country. So for Aspen\u2019s Jake Morgan, his upcoming trip to Europe will be something all too special.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cFor him to go represent and be an American in Europe and see what that\u2019s like, I think that\u2019s going to be huge for his confidence and just to see what\u2019s out there,\u201d Morgan\u2019s coach, Casey Puckett, a five-time Olympian and former World Cup skier, said last month. \u201cHe\u2019s going into the big, wide world. And he\u2019ll be able to come back and share that with the rest of the athletes here in Aspen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Morgan, a 15-year-old who competes in ski racing through both Aspen High School and the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, qualified to take part in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pokal-loka.si\/index.php\/home.html\">45th annual Pokal Loka international children\u2019s competition<\/a>, held Feb. 14 to 16 in Skofja Loka, Slovenia. <a href=\"https:\/\/usskiandsnowboard.org\/news\/us-junior-athletes-find-success-pokal-loka-opa-cup\">It\u2019s one of the more prestigious ski races for U16 athletes<\/a>, alongside the Opa Cup (formerly the Seven Nations Cup) and Italy\u2019s Trofeo Topolino.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The young Aspen skier qualified for Pokal Loka through a regional race hosted by Winter Park earlier this season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe are pretty excited to see one of our boys go represent the U.S. in a kids race over there,\u201d Puckett said. \u201cHe\u2019s skiing really well, so we\u2019re excited.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Morgan feels the same way. He\u2019s been to Europe a handful of times \u2014 his mother is Swedish \u2014 and has been freeskiing in famed locales such as Chamonix, France, but the races in Slovenia will be his first time actually competing overseas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019m definitely more excited. At the time I\u2019m more excited. Maybe I\u2019ll be more nervous later,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cI\u2019m super honored to be part of it. I hope I can keep it going and ski really well there and keep skiing well for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Morgan flies out Monday and will compete in all three events in Slovenia. On top of the traditional giant slalom (Feb. 15) and slalom (Feb. 16), there will be a parallel team event Friday where he\u2019ll compete alongside his fellow Americans. Parallel slalom is a growing force in the skiing world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAt the world champs and at the Olympics they\u2019ve been starting to do more team events, so that\u2019s moving into children\u2019s racing as well so they can move up and do that on the World Cup,\u201d Puckett said. \u201cThis is the 14-15-year-old version of qualifying for a world championship event or a World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Pokal Loka is a one-off event, meaning the skiers aren\u2019t looking to qualify for anything else by winning. But, as Puckett put it, the event is a chance for some of the better young skiers in the country to get a taste of that international stage that can hopefully push them toward greater feats in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cJake has always been a strong talent. You knew when he was 8 years old he was going to be a really good skier. He\u2019s got a lot of enthusiasm for the sport, and if you watch him ski you know right away he\u2019s talented,\u201d Puckett said. \u201cIt takes a lot for an athlete to keep going through the system and succeed. Jake has been doing that and he\u2019s continuing to show promise. We are hoping the best for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-teen-jake-morgan-headed-to-slovenia-for-first-ski-races-overseas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspen High School alpine team skier Jake Morgan, center, watches skiers compete during the first run of the Aspen High School giant slalom at Aspen Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times Aspen U16 skier Jake Morgan will compete in the Pokal Loka races in Slovenia from Feb. 14-16, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2454293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 16:47:45","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2454293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2454293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2454293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2454293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}