For young skiers, reaching World Cup circuit is steep climb

(Photo: Andrew P. Scott-USA TODAY Sports)When Sam Morse and Alice Merryweather won world junior titles in Sweden last month, it was the first time since 2002 that two Americans landed on top of the podium in downhill.

Morse, 20, from Sugarloaf, Maine, and Merryweather, 20, of Hingham, Mass., swept the downhill titles at the world junior championships in Are, Sweden, on March 8.

While it’s an impressive result for the U.S. Ski Team, it’s a huge leap from becoming a world junior champion to winning on the World Cup circuit competing against the likes of Olympic and world champions Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin and Austria’s Marcel Hirscher. The latter two won the overall World Cup titles this…