VOSS, Norway (Feb. 20) - The U.S. Ski Team's Michael Morse (Duxbury, MA) made the first World Cup podium of his career Friday, finishing third in a World Cup moguls competition. Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) was sixth but retained her World Cup lead.

In the last four World Cups, Morse has been seventh. He said making the jump up to a podium spot headed into World Championships is just what he had been aiming to do.

"It feels great, it feels really good. The year has been pretty good so far, I've been pretty close. It finally happened today," Morse said. " I stuck to my original plan, I finally had the speed I was looking for. I just tried to go for it."

"He's been picking it up every week, pushing the speed and it's been a long time coming. I'm really happy for him," said U.S. Moguls Head Coach Scott Rawles.

Morse qualified sixth and moved up three spots after throwing a D spin (back flip with crossed skis) and skiing a fast run.

"We've really been working on pushing speed and finding that edge. I think he's starting to take that next step. His run wasn't perfect but he pushed it out there," Rawles said.

For Kearney the result was only the second time all season she's finished off the podium. Kearney qualified ninth and had a few big mistakes on top. In the final she went for a mute grab, but missed to finish sixth.

"She's trying to increase her degree of difficulty in her runs. Last week she got the grab, but this week she didn't. She was going for the win, though," Rawles said.

The U.S. Freestyle Team will stay in Voss for one more night before taking a break to prepare for the upcoming World Championships in Japan.

"The way our season has been we had a long break, then it's been go-go-go. It will be good for everyone to take a rest to get ready for our big event," Rawles said. 

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 FREESTYLE FIS WORLD CUP
Voss, Norway - Feb. 20, 2009
Moguls

Men
1. Alexandre Bilodeau, Canada, 26.63
2. Taipo Luusua, Finland, 25.99
3. Michael Morse, Duxbury, MA, 25.86
4. Guilbaut Colas, France , 25.53
5. Jesper Bjoernlund, Sweden, 25.37
- (did not qualify for finals)
14. Sho Kashima, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 24.05
17. Patrick Deenan, Cle Elum, WA, 23.84
20. David Babic, Washington, VT, 23.30
-
DNS: Jeremy Bloom

Women
1. Aiko Uemura, Japan, 27.12
2. Nikola Sudova, Czech Republic, 25.37 
3. Miki Ito, Japan, 24.78 
4. Ekaterina Stolyarova, Russia, 24.36     
5. Jennifer Heil, Canada, 24.31  
-
6. Hannah Kearney, Norwich, VT, 24.18
7. Shelly Robertson, Reno, NV, 24.17
10. Shannon Bahrke, Tahoe City, CA, 22.61
- (did not qualify for finals)
14. Eliza Outrim, Steamboat Springs, CO, 23.43
17. Emiko Torito, Denver, 22.69
21. Michelle Roark, Denver, CO, 21.55
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