Karthryn Bowen at Vail

Kathryn Bowen of Tucumcari qualified to go to the Junior Olympics for her fourth year in a row.

The qualifying races were in Winter Park, Colo., on Feb. 15 - 16, and in Aspen, Colo. on Jan. 17-19.

She  had four qualifying runs out of six. She only needed two qualifying runs.

Bowen  is the only girl from New Mexico to attend the Junior Olympics four years in a row.

She also races in the Smart Wool Series and raced on Feb. 21-22. She  placed a 9th   in  slalom and a 14th  in giant slalom.

In this series, she races against girls 13 years and older, and includes college-aged students.

At this time in her skiing career, she is working on lowering her points, which means she must ski against older girls. Kathryn  is one of the lowest point holders in her series from New Mexico,  Arizona and Southern Colorado.

Katheryn says she  likes the college coaches and how hard they push her to excel. Training with a college team is rare for young racers.

Katheryn is 14 years old and will fly to Oregon to train this summer, and she will also do extra training in Colorado  at Thanksgiving. She is also training extra with the Winter Park Ski team during the year.

Kathryn Bowen's parents are Sandy and Keith Bowen of Tucucmari and her grandparents are Charles and Barbara Bowen, Louise Bowen, and Lester and Alice  Arterburn.