This week's subject is ski racer Lauren Lewis, otherwise known as the Bode Miller of the Great Divide Ski Team.

Lewis and teammate Colten McCullough recently paticipatted in the Western Regional Championships at Schweitzer Resort in Sandpoint, Idaho. Competing against 90 other skiers in the J2 Super G, giant slalom and slalom, her best finish was 35th place in the slalom.

A junior at Helena High, the 5-foot-10 Lewis first learned how to ski when she was just four years old, on Mount Bachelor in Oregon. She moved to Helena in 2000, and the next year, at the age of eight, she joined the GDST.

Earlier this season, she placed fifth in the slalom at the Rocky Mountain College Inivitational, and then at the Jeremiah Thompson Slalom Qualifier at Showdown, she finished second and third.

In her three Super G races at the Lone Peak Super Speed Series at Big Sky, she came in fifth, sixth and seventh.

Like all skiers, Lewis has had her share of mishaps. Her mother, Sheri Lewis, recalled a couple such incidents.

"Last year at the end of the season at Big Sky, Lauren forgot to put her face guard on her helmet," Sheri Lewis related. "She hit a gate and got slapped in the face and was in a lot of pain, but finished third and ended up with a very swollen lip. She walked around for a couple days looking like she had gotten punched in the mouth in a fight."

"Another incident happened at Whitefish in the giant slalom. Lauren caught her ski on a gate and went flying through the air through a gate head first, but ended up finishing the race. We called her Bode Miller for that one."

According to her coach and step-father, Steve Erickson, this season has been Lewis' best year on the slopes.

"Lauren's strength is the slalom, which is the most technical of all the disciplines," said Erickson, whose dad, Hal Erickson, was a longtime ski instructor and director for the Belmont (now Great Divide) Ski Club in the 1950s and '60s. "She is a strong skier and loves to ski all the time. I really enjoy watching her develop and succeed."

Q:Who has had the most influence on your skiing?

A:Steve Erickson. He showed me the basics of racing, and has taught me how to compete in the races.

Q:What are some of the worst crashes you've taken on the slopes?

A:One last year at Big Sky in the Super G, when I went tumbling head over heels. And another one just this Saturday at a training run at Great Divide. I landed on my face and was still pretty dizzy for a couple hours afterwards.

Q: What are some of your hobbies?

A: I enjoy wakeboarding in the summers, both here and in Oregon. We have a boat and spend a lot of time at Canyon Ferry Lake.

Q: What do you like the most about competitive skiing?

A: I just love being part of the team, and having fun with the friends I've made at Great Divide.

Q: What are your future goals in the sport?

A: To become a better skier, and to be able to go to any ski resort and know I can ski all the runs. Just to be better (on the slopes) the rest of my life.