Bowling has always been important to the Kitchens family.
Chris Kitchens grew up bowling, and worked at the bowling alley from age 16 at Silva Lanes in Santa Fe (Meow Wolf now stands where the alley was). When he started dating Elena, 21 years ago, she started bowling, and she continued bowling while pregnant with their first child.
And their two children, Xavier and Emma, bowled since they were young, and competed through high school and beyond.
Emma, a senior at Pojoaque Valley High School, will get to keep bowling in high-level competitions. Kitchens signed on Dec. 8 to continue her bowling career at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo. to bowl with the Eagles.
“My dad and my brother, it was always a little competition between the two of them,” she said. “I was like, I want in on it. It was always me trying to beat my brother or me trying to beat my dad.”
Kitchens was the 4A female bowler of the year in the New Mexico High School Bowling Association for 2022-23, and had the high game of a 224 and the high series of 550. She bowled a personal lifetime best at state, and help the Elks secure second place as a team.
“She has bowled so many tournaments,” Elena Kitchens said.
Other accomplishments include third place at a regional tournament, and a United States Bowling Congress regional female bowler of the year award. She also bowled in a tournament in Las Vegas, Nev. where she met top professional bowlers.
“She set her mind to this last year, that she wanted to go bowl in college, and she’s done it,” Elena said. “We’re very proud of her.”
In the Kitchens family, bowling is both cooperative and competitive. Emma and Xaiver, a 2021 Pojoaque graduate who now attends Santa Fe Community College, work together to improve each others’ skills, though they did not get to compete together in high school. But also, at a tournament, the competition level heats up.
“It’s so much fun,” Xavier said. “It’s just a sibling rivalry … I couldn’t be more proud of her. It’s an honor to be a part of it.”
Emma Kitchens and her parents took a two-day drive to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a three-day college showcase. College hopefuls bowled in a tournament and met coaches from about 15 colleges.
She said as soon as she walked up to the Central Methodist table, coach Kevin Duncan said, “I’ve seen you before.” He had watched her recruitment video.
“We’ve hit it off ever since,” she said.
Duncan, who drove all the way with an overnight stop to be at the signing event, said he “quickly realized” that he wanted to sign Kitchens.
“I could just tell that she was a good person, that she was from a good family,” Duncan said. “I watched her bowl, and she’s definitely got a lot of talent. And she’s a hard worker. All those things fit our program.”
Emma said she enjoyed participating in a practice with the team, where they focus on fundamentals.
Kitchens will be the first athlete in the 15-year history of the Pojoaque program to bowl in college.
“Today is a great day,” said Pojoaque bowling coach Louie Maestas. “With a young lady like that, who wants to continue, possibly even be a professional, it’s going to be entirely up to her. It is great to have someone from the bowling team to be acknowledged.”
Maestas said that Kitchens was also very helpful in teaching and assistant younger and newer bowlers on the team.
Mark Mutz started the ceremony with an introduction, and said that he knows that Emma will focus on her studies.
Kitchens plans to study marine biology, a passion of hers. She loves traveling to tropical areas (her favorites were Costa Rica and Hawaii). She plans to study sharks. Kitchens sat in on a marine biology class when she visited the campus, and loved it.
“I’ve always wanted to study wildlife and the ocean,” she said. “(Sharks) fascinate me.”
When asked for a fascinating shark fact, she said they interact with their environment in special ways.
“Some sharks can’t stop swimming or they’ll die,” she said.