Former Red Raider swimming for Ursinus – while triple majoring – to compete in Miss NJ Teen USA
OCEAN CITY – Katie Barlow, a student athlete who is triple majoring in political science, international relations and applied economics at Ursinus College – with a minor in Arabic – hopes to be a different type of role model for girls as she competes in the Miss New Jersey Teen USA pageant April 1-3.
Barlow, of Ocean City and a 2021 graduate of Ocean City High School, is Teen Miss Cape Atlantic.
As a title-holder who hopes to represent the entire state, she wants to show young girls “you don’t need to have a crown to be a princess or a good leader…. You can be an athlete, valedictorian, student council president …. You can be a leader in your community in so many ways.”
The daughter of John and Patricia Barlow of Ocean City has set her own standards exceptionally high.
“I’m attempting to be the school’s first female triple major,” she said. “I have grown up being interested in politics in the world around me and how it works,” she said. “And in these times of changing institutions and ever-present uncertainty I just want to be able to make a difference, using these three majors to get out there and understand the world from an economic, social and political scope.”
With a 4.0 in her first semester she made the honor roll and Dean’s List. She also made the All Centennial First Team Conference, meaning she was the best in the conference in one of her events, the 200 freestyle relay. She also was in the top medaling round in the mile and 500 and the 200 and 400 individual medley.
Before heading to Ursinus, Barlow was a Red Raider swimmer.
“I believe that swimming for Ocean City High School was truly the best moments of my high school experience all four years – the girls, the coaching and how the community supported us,” she said. Transitioning to college swimming has meant an adjustment.
“In high school swimming it’s all different levels,” Barlow explained. “You don’t know if the person next to you is just doing it for fun or they’re getting (a scholarship) to compete next year at a huge university. At college, everybody is within a fraction of a second of your time, especially in my conference. It’s one of the most competitive conferences across the three divisions in the country. It’s very competitive and you have no wiggle room for error there.”
Katie Barlow, right, with fellow Red Raider swimmers Olivia Scherbin, Alex Antonov and Claudia Scherbin after medaling in a relay at the 2020 Cape-Atlantic Swimming Championships.
In spite of her heavy course load with more of her time taken up by swimming, Barlow somehow found a way to pencil in the Miss New Jersey Teen USA competition.
Someone suggested she give it a try. Her response? “No way. I didn’t think I had any more free time to give and I didn’t think they would want a student-athlete, a nerd who had a penchant for non-contact sports to be on their stage.”
But, she decided, “the more I thought about it the more I thought I had a lot to give. I could be a great role model for younger girls and I have a lot of love for where I’m from. I love New Jersey and I believe I could be a great state ambassador.”
Winning the local title “was pretty cool,” she said.
This transpired quickly. She applied to the pageant and did her interview in December and learned in early January that she earned her Cape Atlantic title. Earning the local title is based on the interview and an application, unlike other pageants that have an in-person competition on stage.
“You go through a very extensive interview with the state director and state coordinators and if you become a state finalist your title is assigned based on the region you come from,” she said. “This is my first pageant so I’m batting 1.000,” she said, laughing. “That’s pretty great.”
If she wins the Miss New Jersey Teen USA title, the first thing she would do is “a little happy dance. … My second order of business would be to … represent the Cape Atlantic region very well” and then go to other parts of New Jersey to educate them on the importance of small businesses. That is near and dear to her heart, she said, because her family owns a small business.
She also would work on elevating her own platform, which is making swim lessons more accessible, because it is an important life lesson and something that will develop confidence that will last a lifetime.
“If I can replicate what happened to me for another child, I will have succeeded because swimming has given me confidence, it’s given me discipline, it’s given me something to work for, it’s taught me determination and time management and given me a family of teammates – a family within my community I’m beyond blessed to have.”
Her other platform is mental health awareness and education, which coincides with one of the pageant’s state platforms. The other state platform is Ukrainian relief and support funds.
Unlike Miss America, Miss New Jersey Teen USA does not have a talent competition and places more emphasis on interview. In the preliminary competition, there is the interview, evening gown and active wear (instead of swimsuit). If the contestants make it to the semifinals, they compete in those three categories again and answer an on-stage question.
Vote for People’s Choice
Those who want to show their support for Barlow in the People’s Choice competition at the pageant can via donations ($1 per vote), with the money raised going to the pageant’s two platforms. Go online to missnewjerseyusa.com and scroll down for the teen competition. Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, April 2. The People’s Choice winner is guaranteed a spot in the semifinals.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
