Connor Poggetto won slalom, jump and overall titles.
Ten Athletes Win Titles At USA Adaptive Water Ski National Championships
by Scott N. Atkinson
Ten athletes won national titles at the 27th USA Adaptive Water Ski National Championships & Team Trials, presented by Visit Central Florida, Sept. 19-21, at Championship Lake in Auburndale, Fla. The USA Adaptive Nationals featured the United States’ top adaptive water ski athletes competing for national titles in slalom, tricks, jump and overall.
There were three categories – Seated, Standing and Vision Impaired. Event winners were based on a two-round total of overall points compared to respective world records as of Jan. 1, 2024. Overall winners were based on the overall points from the best of either round as compared to respective world as of Jan. 1, 2024.
Athletes earning national titles in the Seated Men’s division were Connor Poggetto (Carmichael, Calif.), slalom, jump and overall, and Elijah Hager (Alexis, N.C.), tricks. In Standing Men’s, Craig Timm (Center City, Minn.) won slalom, jump and overall, and Cam Delligatti (Chattanooga, Tenn.) won tricks. Timm also set pending A1 world jump records of 109 feet (round one) and 112 feet (round 2). Mike Royal (Magnolia, Texas) won Vision Impaired Men slalom and tricks.
In Seated Women, Raquel Benson (Land O’ Lakes, Fla.) won slalom. Sarah Switzer (Madison, Ala.) won jump and overall, while Abigayle Dunn (Susanville, Calif.) won tricks and set a pending MP3 world record of 1,340 points (both rounds). In Standing Women, Elisha Nelson (Woodland, Calif.) swept titles in slalom, tricks, jump and overall, including tying her own world/national slalom record (4.00/52) in round 2. Katie Mawby (Grand Haven, Mich.) won titles in Vision Impaired Women slalom and tricks, including setting a V2/3 national tricks record of 1,330 points in round 2.