Division 1 Nationals Recap
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Rock Aqua Jays Win Division 1 Nationals
The 50th Show Ski National Tournament was truly in great hands with our hosts the Rock Aqua Jays. From food trucks to vendors, a boat parade to a history museum, the tournament was one for the books and an event to remember. In addition to hosting a top notch tournament, RAJ brought the farm to the stage and retained their 24th Division 1 National Title with an incredible 2064.08 points. Along with their 1st place win, they also brought home highest scoring Dock and Equipment, Pick Up Boat Crews, Tow Boat Driving, Production, Strap Doubles, Pyramid, and Showmanship awards. Their tireless efforts and strong leadership sustained the team through a busy weekend and pulled out a performance on and off the water few others could have pulled off.
Mad City made the dude ranch fun again and took home 2nd place with 1911.44, along with Highest Scoring Jump, Highest Scoring Ballet which was also the highest scoring act of the tournament, and highest scoring Sound and Announcing. With the rain season in full swing, Wonder Lake finished with 1860.6 and the Highest Scoring Swivel and Barefoot awards. Rounding out the top 5 were the Aquanuts with 1738.58 points and Badgerland with 1640.06 points. Highest Scoring Comedy went to the Midwest Ski Otters for their men’s synchronized swimming act.
A very special congratulations to Dan Laughlin from the Ski Otters for being awarded the Skip Gilkerson Male MVP Award and to Gabbie Taschwer from Mad City for being awarded the Willa Cook Female MVP Award. Both skiers showed their skills on the water and their showmanship on stage and demonstrated teamwork and excellence to be awarded the MVP. Congratulations to both!
Individual swivel competitors showed true excellence in their craft with a no-fall performance out of all 15 skiers. With only a 0.18 point difference between 1st and 3rd place, Brea Lebda (Wonder Lake) took 3rd with 18.16 points, Caroline Grubs (Midwest Ski Otters) took 2nd with 18.32 points, and Paige Peshina (Chippewa Lake) took 1st with 18.34 points. Brea and Paige teamed up for Swivel Pairs and took 1st with 17.86 points, followed closely behind by sisters Lexie and Brooke Gunderson (Aquanuts) with 16.10 points and Lily Roman and Ava Schlichting (Ski Broncs) with 15.54 points.
Strap Doubles had a great competition with Father/Daughter duo Will and Makayla Bazeley (Aquanuts) taking home 3rd place with 14.98 points. Dalton Meyers and Lily Roman (Ski Broncs) followed up their 4th place Worlds performance by finishing 2nd with 15.14 points, and Cory Krivitz and Kim Stoner (Badgerland) snagged their 12th National Title with a 1st place finish at 16.92 points.
Catfish Bay took home 1st place for Team Jump and a total of 89.60 points, followed closely by Ski Otters with 81.40 and Carolina Show Ski Team who competed with only 2 jumpers for a total of 81 points. Men’s Freestyle Jump had some of the youngest competitors along with some of the most difficult tricks we’ve seen in a while. Eli Carson (Rock Aqua Jays) took home 3rd with 739 points with a front half and back half, Cale Ducane (Crivitz Ski Cats) completed a mobius and back half for 1031.00 points. Bryson Mace (Rock Aqua Jays) finished in 1st with a front half and a back half with a total of 1072.50 points. Finishing off individuals, the women continued to show their growth in the sport. Presley Cupp (Mad City) took home 3rd place with a helicopter and a 2 ski front flip. 2nd place was awarded to Baily Hyatt who completed a Front Flip and a helicopter as well for 228 points, and the current world champion jumper Sarah Fiedorowicz (Shermalot) completed a gainer and a front flip to finish with a total 528 points.