Introducing the 2026 NCWSA Academic All-Stars — a standout group of student-athletes balancing the demands of competition and the classroom! We’re beyond proud of all our hardworking, dedicated skiers.
Madeline Bentzel
School: Cal Ploy SLO
Major: Psychology
Minor: Economics
Notable Accomplishments: Joined the Cal Poly waterski team freshmen year and was an officer for most of her time on the team, serving as Women’s captain and social media & apparel officer.
Future Plans: Starting Pacifica Graduate Institute this fall to get a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology to become a licensed marriage and family therapist.
Dustin Roberts
School: Texas A&M University
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Minor: Mathematics
Notable Accomplishments: Dustin always reinforced the notion that school is as important as skiing. More importantly, there is always time for both if you put in the effort. Dustin maintained very good grades in a rigorous degree path at a top 10 public engineering program. In the process, he spent almost every day at the lake skiing, driving, coaching, and spending quality time with his fellow teammates. In his last semester, he also broke the Texas A&M trick record with a score of 3050.
Annie Chambers
School: Cal Poly SLO
Area of Study: Physics
Notable Accomplishments: Annie has been an avid member of the west coast since her freshman year. She is a driven and hardworking member of the Cal Poly Water Ski Team that is very involved. She served as secretary then president of the team, all while doing research at Cal Poly.
Alexandre Carpet
School: Auburn University
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Future Plans: Currently a whitewater rafting guide in Columbus, GA, but at the end of the season I will transition to being a full time engineer.
Favorite Memories: 2025 nattys or ‘26 all stars. The big national tournaments are huge fun bc you meet so many people from outside your region and get to make so many more friends!
Notable Accomplishments: Served for three years on the Auburn exec team, Treasurer for the 2025 season and as Director of Club Sports Relations for the ‘23 and ‘24 seasons. Graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Adam Long
School: Texas State University
Major: Computer Science
Minor: Data Analytics
Favorite Memory: Driving back from Nationals with some teammates & stopped in Tombstone, AZ for dinner. After reviewing the menu they decided that buying unlimited Shirley Temples was a good idea. Adam downed 8 full size Shirley Temples!
Notable Accomplishments: Served as Captain on the team for 2 years. Member for 4. Served as Senator of College of Sci & Eng for 2 years. Served as presidential ambassador in Gold Star Society. Selected for LBJ Senior of the Year: https://alumni.txst.edu/current-students/lbj-award.html
Maren Miller
School: Texas State University
Area of Study: Biology
Future Plans: Attend George Washington University for grad school to study health policy!
Notable Accomplishments: Served as Texas State team secretary during Spring and Fall of 2025.
Mia Bonetto Rosso
School: Texas State University
Major: B.A.I.S in International Relations
Minor: Social Work
Future Plans: Working for a nonprofit in Austin and plans on going to some AWSA tournaments this year.
Notable Accomplishments: Secretary of the team then the VP. She was in charge of recruitment and helped double the size of the team. Graduated Summa Cum Laude and won Academic Excellence Award two years in a row.
“What I want to highlight the most is how fun my team experience was and how I helped build a family in Texas State University. I improved team spirit and created strong alumni relationships. I was the Marketing Committee for the SCR and heavily improved our team’s relationship with other teams. We also made it to nationals and had a BLAST.”
Kate Peterson
School: Texas State University
Major: Marketing
Fun Fact: Has done two internships during college including one in Spain.
Notable Accomplishments: Was team treasurer during which significantly lowered dues, organized multiple fundraisers per semester, and acquired 13 sponsors not including several donations that didn’t agree to a full sponsorship.
Leah Lindemeyer
School: Ohio State University
Area of Study: Communication with focus in interpersonal and health communication
Notable Accomplishments: As an undergraduate at Michigan State University, I graduated with honors and a 4.0 GPA while serving as Public Relations Chair for the Michigan State Water Ski Team. I then went on to earn a Master’s in Communication from Ohio State University, where I received the Outstanding Master’s Student Award, contributed as an author on a publication and multiple conference submissions, and serve as the NCWSA Marketing Chair.
Natalie Thorson
School: Michigan State University
Major: Neuroscience
Notable Accomplishments: Avid participant in the Waterski community throughout her time on MSU’s team. Held the PR chair position on MSU’s team last year while upholding a high GPA in a difficult major and participating in other clubs. Also, went to NCWSA Nationals the last two years!
Sean Denker
School: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Notable Accomplishments: Sean graduated with honors from one of the top mechanical engineering programs in the nation, adding a business minor along the way. He balanced skiing with a rigorous course load, internships, and other extracurricular activities.
Future Plans: Following graduation, Sean hopes to continue his involvement with the waterski community and eventually his education through an MBA program alongside work.
Diana Robinson
School: University of Utah
Area of Study: Doctor of Physical Therapy
Notable Accomplishments: Has been a member of two collegiate water ski clubs: one during undergraduate years at California Polytechnic State University and another while pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Utah. When first coming to the University of Utah, there was not yet a water ski team. Once a team was started Diana decided she had to be involved and contribute.
“Being part of these teams has had a major impact on my experience at both universities. Water skiing gave me a sense of community, teamwork, and family that made my time in school far more meaningful. I genuinely want to see every member of the team succeed, which is why I spend time in the boat helping coach both new and experienced skiers. I also strive to create an environment where everyone on the team, and the friends I have met along the way, can enjoy their experience, feel supported, and build lasting memories together.”
Blaze Grubbs
School: Arizona State University
Major: Organizational Leadership
Future Plans: Blaze has been an incredible student athlete juggling a paid corporate pilot career and skiing internationally while pursuing his degree at ASU. He accumulated over 2000 flight hours and several type ratings for different aircraft. During college he skied for the USA in Italy, Mexico and all over the US and and the NCWSA in New Zealand. He won 3 Collegiate D1 titles at NCWSA Nationals, multiple USA titles and finished 9th in the world in Overall. College was a great experience for Blaze and he was thankful to ski for ASU and maintain a strong GPA!
Jessica Silverstein
School: Southern Methodist University
Major: Fashion Media
Notable Accomplishments: Served as president of the team!
Future Plans: Working in New York for Burlington starting in the fall as an assistant buyer.
Jack Strachan
School: Marquette University
Area of Study: Biomedical Sciences
Notable Accomplishments: Jack has excelled on and off the water the last four years. While Medaling on the regional and national level in all round, trick, and jump, he also began his first year of dental school in a highly selective program that allows students to start dental school at Marquette during their senior year of college. If Jack wasn’t on the water throwing flips on his trick ski or helping new members learn to jump, then he was in the library working hard.
Krissa Jackson
School: San Diego State University
Major: Public Health
Notable Accomplishments: Krissa is the kind of teammate who can always be found cheering her teammates on from the dock, safetying at tournaments, and staying an academic weapon by taking quizzes during practices in Mission Bay. She began collegiate waterskiing with no prior competitive experience, but through the coaching and support of her team learned both trick and jump, and went on to compete in jump at the 2025 NCWSA Syndicate National Championships, helping her team earn the Division II National Championship title. Krissa graduated summa cum laude and wore her SDSU Waterski stole with pride!
Lucy Kneeley
School: University of Wisconsin Madison
Area of Study: Materials Science & Engineering
Notable Accomplishments: Lucy won the Most Supportive Skier award this year at Midwest Winter Conference. This year, she worked very hard to obtain her master’s degree, balancing long nights at the library with pulling ski sets & competing at tournaments.
Lily Thatcher
School: University of Wisconsin Madison
Area of Study: Chemistry and Environmental Sciences
Future Plans: Going on to get a PhD at University of Minnesota where she will continue to conduct research. She’s on track to be an environmental chemist.
Notable Accomplishments: She climbed from slalom B team when she wasn’t running a course her freshman year, to leading our A team as 5th round by getting into 34 22 off. The only place other than skiing she’s developed more skill in over the last 4 years is her chemistry research, and school work.
Keith McPhail
School: University of Texas at Austin
Area of Study: Business – Management
Notable Accomplishments: Posted a 4.0 GPA at McCombs School of Business in Spring 2026 while competing in all four regional tournaments and representing the South Central Region at NCWSA All-Stars.
Elyse Whittaker
School: University of Wisconsin Madison
Area of Study: Conservation Biology
Notable Accomplishments: Served as our Wakeboard Captain for the last two years, increasing involvement with cable park wakeboarding.
Fun Facts: Elyse works in multiple labs on campus and competes on the powerlifting team.
Victor Moisan
School: Georgia Institute of Technology
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Notable Accomplishments: Served as president and has helped to expand the club roster four-fold in his time at university and inspired numerous members to learn to expand their skill set into other skiing and wake disciplines on a recreational and competitive level. When he became club president, the club had 5 people skiing regularly. The club now has over 20 who regularly come out to the lake and fielded a 9 person team (the largest in over a decade) at the first home tournament tech has hosted in over a decade. Victor consistently has spent 15 hr weeks out at the lake to help the team/club and yet has never missed a single assignment. He is a perfect example of school-ski balance and of passion for excellence in all of skiing’s disciplines.
Avery Crain
School: Florida Southern College
Area of Study: Exercise Science
Notable Accomplishments: Avery actively competing in multiple disciplines of waterskiing, including collegiate three-event and show skiing. Beyond her own athletic pursuits, Avery works tirelessly to grow the sport by sharing her passion through clinics, mentoring, and community involvement.
Future Plans: In addition to balancing academics and year-round training, Avery is employed and is currently pursuing her Pilates certification. Her dedication, work ethic, and commitment to excellence extend beyond athletics, as she plans to attend graduate school to pursue a career in Occupational Therapy.
- 2026 Academic All-Stars - July 27, 2026
- 194 Feet to Glory: Zack Worden’s Path to the NCWSA Hall of Fame - July 8, 2026
- Ed and Carol Walker: Carrying on the Legacy - July 8, 2026
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