Cal Poly Mustangs Victorious in Division 2 of the Connelly Skis 2018 NCWSA Nationals

The tournament kicked off Thursday, and it was a chilly and overcast start to Nationals. People were all beginning to think – “Is this what Texas weather is really like?” Most of the skiers couldn’t complain, as 3/4 of the D2  teams were from the Midwest. Anything is better than snow in October right? (It actually snowed in Wisconsin and Iowa during Nationals week!!)

The Division 2 tournament kicked off with women’s jump. Nothing like starting with #jumpday! Paula Jaramillo, a freshman from UCLA, won women’s jump with an 83 foot boot. Paula was followed by Kayla Jo Miller from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) with 75′, and Gabrielle Taschwer of UW Madison with 74′. Men’s jump prepared to hit the ramp next. Nathan Kelm from Texas State University soared his way to first with 149 feet, beating out Jose Luis Tejada (Purdue University) who claimed second with 142 feet, and Ryan Schipper (Iowa State University) with a leap of 121 feet.

Friday was a late start for Division 2 skiers as trick was the only event to take place that day. Ladies first! Paula Jaramillo (University of California, Los Angeles) continued her first place streak on Day 2 by winning D2 women’s tricks with a score of 2390. There was a tie for second between Jean Klochko Bull (Michigan State University) and Abbegayle Young (University of California, Los Angeles) with 660 points. The men were next to hit the water and get tricky. We had some flippers and hard falls to delight the crowd. Jose Luis Tejada from Purdue University took first with 2390 points, followed by Jarad Meyer (University of Wisconsin – Madison) with 1850, and Benjamin Miller (Cal Poly) with 1400.

Amber Aho of Iowa State rocking the kneeboard in tricks! PC: Noah Lazzara

Jared Meyer, Wisconsin – Madison, flipped his way to 2nd in D2 tricks. PC: Noah Lazzara

“As a senior on the team, it was super special to be able to make it to nationals with UW Madison! Throughout the season everyone worked super hard to perform their best to make nationals happen! Having so many members come to San Marcos was a blast and definitely one of my favorite collegiate 3-event memories!” – Gabrielle Taschwer, University of Wisconsin – Madison

The tournament finished up on Saturday with slalom. You know what they say, “Saturday is for the buoys!” It was a very windy day at the San Marcos River Ranch, and it did not make for the best slalom conditions. We saw some of the best skiers go down early, notably UCLA’s freshman phenom ended her attempt at a 3-event first place sweep when she missed her opener. Auburn’s very own Lindsey Elrod took first with 6 buoys at 22′ off, followed by Soraya Saghbini (University of California, Los Angeles), and a third place tie between Camille Clark (Purdue University) and Sarah Stevenson (Texas State University). The conditions did not let up for the men either. Nathan Kelm from Texas State took first with 1 buoy at 35′ off, followed by a tie for second between Jared Lutz (Miami University) and Jose Luis Tejada (Purdue University) with 5 buoys at 32′ off.

With the three events finished, Jean Klochko Bull pulled out the D2 women’s overall title with Cal Poly’s Kyla Jo Miller close behind her in second, and Texas State’s Cori Picazo and Sarah Stevenson tying for third! In D2 men’s overall Purdue University’s Jose Luis Tejada capped off his tournament with the D2 overall title after tying for second in slalom, placing first in tricks, and jumping his way to second in the jump event. Texas State’s Nathan Kelm captured second place in men’s overall, and Cal Poly’s Ty Vaio took third.

Cal Poly took the tournament by storm and showed D2 that small teams can still dominate! University of Wisconsin – Madison took second, followed by Iowa State University in third. It was so fun to watch D2 compete, and have the most fun out on the water! Congratulations to all of the qualifying teams, and a big thank you to the homeowners and everyone who contributed to making the tournament run so smoothly!

The complete Connelly Skis 2018 NCWSA Nationals Division 2 scorebook is available on USA Water Ski & Wake Sports’ website.