Yeehaw! Cow-poke and ski folk rounded up in Conroe, TX to turn some buoys at Stevenson Ski Ranch. The best of the regions showed out to the wooded lake for a weekend showdown. Tents popped up along the shores opposite the cow as skiers took practice sets, and practice jumps…off the officials tower into the cool lake.
On Saturday morning, athletes emerged from their tents to the sound of NCWSA chairwoman Christy Kingsmill on the mic singing the National Anthem. Then, an empty handle pass was taken in honor of Cajun skier Micky Geller and Kansas skier Levi Ward.
After the moment of silence for our lost friends, the event kicked off with slalom. The men took to the water first, setting the bar high for the tournament. Arron Davies returned to competition with a casual stab at 39 to take the podium. The ladies kept up the energy with a three-way run-off for first between SCR skiers Dodo Allard, Violeta Mociulsky, and Katie Nutt snagging 2@35. SCR took an early lead with the top three placements in both men’s & women’s slalom, and Violeta running for gold.
On shore, each region amped up the spirit with colored hairspray, posters, and body paint to maximize aero and hydro-dynamics into the trick event.
Wranglin’ the Masterline ropes, boats were rotated for the next event. Speeding along as skiers swiveled, the events sped through with one run passes amongst 4 beautiful boats. Luke Outram had a decisive victory with an incredible 4,520-point run. The top men all had stand-up passes with Robert Powell and Cade Stockstill chasing in second and third. Women’s skiers were tricky with close scores between Lily Meade’s winning run of 2,940 and Violeta Mociulsky’s silver.
As the skiers came off the water, the excitement wasn’t over. From the other side of the lake, on the back of the blue Ski Nautique, longtime ski partners and fellow Aggie alumni surprised us with a proposal! We’re happy to celebrate Austin Kolodejcak and Jade Hanson <3
Following a properhoedown throwdown, the teams headed into day 2. In preparation for the big event, skiers visited the HTX Watersports sponsored seats. Trying to jump over the moon, the Sunday skiers hit big red until the cows came home. In her last collegiate tournament, Dodo Allard took gold soaring 137ft. Just behind was Lily Meade with 132’ and West Coast’s Jana Grubbs at 95’ for bronze. SCR took the top 4 placements again for the men, with Sondre Stalheim at 140’, Zachary Butterfield at 148’, and Luke winning another event with a 154’ leap.
Collegiate skiers take pride in their 3-event capacity and there was good completion for the overall rankings. On the men’s podium, we had Midwest’s Sam Weber, SCR’s Zachary Butterfield, SAC skier Cade Stockstill, and the top two placements from SCR’s Arron Davies and Luke Outram, The ladies’ podium was filled by South Central skier & your Tournament Director Kristen Babish, followed by Midwest captain Cal O’Callaghan, and SCR in the top three with Violeta Mociulsky, Lily Meade, and Master’s graduate Dominique “Dodo” Allard for the win.
Taking the championship back for the first time since All-Star’s 2018 in Monroe, the South Central Region skied for Micky for the blue ribbon. Packing up their boots and hats and skis and ropes for the ride home, we look forward to seeing everyone on the water this summer at the AWSA tournaments and international competition.
Special thanks to the Stevenson family for hosting along with Texas A&M, our officials, sponsors, and volunteers.
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