Week two of the Midwest season just wrapped up, as athletes from nine teams competed in the Great Lakes Fling.
Skiers made the drive to Van Wert, Ohio Friday night to get practice sets, and camp with all the teams. Skiers woke up early on Saturday morning for the competition, as Slalom opened with men off the dock first at 7:00 am. Boats were pulling skiers non-stop until 7:30 pm that night. The tournament went by so quickly, that teams were able to finish the first three rounds of jumpers before Sunday morning, and all events were done before noon on Sunday morning.
Overall, teams were skiing well and seemed to buy into the “Team Midwest” spirit that teams like to preach during the late and postseasons. Nathan Stull, Ohio University’s President, explained how the whole community supported each other during the weekend.
“It seems that the team dynamics are changing between the teams at the tournaments. There seems to be so much more good sportsmanship going on during the tournaments with multiple teams cheering for one skier. I know that I had a skier that finished by the water slide and Miami rushed over to pick him up,”
Nathan Skull, OU
The University of Akron’s President, Jake French, continued to explain how his team felt about the tournament.
“The tournament was great and it was ran very smoothly and fast. I know that every Akron ski team member had a blast this past weekend and can’t wait for the next tournament!”
Jake French, UA
Team Results
While it is always nice to see teams support each other, the competition for first place is still fierce throughout the tournament. At the end of the tournament, Ohio State University finished in first place, Miami University took second, and the University of Cincinnati earned third place.
Men’s A-Team Individual Performances
Individually, the men’s skiers put up big scores. In the men’s slalom event, Curtis Kolb from the University of Cincinnati took first place with a score of 5@28off. Men’s trick and jump were headlined by Ohio State skiers. Matthew Kalbacher won trick with 970 trick points, and Luke Sclamberg hit an 89-foot jump.
Freshman Curtis Kolb from Cincinnati won the men’s slalom event. 
Matt Kalbacher from Ohio State stood his trick run to win the event 
Ohio State’s Luke Sclamberg jumped 89 feet.
The top three overall men’s skiers in the tournament were Ohio State’s Evan Monaghan who finished first overall, followed by Miami University’s Cam Kerns in second, and the University of Akron’s Jake French in third.
Miami’s Cam Kerns finished second overall in the tournament 
Evan Monaghan from Ohio State was the weekend’s top overall skeir 
Akron’s Jake French took third overall
Women’s A-Team Individual Performances
The women’s events had great scores as well. Miami University had two skiers take first in trick and slalom. Emilee Peterson won slalom with a score of 4@32 mph/15 off, and Annie Morris took trick with a 500 point run. The University of Cincinnati’s Mallin Blaxall won jump with a 57-foot jump.
Annie Morris from Miami took first in women’s trick 
Miami University’s Emilee Peterson won slalom 
Mallin Blaxall from the University of Cincinnati tied her jump PB with 57 feet
Blaxall also placed first for Women’s overall, followed by Miami University’s Maggie Peplow in second, and Ohio State’s Kathryn Miller in third place.
Kathryn Miller took third this past weekend 
Maggie Peplow placed second overall 
Mallin Blaxall’s performances won her first overall in the tournament
B-Team Superstars
B-team skiers also put up good scores. On the men’s side, Jayson Breier from the University of Dayton won slalom with a score of 5@28off, Luke Bernhardt from the University of Cincinnati won trick with 580 points, and Ohio State’s Sam Reifsteck took a 118-foot jump to win.
Breier and Bernhardt took first and second overall, followed by Ball State University’s Bradley Gieskeing in third.
For the women’s B-team skiers, the University of Dayton’s Megan Phillips took first in slalom with a score of 2.50@30mph/15 off, and the University Cincinnati’s Maya Blaxall won trick with 160 points.
Aubrey Etzler from Bowling Green State University took first overall for B-team women, followed by Phillips, and Amy Schultheiss from BGSU in third.
Stars & Stripes to Suits & Ties
Collegiate skiing in the Midwest is all about having fun, and that does not stop once boats are out of the water. Teams coordinate throughout the week to plan themes for each night. Many teams participated in the USA themed “Freedom Friday” where athletes compete to wear the most patriotic thing that they can find. Saturday night was a little more formal, teams took time to pull together a prom theme, complete with suits, dresses, and prom pictures before venturing off to go to dinner and bowling.
Photos were provided by the Ohio Waterski Association, Miami University, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Cincinnati.
Combined Team Results
The full scorebook can be found on USA Water Ski & Wake Sports website.
| Place | Name | Slalom | Trick | Jump | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State University | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6,375.0 |
| 2 | Miami University | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5,990.0 |
| 3 | University of Cincinnati | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4,805.0 |
| 4 | University of Akron | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3,240.0 |
| 5 | Ohio University | 6 | 4 | 7 | 2,795.0 |
| 6 | Bowling Green State University | 5 | 6 | 5 | 2,745.0 |
| 7 | University of Dayton | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1,955.0 |
| 8 | Urbana University | 8 | 8 | 8T | 55.0 |
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