As several Midwest teams gathered in Eastern Michigan, the weather started to blow in. While slaloming, tricking, and jumping in various weather circumstances, Purdue University managed to worked their way up and went home as 1st place winners. Not far behind Purdue was the University of Michigan and Grand Valley State University.
As the sun rose above the lake Saturday morning, Men’s A slalom was off the dock. There was a light breeze, but that didn’t stop Men’s A team. Taking the top spot was Eric O’keefe (PUR) with a score of 3 @ 36-35, placing 2nd was Jose Luis Tejada with a score of 2 @ 36-35, and rounding out Men’s A slalom was Andrew Dicks (UofM) with a pass of 4 @ 34-28. Soon after the men completed their passes, Women’s A slalom got ready to take off from the dock. 1st place was awarded to Anj Werning (WMU) with a score of 4 @ 34-15, 2nd place was taken by Sonja Popovich (IU) with a pass of 3.50 @ 34-15, and in 3rd place was Rachael Anderson (GVSU) with a run of 2 @ 32-22.
Slalom slowly came to an end and with a quick transition, skiers were getting tricky. Men’s A and Women’s A were taking turns tricking during the afternoon. Women started at one dock and the men started at another dock on the other side of the lake. Personal bests were achieved and new tricks were performed. Two Purdue men skiers took 1st and 2nd in this event and a Michigan State skier snuck in taking home 3rd. With a score of 1570, Jose Luis Tejada (PUR) stood up with 1st place, Eric O’keefe (PUR) came in behind with a score of 980, and walking home with 3rd place was Christopher McGinnis (MST) with a score of 900. Women tricked awesome as well. Michigan State University took 1st, and two Grand Valley State University skiers snatched up 2nd and 3rd place. Kayla Patnode (MST) had a score of 550 which gave her the top spot, Celia Lake (GVSU) took 2nd with a score of 460, and creeping into 3rd place was Taylor Dutcher (GVSU) with a score of 370. Saturday afternoon came to an end but that didn’t stop the tournament from ending for the day. B Team jump was able to end Saturday night with a bang because there were many sweet lands and many new jumpers.
Sunday morning started out quickly at 8:00 am with Women’s A Jump. Many of these women were able to stick a landing and ride away, and there were also women who went off Big Red and earned their team 80 points for going after it. However, there were three women who walked away with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes. 1st place was captured by Sonja Popovich (IND) with a 60 foot jump, 2nd place was taken home by Sonja Konzen (MCH), and 3rd place was scooped up by Anj Werning (WMU) with a jump of 54 feet. Men’s A Jump was off the dock following Women’s A, with some outstanding jumps by the men. The day started off sunny and a little cloudy but as the day went on a storm rolled in and the rain started. However, this did not stop skiers from hitting Big Red. Rounding out the top three spots for Men’s A Jump were two Purdue University men and one Michigan State man. Jose Luis Tejada (PUR) knocked it out of the lake with a jump of 125 feet and this gave him 1st place. 2nd place was earned by another Purdue skier, Eric O’Keefe (PUR) went flying into a jump of 119 feet, and Christopher McGinnis (MST) stomped a nice 85 foot jump to take 3rd place.
The afternoon cleared up as podium spots were announced to all the teams who competed.
Congratulations to our Men’s overall podium spots; 1st place was Jose Luis Tejada (PUR), 2nd place was Eric O’Keefe (PUR), and 3rd place was William Moyers (UND).
Congratulations to our Women’s overall podium spots; 1st place was Anj Werning (WMU), 2nd place was Sonja Konzen (MCH), and tied for 3rd place was Rachael Anderson (GVSU) and Kayla Patnode (MST).
Shout out to Michigan State University for hosting another great Spartan Ripfest, and a big thank you to all the boat drivers, judges, and individuals who helped create a successful second tournament of the season for many Midwest teams.
To dig deeper into the scores, check out the tournament Scorebook on USA Water Ski & Wake Sport’s website.
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