The 44th Annual Polar Bear Classic returned to Stevenson’s Ski Ranch, Conroe, TX, this weekend to kick off the season for the South Central Region. Texas A&M Water Ski hosted the event, with the latest Nautique, Mastercraft, and Malibu boats in attendance to pull the skiers from Texas A&M University, University of Louisiana Monroe, University of Arkansas, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Texas State University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Texas.
Brrrrrr
This year attendees were reminded why we call this tournament the Polar Bear Classic with cooler temperatures certainly providing more challenging conditions for our skiers!
The weekend kicked off with the trick event, dominated by Louisiana Lafayette, with Alice Bagnoli taking the top spot for the women with 3130, followed by Bailey Austin with 2720. Krista Butterfield of Texas A&M rounded off the top 3, tied with Marie-lou Moulanier of ULL with 2230 points. ULL’s Guillaume Tetreault took a decisive win in the men’s event with 5760, followed by Brody Newton 4710 and Conley Pinette 4550.
Women’s Slalom was next on the agenda, with ULL taking the top 3 spots again. Bailey Austin led the way with a score of 2.5@38’ off. Alice Bagnoli also made it into 38’ off with a score of one half a buoy. Marie-lou Moulanier, with 1@35’ off completed the top three in the women’s slalom event.
The men’s slalom podium was shared by ULL and ULM, with Aaron Davies taking the win with 6@38’ off (no continuation). Tom Poole (ULM) came a very close second place with 5.5@38’ off and Alex King (ULM) rounding off the podium for the guys with 3@38.
This concluded Saturday’s events on the water, as all the competitors and officials headed to (my favorite BBQ joint in Texas) for some great food and company before heading back to the lake for the evening.
After spending the night huddled around a rather large fire, people made their way back to their tents, with some people looking more lively than others in the morning after a night outside in the low 40’s.
Coffee and Donuts in hand for the spectators, bright and early Sunday morning, the jump event got underway and saw the first set of the year for a number of our SCR athletes, with mixed success.
Lafayette’s Alice Bagnoli lead the way in the women’s jump event with a 113 ft leap. Marie-lou Moulanier of ULL wasn’t far behind her teammate with 108ft and ULM’s Dominique Grondin-Allard concluding the top 3 with 90ft. The men’s jump event was again fronted by ULL, Carlo Basic got hold of a 160 ft leap to secure the win, followed by Patrik Oehman with 156’ and Conley Pinette, 10ft behind with a 146ft jump to conclude the event.
The Ragin Cajuns took the win this weekend, with 4545 points, and current National Champions from the University of Louisiana Monroe came second with 3810. Host’s Texas A&M finishing in the third spot with 2980 team points.
A big thank you must be given to Texas A&M for being such great hosts. And a huge thank you to the Stevenson family at Stevenson’s Ski Ranch for letting us use your fantastic facility to host the first event of the year. Thank you to all the officials and drivers that made the event possible, your time is greatly appreciated and these events would not run without each one of you so thank you! And a special thanks to Kelvin Kelm for bringing the Nautique, Texas A&M Waterski and Mark Chambers for supplying the Mastercraft’s and David West for the Malibu.
Combined Team Results
| Team | Slalom | Trick | Jump | Total | ||||
| 1 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 1,705.0 | 1 | 1,730.0 | 1 | 1,110.0 | 1 | 4,545.0 |
| 2 | University of Louisiana Monroe | 1,505.0 | 2 | 1,355.0 | 2 | 950.0 | 2 | 3,810.0 |
| 3 | Texas A&M University | 1,210.0 | 3 | 1,095.0 | 3 | 675.0 | 3 | 2,980.0 |
| 4 | University of Texas | 505.0 | 4 | 505.0 | 4 | 305.0 | 4 | 1,315.0 |
| 5 | Oklahoma State University | 390.0 | 5 | 170.0 | 5 | 130.0 | 5 | 690.0 |
| 6 | Texas State University | 170.0 | 6 | 135.0 | 6 | 0.0 | 6T | 305.0 |
| 7 | University of Arkansas | 75.0 | 7 | 80.0 | 7 | 0.0 | 6T | 155.0 |
The full scorebook can be found on USA Water Ski & Wakeboard’s website.
- Ragin Cajuns win 44th Annual Polar Bear Classic - April 4, 2019
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