On Friday, September, 6th 2019, ten teams across the Midwest and SAC funneled into Skier’s Runway to compete in their first collegiate tournament of the year.
The Southern Ohio Challenge was a busy weekend for skiers and officials. Over the course of the weekend, there were 339 pulls across the three events. After all the skiing was done, The Ohio State University walked away with the team win, followed by Miami University, and Purdue University in second and third place.
Along with their skiing responsibilities, Miami University took on the responsibility of hosting the tournament. They had to put extra work in organizing officials and preparing the lake site. Elizabeth Rowan from Miami University explained how the team felt overall about the tournament, and their excellent second-place finish.
“[We are] really happy with our placement at this tournament. All our skiers did great – we had a few PBs and top 10 finishers per event, which is awesome!” Rowan said.
Miami University gathers to support their teammate. 
Anna Prior from Ohio State was also happy with her team’s performance at the tournament. She explained how her team was able to fight through injuries, and still perform.
“I think our team did really well this past weekend! We were missing our President, Sam Reifsteck, due to an injury. Despite missing his crucial jump score, we still managed to pull out the win. I’m proud of our team for not letting that added stress of not having Sam affect how we skied!” Prior said.
She continued with a remark on how her new skiers did in their first collegiate tournament.
“My favorite part of the tournament was watching our Freshman Matt Duncan boot a HUGE 67 ft jump, just three weeks after he hit big red for the very first time!!” Prior said.
Men’s A Individual Performances
Individually, Josh Cyphers from Ohio State won the men’s slalom event with a score of 2@35off. Purdue’s Jose Luis Tejada won trick with a score of 2,570 points with a run that included with two flips! Tejada also won the jump competition with a 137 foot jump.
Junior Jose Luis Tejada at the start of his trick run. 
Sophomore Josh Cyphers wins the slalom event.
His two event wins, and second place finish in slalom propelled Jose Luis Tejada to place first overall as an individual skier. Purdue’s freshman Eric O’keefe was right behind Jose Luis Tejada the whole tournament, and managed to place second overall. Jake French from the young University of Akron team rounded out the top three overall skiers.
Women’s A Events
On the women’s side of the events, there were great scores all around. In slalom, Allie Steele from the University of Cincinnati placed first with a score of 2@22off. Sophomore Emilee Peterson from Miami University won Trick with a score of 750 points. In the jump event, Mallin Blaxall from the University of Cincinnati won with a 57 foot jump.
Purdue took women’s first overall in the tournament with Allison Erwin earning the number one spot over the course of the weekend. Cincinnati’s Mallin Blaxall placed second overall, and Miami’s Emilee Peterson came in third place.
B-Team Superstars
While A-team scores are the ones that count for team placement, the B-team skiers continue to work and seek to put up good scores as well. Men’s B slalom was dominated by the University of Dayton’s Jayson Breier who had a score of 5@22off. Breier also won B-trick with 420 points. In Jump, the University of Cincinnati’s former president, Luke Bernhardt won with a 67-foot jump. Bernhardt also won first overall B-team skier, with Breier and Liam Clink from the Ohio State University tying for second place.
The Women’s B events finished with Mia Leininger from Purdue winning slalom with a score of 5.50 buoys. Bowling Green State University’s Hannelore De Vijlder won trick with a score of 80 points. De Vijlder also earned first overall for women’s B-team skiers.
A full album of pictures from the tournament can be found on the Ohio Waterski Association’s Facebook page @SKIOWSA
Combined Team Results
Full Southern Ohio Scorebook available on USA Water Ski & Wake Sport’s website.
| Place | Name | Slalom | Trick | Jump | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State University | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7,650.0 |
| 2 | Miami University | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7,270.0 |
| 3 | Purdue University | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6,875.0 |
| 4 | University of Cincinnati | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5,215.0 |
| 5 | Indiana University | 5 | 8 | 5 | 4,065.0 |
| 6 | University of Akron | 6 | 5 | 8 | 4,000.0 |
| 7 | Bowling Green State University | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3,650.0 |
| 8 | Ohio University | 8 | 7 | 9 | 3,140.0 |
| 9 | University of Dayton | 9 | 10 | 6 | 2,825.0 |
| 10 | West Virginia University | 10 | 9 | 10 | 1,545.0 |
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