The Ohio State Dominates at 2018 Midwest Regionals

The Ohio State University – Midwest Regional Champs

15 teams from the Midwest competed this past weekend at PITS Ski Lake in Decatur, Illinois for the top 6 spots that would punch them a ticket to the Connelly Skis 40th NCWSA Nationals in San Marcos, Texas. Scores of the three daylong tournament were just like the weather, constantly changing all weekend long.

Friday morning kicked off with Women’s Slalom. It was a bit chilly, but overall we saw some great skiing and the sun even came out for a little bit. Men’s Slalom soon followed and the lake changed from glass to a complete ocean. 4^th and 5^th round slalom skiers battled crazy wind and whitecaps. Unfortunately, the weather caused horrible ski conditions for the best of the Midwest. We saw several men unable to run their openers, which shook up both the Men’s Slalom and Men’s Overall podiums.

Amber Aho (IWS) showing the crowd how much she loves to trick ski

Saturday was a gloomy trick day, but that didn’t stop the smiles, team spirit, and epic crashes out on the lake. Trick went by fast and, before we knew it, it was jump time. A slight change in the running order led us to alternate Women’s and Men’s Jump. We saw no shortage of jump crashes and huge boots. Sunday started early with more jump and we saw massive PBs from everyone, cutting late and jumping far, hoping to land on podium and add points to team scores.

Senior Sara Condra (MST) becoming the Queen of Pop with a huge 71 foot boot

Once jump wrapped up, teams huddled in the pavilion, holding hands, waiting to hear team scores. They started off with individual awards. Michigan State senior, Sara Condra, won women’s overall and Jose Luis Tejada from Purdue University won men’s overall, which means these two are also your Team Midwest captains at the 2019 All Stars tournament at Swerve Water Sports in Tennessee! It was also announced that Miami University won the Midwest Regional Spirit Award, which is now named in honor of Dan Hohs, a University of Michigan alumnus who recently passed away. He was the definition of Team Midwest spirit and is very greatly missed by so many people in the ski community.

Jose Luis Tejada soaring 147 feet for Purdue

Finally, it was time for team awards. The Ohio State University came in first by almost 2,000 points. The remainder of the qualifying teams are as follows: UW Madison 2nd, UW La Crosse 3rd, Purdue University 4th, Iowa State 5th, and Miami University 6th. The three wildcard spots went to three Michigan schools: Michigan State (7th), University of Michigan (8th), and Grand Valley State (9th). Best of luck to them as we will soon find out, through the wildcard tournament, which additional 3 teams in the nation will make it to Nationals down in Texas.