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I’d like to nominate Iowa State!
The members of Iowa State’s team are the unsung heroes of 2021 Collegiate Nationals. Their entire team missed school and came down to Bennett’s early, and spent 5 days doing allllllll of the manual labor that was needed to set up the tournament- Hammering in stakes and hanging a million banners, cleaning up trash, power-washing buildings and signs, picking and cutting thousands of stickers, assembling goody bags, weed eating, the list goes on and on. They did it all with a smile, and were such troopers as they were assigned one task after another. Their passion for collegiate waterskiing and dedication to helping the sport grow really shined through in those moments! What also really impressed me about their team was their determination to qualify for nationals this year. After loosing one of their star skiers to an injury, they doubled down on practice to help some of their alternate skiers fill those gaps and put up some crucial scores for the team. It was a full team effort to make nationals and I’m so happy they were able to succeed! Lastly, regionals spirit award winners. They definitely earned that and deserve to be in the running for Team of the Year!
Garnet Fowler!!
No explanation needed. The man is a god on the water and has the passion, drive, and dedication that becoming a pro takes.
Xander “Xan Man” Bard- OSU
Xan has improved exponentially since the last season. He went from running slow speeds in slalom to now being able to touch 36 mph, and went from plopping to jumping mid 70s. Xander worked hard as a ski camp instructor this past summer, to both improve his coaching skills and personal skiing skills, and it paid off. Xander is a great team member, and I know he is going to continue improving even more!
Cate Ziegler- OSU
Cate is our QUEEN of a Women’s captain. This was her first year on the exec board, and she absolutely blew it out of the park. Also could be a candidate for the most supportive skier award, this girl is such a joy to have on the dock. She cheers loudly, has so much OSU spirit, and is always there to cheer you up and put a smile on your face when you don’t ski as well as you wanted to. Our team really grew this year in the Spirit category, and cate was one of the driving forces in that. Cate really leads by example, spending hours and hours at the lake every week coaching, as well as working hard to improve her boat driving skills. Cate, along with Scalm, worked meticulously every week to get the team registered and make sure eligibility letters were in order, which OSU loves to make impossibly hard. Cate is an all around great leader and captain, and i am so excited for her to have one more season!
SOOOO many options for Rookie of the Year!
Mary Nelson- Miami
Also wanted to throw Mary’s name into the hat! This girl is such a boss. She is a beast of a slalomer and tricker, instantly becoming her teams 5th round skier for both events. Mary dominated in tournaments, podiuming in slalom at regionals as a freshman. At great lakes fling, I was honored to get 2nd to her and to be absolutely demolished by her by like, 3 full passes. She has a great attitude and was recently elected as Miami’s new captain, and she’s going to be awesome. Cant wait to see what she does in the future!
Kristen “K$” Brown- OSU
K$ is a sophomore, but due to covid this was her first season, and I can already tell that she is going to do BIG things at OSU. Kristen is an amazing skier, a great leader, has an awesome attitude, and is very knowledgable about tournament skiing. She earned the name K$ after being compared to Kristen “K$” Dammeyer, former multi-time regional overall champ and OSU captain. Kristen Brown definitely earned that nickname, as she is an amazing slalomer and tricker and will be a great leader for the team in the future. Kristen worked really hard this summer to literally double her trick score, and was hugely important on both the Slalom and trick teams. She also learned to jump, and I see her being a future 3-event super star. Her and her mom are also the MVPs of the team for bringing lunch and supporting the team off the water. Can’t wait to see what the future has in store for K$!
Kathryn “Kit Kat” Miller!- OSU
Being a stud 3-eventer, Kit Kat Mills brought in a HEAP of team points week in and week out. She worked hard this past summer as a waterski instructor at a lake, and was able to become super consistent in all 3 events. You could always rely on Kathryn to put up consistent scores, rain or shine, heat or cold, hungover or not. She didn’t miss an opener or not land a jump all season, which in the girls competition, is the most important thing you can do for your team. At regionals, Kathryn took second place overall! She also podiumed in Jump and pulled a massive trick PB to podium there as well. These clutch performances were hugely important in the girls team taking 2nd as well as the team taking 2nd! Kathryn is also an MVP for her positive attitude and leadership on the team. As an Ex-cpatain, she is very knowledgeable when it comes to coaching and tournaments, and all the girls look up to her. Kathryn is an exceptional skier and teammate and she is the definition of an MVP!
Matthew “Duncman” Duncan- OSU
The duncman. The Duncster. I think everyone can agree that Matt Duncan is not only one of the hardest working skiers, but one of the hardest workers in general in all of his endeavors. Skiing wise, he is a super impressive skier. Coming into college, Matt did not have any experience with competitive waterskiing. After joining the team, he worked hard to pick up all three events and has been able to steadily improve his skills with hours and hours of water time. Matt has spent the last two summers training harder than anyone I know and his dedication payed huge dividends this season. He took first place in jump at Midwest Regionals, booting a personal best of 120ft and beating much more experienced skiers. Matt also podiumed in both trick and overall at regionals, as well as placing in the top three at every other Midwest tournament this season.
Team wise, Duncan worked tirelessly as VP of OSU’s team. He and gerry spent hours and hours every week doing organizational things for the school and meetings, as well as in the boat coaching and driving at the lake. Often times, matt would spending 7-8 hours at the lake every single day, and only get to ski once (if at all) himself. But he didn’t ever complain, because he was so dedicated to helping the team improve and getting new members out on the water.
Offical wise, Duncan worked super hard all summer to earn his drviers rating in all three events this year, so that he could drive tournaments. He also earned all three of his judges rating, earning a majority of OSU’s officals incentive points. Duncan could be seen in the boat every single weekend, from 1st skier off the dock all the way until b team was over, sometimes close to 11 pm.
Matt is the hardest worker i’ve ever met!
Seconding the nom for Tyler Miller!
He’s a UC alum, but helps OSU with EVERYTHING, which shows his dedication to Midwest skiing in general. We could not do what we do at our lake without Tyler. He is so knowledgeable about the ramp and course maintenance, and is crucial in helping our team keep those things nice. He also pulls our skiers, and drives and judges the tournaments every single weekend. He also literally TOWED OUR TRAILER to a tournament the weekend we didn’t have a truck. Does it get better than that?
Gerard “gerry” Polli- OSU!!
I don’t even know where to begin with gerry. For those of you who know him, Ger is the heart and soul of every group, including OSU’s team. Our team dynamic would not be the same without Gerry’s compassionate, sweet, supportive attitude. I felt a huge shift in OSU’s spirit and camaraderie this season, and i attribute that all to Gerry! When it comes to supporting skiers, it doesn’t get better than Gerry. He is on the dock for every skier, and the one leading the pack when it comes to sprinting down the shoreline. Gerry could also be nominated for hardest worker award, as he puts countless (literally countless) hours into organizing the team, getting us set with the school for tournaments and practices, and leading meetings as president of the team. Despite not being an A team member (yet!), he is the most looked-up to person on the team. His passion for the sport and the team shows in everything he does, and there is no one more deserving of this award.
Marge Pilkington – Miami
Marge is absolutely outstanding! She is not only a leader for Miami, but for the whole Great Lakes conference. Everyone looks up to her skiing ability, leadership, and organizational skills. As chair I had the pleasure of working with all the captains, and Marge was always the first to step up to volunteer when I needed help with something, and was often times one-step ahead of me and already knew what needed to get done. Marge lead her team on the water and dock as Women’s captain, as well as lead by example by helping judge in the boat and dock start. Southern ohio challenge, which is at Miami’s site, was a big success thanks to Miami and Marge’s leadership. Skiing wise, Marge has improved a ton over her time in school, and even podiumed at conference in jump! Marge is outstanding in every way and will be missed so much!
Luke “Sclam” Sclamberg- OSU!
Luke is the definition of an outstanding senior. Luke was a 2-time captain, as well as an important member of A team for all three events. He is responsible, reliable, and always there to cheer someone up on a rough day. Over his 4.5 years on the team, Sclam has spent tons of hours at the lake, coaching and helping with maintenance. The team would not be the same without him! His positive attitude was hugely important this season during tense or stressful moments. He was the first one up in the mornings, and stayed dock-side for every single skier well past 10 pm sometimes to make sure all skiers, not just OSU, had a captain sending them off the dock. Luke is one of the most dedicated skiers on the team as well, practicing all summer and competing in AWSA tournament to make his jumping more consistent. Luke is outstanding in every way!