| Iowa State is for real |
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The Iowa State Cyclones started the season just the way they finished the spring season, with a big victory. Thanks to effective recruiting and returning members improving in the off-season, the Cyclones are ready to make a serious run at Nationals in Phoenix Arizona this year. Women’s slalom kicked things off and it was a tug-of-war between the Cyclones and the Badgers of Wisconsin Madison. These two teams each had 3 girls in the top 6 placements. Madison skiers finished in 1st, 3rd, and tied for 6th, while the Iowa State gals were right in between them with a 2nd, 4th, and tie for 6th. Sophomore Heather Donen (MAD) was your champion with 4.5 @ 22off, Kelly Borns (IWS) in second with 3 @ 34mph, and Mel Cyra (MAD) rounded out 3rd with 1 @ 34mph. Madison took the women’s slalom team title with Iowa State right on their heals 20 points behind in 2nd. Marquette brought home 3rd. Men’s Slalom was next. This is where Iowa State started to build their lead. All 5 Cyclone men got to the max speed of 36, and all 5 were in the top 8 scores. Matt Knafla (IWS) started out his terrific tournament with a winning score of 4 @ 32off. Freshman Shane Vogt of Colorado made their 18 hour drive worth it by taking second with a score of 3 @ 28off. Chad Reitz (LAX) took third with 1.5 @ 28off. Iowa State took the Men’s slalom team title, Wisconsin Stout came in second, and Colorado rounded out the top 3. Women Jumpers hit the water next, and Madison made up a lot of their deficit here. There were some issues with the jump switch, but once that was figured out, the event was ready to rock and roll. Mel Cyra (MAD) matched her podium placement in slalom with a winning jump score of 87 feet. 2nd place went to Maggie Tierney (IWS) who booted a 71. Right behind her was Heather Donen who jumped a personal best of 70 feet. This improved her PB by 12 feet! Madison took that women’s jump team title, with Marquette and Wisconsin Stout tying for 2nd. Saturday was rounded out with Men’s Trick. This event featured something special, a broken record! The 2nd oldest record in Midwest collegiate water skiing is the Great Plaines Conference Men’s Trick record – which was 2190 points, set by Mark Baxter of Illinois in 1998. That stands no more. In fact, this record was broken 3 TIMES TODAY! Down at the Missouri tournament, Scott Schmitt of Southern Illinois and Mark Cassidy of Illinois both broke the record one after each other. But then after the dust and waves had settled, one man held the record for himself. Sophomore Matt Knafla of Iowa State now holds that record on his own, with a whopping score of 2490 points. His pass was all toes. Congrats to him. Coming in 2nd was Cyclone teammate Dan Shuman scoring 1270, and 3rd went to Brandon Rose (MAD) with a 1220. Men’s Trick title was snagged by Iowa State, 2nd to Wisconsin Stout, and 3rd went to Wisconsin Madison. Sunday morning was greeted with the lady trickers. Madison once again flexed their female prowess by having 4 scores in the top 5. Mel Cyra (MAD) took another title by scoring 890 points. Freshman Amye Clausen (IWS) broke up the Madison party by placing second with a 660. Madison Freshman Emily Coleman took 3rd with 520. Madison dominated the team title, with Iowa State in 2nd, and Marquette in 3rd. The tournament was rounded out with the always exciting Men’s Jump event. Chad Reitz who is in his last year for Wisconsin Lacrosse, set a new collegiate personal best with his title winning jump of 130 feet. Iowa State’s most improved skier, sophomore Paul Ogren, was right behind him with a 128. Wisconsin Stout’s Jon Bice also set a new Personal best to take 3rd with a 108. The Cyclone men’s jump team was too much for the competition, coming in first. Wisconsin Stout took second, and Wisconsin Lacrosse brought home 3rd. In individual overall there were some tight races. The Madison women swept the top 3 placements, with Mel Cyra in 1st, Heather Donen in 2nd, and Rachel Reinders in 3rd. The men’s group was so tight, in fact the title was a tie. Matt Knafla (IWS) and Chad Reitz (LAX) tied for first. To determine the placement, they had to arm wrestle and Chad took Matt’s right arm right off his body. 3rd place went to Dan Shuman (IWS). Team Results IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY IWS 2795.0 1 2410.0 2 1835.0 1 7040.0 1 UNIV OF WISC MADISON MAD 1905.0 3 2430.0 1 1750.0 2 6085.0 2 UNIV OF WISC STOUT WST 1910.0 2 1965.0 3 1740.0 3 5615.0 3 UNIV OF WISC LA CROSSE LAX 1750.0 4 1600.0 4 1220.0 4 4570.0 4 MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY MAR 1035.0 7 1530.0 5 915.0 7 3480.0 5 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO COL 1500.0 5 765.0 8T 920.0 6 3185.0 6 MINNESOTA UNIVERSITY MIN 1230.0 6 765.0 8T 1030.0 5 3025.0 7 UNIVERSITY OF IOWA IOW 810.0 9 855.0 7 820.0 8 2485.0 8 UNIV OF WISC EAU CLAIR WEC 1000.0 8 700.0 10 445.0 9 2145.0 9 UNIV OF WISC MILWAUKEE MIL 605.0 10 865.0 6 400.0 10 1870.0 10 |
