Aquanuts stay strong on their feet and ballet line

Twin Lakes resident Emily Renn, second from left, is one of several local members of the Aquanuts, a show held at Lance Park twice weekly (Courtesy of Lisa Neal/The Report).
Twin Lakes resident Emily Renn, second from left, is one of several local members of the Aquanuts, a show held at Lance Park twice weekly (Courtesy of Lisa Neal/The Report).

Defending national champions enter state tournament July 23

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

As the Aquanuts enter the State Ski Show Tournament July 23, the Division 1 National Champion skiers know where they stand, after taking third at the Mercury Open in Janesville on June 25.

The squad that performs twice weekly shows at Lance Park in Twin Lakes finished with 1,415.23 points, 257 behind winner and host Rock Aqua Jays.

Aquanut Show Director Justin Mushel said the tournament allows them to assess what areas they need to improve upon, and gives newcomers an opportunity to get their first exposure before larger events, including the July 23 State Tournament in Wisconsin Rapids.

“The Mercury Open for us is a stepping stone and it’s the first tournament where everybody gets in the mindset,” Mushel said. “We have a lot of young skiers and some first-timers, so you want to get them accustomed to what a tournament is like.”

Teams are judged on several areas, including dock/equipment personnel, pick-up boats crew, tow boat driving, showmanship, sound crew, overall, high individual club act, jump skiing, doubles and pyramid assembly.

Despite finishing third, the team clearly demonstrated areas of strength, including the barefoot lineup and ballet line, consisting of at least 27 water skiers.

Behind the leadership of two nationally ranked barefoot skiers, the Aquanuts won that portion by a landslide, compiling 219 points, 45 points better than tournament winner Aqua Jays.

Barefoot skier Ariana Koehler, the third ranked barefoot skier in the USA last year, remains upbeat after the Aquanuts’ showing at the Mercury Open.

“I think we are very proud of it, the Mercury (Open) is the kind of tournament that we use to see where we are at and get us going,” said Ariana Koehler, who is a 21-year-old entering her 15th season on the Aquanuts alongside her sister, Kailey.

Kailey Koehler, 20, the top-ranked barefoot skier in the country last year, and No. 3 worldwide, agreed with her sister, stating it pushes them forward.

“It is a good motivator for us to keep moving and keep practicing and get better and better,” Kailey Koehler said.

While barefoot skiing is the team’s strength, another aspect to consider is the Aquanuts ballet line, which finished one point shy of tying the Rock Aqua Jays at the Mercury Open.

The Aqua Jays compiled 221.

Along with the Koehler sisters, both of Lake Geneva, 2014 National Ski Show Association swivel ski champion Kendall Krieger add to the formidable ballet line.

Krieger, 19, of Lake Bluff, acknowledged that while the ballet line is strong, newcomers are starting to mesh and could be a force at the state tournament.

“This is a very good tournament for us to practice everything we have been doing since the beginning of the season,” said Krieger, who is in her 14th season total. “We get new people every years, so this is the first tournament for them.”

“We have a lot of girls on our team, so our ballet lines are well-known at the tournaments and all our bare footers are great,” Krieger added.

Along with the trio, Mushel believes in the squad entering the state tournament, adding some members were not at the Mercury Open.

“We got a lot of great individual talent, we got a lot of great skiers,” Mushel stated. “They ski well under a lot of different conditions.”

“Twin Lakes is a seasonal community, so a lot of our skiers are young, so they are coming back from school or graduation or college…we didn’t have our full gamut of skiers. We were missing some, now this week, we have all our skiers coming back,” he added.

While the Aquanuts are defending champions, snapping a 31-year drought last year, Mushel said the team remains focused on the Aquanuts primary mission.

“I really focus on three things, have fun, ski for each other and entertain the crowd,” he said. “If we do those three things, everything falls into place.”

This article appears in the July 15 print edition of the Westosha Report


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