WACO, Texas — The wakes of Waco have come alive as Baylor waterski is national tournament bound for the first time in over 20 years.
"The second I heard our name called, like me and our treasurer We just like explode — started hugging started jumping," Baylor Waterski President, Parker Aldridge said.
It's also only the second time in program history for Baylor waterski.
"Before that weekend, I didn't think we had a chance. And then everything started to fall into place. So I was like, oh my gosh we did it," Aldridge said.
"Water-skiing has been a big part of my college experience at Baylor," senior Joe Gage said.
"I do two things. I study and I go out on the boat and pull people skiing. To make collegiate nationals, which for someone like me who competes at an amateur level is the height of the sport, is the best news I could receive," he said.
Gage was the former president of the team and helped bring the program back four years ago. The program shut down during COVID-19 but with its revival came new highs for the Baylor water-skiing.
"When we first brought this back...we didn't even know if this is going to last till next year. And now we've like reached like the highest level that we could get at is like, it's a God thing," Aldridge said.
"To know that not only do we have a club, not only do people want to ski, not only are people coming out on the boat, but that we're recruiting high quality skiers. We're getting people from just getting up on skis, to being very competitive in the collegiate scene. It means a lot to me," Gage said.
With the team making the trip over to nationals, they hope to bring not just hardware back, but also exposure and growth for water-skiing in Central Texas.
"It's just a community. You'll meet people from schools that you never would have met before. If you didn't go out to these competitions and no matter your skill level, you're still having fun. You're still on the water and you're in the sun, so just have fun," junior Sloan Townsend said.
"Qualifying for this tournament was huge for us. It's getting the name of Baylor water-skiing out in the competitive water-skiing world," Gage said.
The national tournament begins on October 10 and will be at San Marcos River Ranch.
