By Jason Arndt
Editor
Zeke Tiedt, of Burlington, has been on the water for years, growing up in the area with his first foray in show skiing as a member of the Browns Lake Aquaducks.
The same can be said for Makayla Bazeley, of Whitewater, a school record holder in several events on Whitewater High School’s swim team.
Although separated by nearly 20 miles, the two have become a formidable force, teaming up as a strap doubles team that qualified for the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation’s world tournament, which will be held in Australia in March 2025.
They are now members of the Twin Lakes Aquanuts, and recently advanced to the world stage after placing second in the Indmar D1 Show Ski Nationals at Hidden Lake in Warsaw, Indiana.
Tiedt, who graduated from Burlington High School in 2022, attends the University of Wisconsin-Madison and said the accomplishment is a dream come true.
“The world competition happens every two years, so it is the equivalent of the Olympics for water skiing,” said Tiedt. “This is the highest level of competition there is on the world stage.”
Bazeley, 17, an incoming senior at WHS, said she could not be more thrilled about qualifying to compete among the world’s best March 17-23 in Mulwala.
“I am really excited about going to Australia,” she said. “I have never really been there and never really gone that far.”
Athletic backgrounds
Tiedt, a member of the Badgers cheerleading squad in Madison, joined the Browns Lake Aquaducks about 10 years ago and continued through his high school career.
In high school, he was a wrestler – achieving Southern Lakes Conference accolades, but also participated on the football and tennis teams.
“I grew up on the lake when I was younger and I started show skiing when I was 10,” Tiedt said. “I started show skiing with the Browns Lake Aquaducks.”
When he was performing for the Aquaducks, he met Bazeley along with her family.
Bazeley started her show career with the Waterbugs before her family joined the Aquaducks.
“When I was on the Aquaducks, their family joined the team and before we were partners, I had never done doubles before,” Tiedt recalled. “Her dad actually asked me if I would like to start doing doubles.”
Tiedt said he jumped at the opportunity and began working with Bazeley.
“We started about three weeks before our state tournament in our first year,” he said. “We decided to compete right away. We clicked instantly and we were learning a lot very quickly.”
After about two years as a doubles pair in Burlington, Bazeley and her family joined the Aquanuts, with Tiedt following suit.
Strengths complement each other
Tiedt’s strength as well as Bazeley’s flexibility and experience on the water has been the key driver for the pair’s success.
“She has done (doubles) before, so she is very experienced,” Tiedt said. “She is one of the best partners you could have. She looks great on the water.”
Bazeley said constant communication, including practicing together during the offseason, has been instrumental in helping her and Tiedt find chemistry.
“It takes a lot of trust. When I am up there, I can trust that he doesn’t drop me, offering assurances that he has me,” she said.
“We try to get to know each other…and we’re are not just doing doubles routines,” Bazeley added.
Unexpected achievement
Tiedt admitted he didn’t envision them earning second place in the national competition to qualify.
“Getting second at nationals, I was incredibly excited and a little bit shocked,” he said.
They finished just 0.3 points behind the top finisher.
“I wasn’t necessarily expecting to get second place, especially being that close to first place,” he said.
Regardless of expectations, the duo is looking forward to heading to Australia.
Tiedt said it goes deeper than representing Wisconsin, which only had one other pair qualify for the world stage.
“I can’t explain how excited I am to be able to do this and go over to Australia and represent Wisconsin and Burlington,” he said.
“We are just trying to show, no matter where you come from – a small town like Burlington or a big city ¬– you can still go and do great things and even make it on the world stage,” Tiedt said.
Bazeley, who said she enjoys the camaraderie of the show ski industry, is equally thrilled.
She said the opportunity includes an expanded network of people celebrating shared interests.
“You get to meet so many people, and once you see them, you realize you have a lot in common with them,” Bazeley said. “That is really cool.”
More representatives
The Aquanuts have two other representatives who will perform at the world competition.
Kailey Koehler, an accomplished barefoot skier, and trick-skier Ethan Shulda will represent Team USA after qualifying as individuals.
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