About Us

Texas State Wake is a class blog assignment for MC1313. The purpose of this blog is to inform the public about the Texas State wakeboard team.

On this site you will find information on the Texas State wakeboard team. We will be posting everything from team history, to photos in the gallery section, interviews with team members and of course tips and tricks on wakeboarding. All the content we post is our original work. We hope you enjoy!

Meet the wake tricks who wrote this blog:

Photo by Quixem Ramirez

Quixem Ramirez is your typical Butterslide 180. He is the wake trick that is smooth, stylish and in control. Which if you know Ramirez then you know that is the only way to describe him. He is a junior journalism major at Texas State University, where he spends most of his time staring at his work computer and occasionally writing words.

Photo by Tessa Andrade

Tessa Andrade is the perfect Whirlybird wake trick while making it look easy. Andrade has the excitement of a Tantrum is but the comfortable personality of a surface 360, when put together makes up a pretty awesome Whirlybird. She is a electronic media junior at Texas State University with hopes to land her dream job in the big city of Houston, TX.

Photo by Emily Ballard

Meeting Emily Ballard you’ll soon learn that her adventurous personality is that of a Tantrum wake trick. Her experince working for Red Bull gives her wings to surpass the challenges of the Tantrum. Ballard is a junior at Texas State University studying public relations. She’s not afraid of a challenge and plans to find a career as an event planner.

Photo by Sam Isenberg

Sam Isenberg may look like your typical 360 on the surface wake trick, routine and ordinary, but after you get to know him you can see he has spent years perfecting this trick. Isenberg is simple but fun at the same time. He is an electronic media major at Texas State University who hopes to find a future in broadcasting sports and live a life that is anything but routine and ordinary.

Photo by Adam Rejino

Adam Rejino is far from your average twenty-one-year-old college student. Rejino is the Moby Dick of wake tricks and his skill is legendary. He is confident and definitely knows how to have a good time. Rejino is a mass communication major at Texas State University who is still searching for his true passion and will continue to live a full and robust lifestyle.

Gallery

An Unexpected Ride

By: Adam Rejino

Sam Isenberg and Adam Rejino set out to gain a better insight of the Texas State Wakeboard Team by observing a practice held at Texas Ski Ranch. Upon arrival, Isenberg and Rejino received a friendly welcome from members of the team. Jack Guenther, President of the Texas State Wakeboarding Team, was enthusiastic and excited that Isenberg and Rejino came to observe their practice and allowed them to take photographs of the team from the boat dock. Guenther, who has been wakeboarding since the age of twelve, said he would start his first run of the day and would be sure to display a diverse set of tricks. Mesmerized by the skill level of Guenther, Rejino began taking countless pictures. As Guenther made his way back to the dock, he began to explain some of the tricks he performed such as the “Moby Dick” and “Tantrum.”

Much to their surprise, Guenther said Rejino could come on the boat to take photographs at a closer distance. While on the boat, Rejino was able to capture magnificent photographs of various members of the team in action as well as truly immersing himself in the Texas State Wakeboard Team culture.

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History

Texas State Wakeboarding, the Ride of a Lifetime

By Sam Isenberg

Jack Guenther, founder and president of the Texas State Wakeboarding team gets ready to ride. Photo by: Adam Rejino

The inception of the Texas State wakeboarding team took place in August 2012.

Jack Guenther, founder and president of the team, came to the university expecting there to be a wakeboarding team, and when he found it otherwise he and a group of motivated friends made it happen.

“In our first semester we had 40 members,” Guenther said. “Since then, just six semesters later, our biggest semester has been 80 members.”

As the team has grown, so too has the success at competitions. Texas State usually places in the top two overall at competitions against other regional universities, according to Guenther.

The universities Texas State competes against include: UTSA, Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas, Arizona State, Oklahoma, and many more.

“With so many lakes and Texas Ski Ranch right here, I feel like it just attracts riders,” Guenther said. “We have so many really good riders.”

The team usually participates in three competitions in the fall and one or two in the spring.

Members of the team are given the choice to compete on either the cable team, wakeboarding while being pulled by a cable, or they can be on the boat team, wakeboarding while being pulled by a boat.

Aside from practicing for competitions, the Texas State wakeboarding team tries its best to give back to the university, the community of San Marcos and the surrounding areas. The team participates in Bobcat Build and tries to do all it can to help out at Texas Ski Ranch.

Photo from texasskiranch.com

“Texas Ski Ranch takes really good care of us, so we try to take really good care of them,” Guenther said.

Guenther says being part of the team is about more than just wakeboarding.

“I’d say we’re 50 percent competitive team and 50 percent social club,” Guenther said.

The Texas State wakeboarding team gives students an opportunity to live the lake lifestyle while in college. This team is about hanging out with people you have a common interest with, being outside and making memories that will last a lifetime, according to Guenther.

“I came into college with five to ten friends, and now I have 60 awesome people on this team who I can hang out with anytime,” Guenther said.