GETTYSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — It's not every day you see someone from South Central Pennsylvania water skiing, and it's even rarer that person would be good enough to make Team USA. That's exactly what Gettysburg teen Solie Stenger has done.
She stands out in the water, at just 16 years old, Solie is one of a handful of water skiers on Team USA.
"It's pretty awesome," Solie said. "We have a small ski club here at our Lake [Heritage], so it's pretty awesome to [think] I came from this small little club and now I'm competing at Worlds. It's an honor to represent our little town."
Coming from Pennsylvania, water skiing isn't a usual sport for a kid to jump into, but Solie quickly fell in love after trying it with her family.
"My grandparents had a lake house down at a lake in Virginia called Smith Mountain Lake, and we went down there for family vacations and we'd all just water ski for fun," Solie said. "Then we bought a house here on the lake, and I kind of started picking it up."
It was clear she had above average skill, and was encouraged to start training competitively.
"Everyone's super welcoming," Solie said of the competitors in the sport. "They tell you how to do things like how to handle ropes and everything like that. So I think the atmosphere really made me love it."
Solie started training in the sport less than five years ago. Karli first realized her daughter had a special talent at 14 when Solie first competed at Nationals.
"That was the time I was like, oh, wow," Karli said. "For her to be fifth best in the nation after just wanting to try water skiing two years ago, that's pretty impressive. So that's when we knew that might be her thing and we pursued it. And I'm glad we did,"
Most recently, Solie competed at the Jr U.S. Open in Maize, Kansas at the end of June. She placed second in slalom skiing.
"It's so awesome," Solie said. "I never thought that I'd get to this level, especially just starting out, doing it for recreational kind of just for fun. It's it's an awesome feeling."
Training in Pennsylvania comes with its own challenges. Solie trains early in the morning before school, and gets in runs in the afternoon if the water is calm enough. She travels to Virginia for training, and has to find competitions across the country.
"If she wasn't doing well in school, we would not be traveling for water skiing," said Solie's mother Karli. "So that's the most important."
Solie is a straight-A student at Gettysburg HS and wants to set a good example as the eldest of three Stenger kids.
"I have a little sister who is starting to get into water skiing and her friends," Solie said. "She's teaching them how to water ski and I'm out there also helping them. So it's definitely awesome to be a role model for them to look up to."
Solie has set big goals of competing in college, and maybe even turning pro one day.
"I want her to take it wherever it makes her happy," Karli said. "You know, why not? Why not you? Why not me? That's that's our motto. You don't know unless you try. So if you really love something and it makes you happy, then you should try and pursue it."
Solie will next compete in the Jr Canadian Open the weekend of July 8.
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