Peoria resident competes at Lake Pleasant

Bentlee Shafer has always loved the water.

She was crawling onto waterboards and enjoying water sports by the time she was 4 years old. She learned to wake surf before reaching 10 years old.

Wakesurfing stems from water skiing — think snowboarding on water. Shafer might argue it’s a cooler version of water skiing.

Around the time she took up the sport, Shafer was taking a surf lesson at Lake Pleasant and her coach suggested she try competing in an upcoming competition.

“I did it and immediately I was hooked. I’ve been competing ever since,” she said. “I love everything about being on the water, whether it’s surfing in the ocean or behind a boat at Lake Pleasant."

Now the Mountain Ridge High School freshman will take part in the biggest compet

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