Columbia River Swim Team: New Athletes, Bright Futures

Darlene Hill and Doug Lumbard, of the Columbia River Swim Team (CRST) “Wave Riders” talk about new athletes, the amazing talent of current swimmers, upcoming meets, and the success of past club swimmers.

Last year the Columbia River Swim Team “Wave Riders” brought on a slew of new athletes now going to their first competitions and meets, and Coach Darlene Hill is happy with how they are progressing.

“We take young swimmers and train them so they peak, but not so much that they peak at 13-14 years old,” said Hill. “If you train hard too young, even a talented athlete, if they have already done big meets at 12 years old, they can get pushed too hard. Parents and coaches mean the best, but young athletes will burn out and lose their joy for the sport. We make sure they enjoy their families, other sports, or music programs so that they are well-rounded and don’t become overworked.”

Hill, along with Lumbard and Mike Bemis (who coaches the Camas high school girls and boys swim teams as well), all work to make sure their athletes are doing well in every aspect of their life. Swimmers are known to have the highest GPA amongst other athletes. For example, recently, the Camas Boys Swim Team was honored for the GPA achievements.

“With our athletes we can almost always help them get a swimming scholarship if they put in the work,” said Hill. Swimming teaches so much camaraderie, so much endurance and focus.”

CRST Swimmer, Andrew Chang, competes at Mt. Hood Community College.

Past CRST Swimmers Now Compete at Collegiate Level

Schools will give better scholarships to students who have better academic records versus those who have impressive athletic achievements. Here is a list of some recent CRST athletes who have gone on to compete for their Universities:

Kasey Calwell- University of California Santa Barbara

Lucas Ulmer- University of Redlands

Chris Xue- Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Darya Samiee- Cal State Bakersfield

Jonah Rodewald- Whitman

John Utas- University of Lethbridge

Sierra Colletto- Whitworth University 

Julia Sanders-Texas Christian University

Andrea Young-Oregon State University

Eric Bugna- University Of Redlands

Justin Natyzak- Olivet Nazarene University/Cumberland

Wesley Tatum-  Whitworth University

Callum MacKintosh- Whitworth University

Alexis Morehouse- Seattle University

Jay Jones- California State Bakersfield

Lisa Tompkins- San Diego State University

Kelsey Lynch- Washington State University

Peggy Liang- University Of Hawaii

Bethany Hoopman- California State University East Bay

Felicia Williamson- Cumberland

Rachel Chong- Pacific Lutheran University

Keenan Natyzak- Arizona State University

Mackenzie Bailie- Orange Coast College/Concordia

Jon Brodeur- Bryant University

CRST swimmer, Max Dolbinin (in silver cap) dives in.

But the athletic scholarships aren’t the only plus for these young swimmers. Lombard and Hill have seen how it effects hundreds of young people.

“We’ve seen how therapeutic swimming is for our athletes,” said Hill. “We’ve seen our athletes take breaks from swimming and their parents tell us how uptight they are when they aren’t swimming. There’s a sort of water addiction that comes from swimming, being suspended by the water. And it’s a sport that is individual and yet you are working with a team as well, it really is the best of both worlds. Swimming has also been proven to help kids that have ADD and ADHD because of the rhythm and focus that happens in the water. It has both healing and physical benefits.”

The CRST Wave Rider coaches have seen hundreds of young swimmers grow up. “We have a lot of kids come back who have careers, maybe they’ve started their own families, and they come back to me and talk about all the good memories they have from the swim team, and a lot of their fondest memories were arranged times that we set aside for the team to bond. We want them to be good friends with their teammates and to keep their studies up. It’s a lifelong sport but needs to be balanced with a happy life.

Nick Solovey, left, receives swimming tips from CRST Coach Darlene Hill.

As for the events coming up soon, Coach Mike Bemis explained what the athletes are currently preparing for:

“Right now we’re preparing for a meet at Mt Hood Community College that’ll take place tomorrow (Saturday, June 4). Then we have a Senior Seattle Open, which brings competitors all the way from Canada and Southern California. The Futures Meet, held at Stanford University, will be high school and returning college students competing from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, and more.”

A new meet in USA swimming, “Futures Meet” is the junior national level. There are 7 CRST swimmers tentatively going this year: Max Dolbinin, Tom Utas, Colleen Woods, Eric Bugna, Kasey Calwell, Andrea Young, Lucas Ulmer, and Chris Xue.

Important Swim Meet Dates:

Senior Seattle Open – July 7-9

OSI 11 & Over State Meet – July 28-31

2016 USA Swimming Futures Championship (Stanford University) – August 4-7

To learn more, visit: www.crstwaveriders.org

Article by Haley Childers.

CRST swimmer, Chase Hicks, competes in the 100 Breaststroke at Mt. Hood Community College.