Happy Holidays from Pioneer Swimming!

This year the swim team decided on a combined-holiday event for the annual winter party and called it “Thanksmas.” This tough-to-score invite included a home cooked dinner and white elephant gift exchange to rival all others. Zac opened his home to the team for a great evening of laughter and good food just before Finals began.

Our swimmers are now spread around the globe with loved ones and I trust they fall asleep each night with visions of winter training (and our California trip!) dancing in their heads. We’ll be back together again soon!

November..... meet December!

Invite over, calm returns to our pool

Just in time for a well-earned, much-sought-after Thanksgiving break, the Northwest Invitational is behind us. Strong swimming and so much competition has left us both fired-up for the rest of our season and a little drained. There is nothing like a national holiday to put the pep back into your step.

Here you see Josh Spegman after his 7th place finals swim in the 200 Freestyle. Take my word for it, he is way more excited about his lifetime best swim than he lets on in this priceless candid. And in Rachael’s top five best things about championship swim meets has to be medals with centers that spin.

We’re two weeks from our last dual meet of the term, but first our thoughts turn to family or friends for the holiday this week.

Record-breaking night of finals!

Our team’s swim, nay, the swim of the night, came with Rachael’s victory in the 100 yard freestyle. She lopped more time off her top-seeded swim from prelims and notched her first Lewis & Clark school record in the process. This coach believes she’s only scratched the surface of what she can accomplish in our sport.

Rachael continued the women’s team’s recent record-setting trend as she edged ahead of alumni Nikoya Collier’s mark set last season at the Conference Championship.

A solid night of racing all around. Great relay splits tonight and strong swims. Cat’s powerful 200 Backstroke earned her 2nd place overall and she now owns the second best time in the Northwest Conference this season.

Freshmen Josh and Sam both made second swims in their 500s and showed us the future of Pioneer distance swimming is bright.

Kira rightly described our team’s spirit as, “The cheering-est!” Let’s do it again tomorrow!

Day One prelims, in the book

We return to the pool for Finals in less than two hours. This morning saw strong races, LOUD cheering, and one top seed going into our first night of finals. Below are a few pictures of last night’s preparation and how the team got ready for today.

Hosting the biggest meet of Fall semester!

A short twelve hours from now nineteen collegiate swimming programs (nine men’s and ten women’s) descend on Zehntbauer Swimming Pavilion for the Northwest Invitational. Teams from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California will soon grace our pool and fast swimming is in our future.

Our new spectator seating may well reach capacity and the pool that lays quiet now will erupt with cheers, applause, and the thunderous swims of 262 student-athletes. Join us in person or in spirit from wherever you are with a rousing, “Go Pios!”

Turkeys crash swim workout, mayhem ensues

Thanksgiving-fever (if there is such a thing) has certainly hit the swim team. Teammates Hannah Frank and Rachel Wolf spent a goodly part of their Sunday last weekend making cookie-candy turkeys for Monday swim practice.

Said Hannah, “It was really fun in the beginning, putting them together, but by the time you get to number twenty….”

First Travel Meet!

Our first away meet of the season is always a great adventure. I have to say, I was excited to see there was so much positive energy and chatter on the charter bus that no one even wanted to put a movie on for the trip.

The first night saw us take on the rest of the Northwest Conference in the annual 8th Sprint Pentathlon. Swimmers compete in a 100 IM followed by 50s of each stroke, for a total combined time. Certainly a format that lends itself well to the prototypical sprinter, but I’ve long held the belief that every single athlete can benefit from focusing on the fine points of each swim, supporting his or her teammates, and reveling in the racing environment. And this is what I saw last weekend!

Times are kept by event and by cumulative overall time. Freshman Rachael Cazden, from Boulder, won the 50 Freestyle in a field of about 120 women. She finished the meet our highest placing swimmer at 5th overall. Way to go! Rachael also moonlights as a hair stylist to her teammates and other notable celebrities as seen below.

Freshman breaststroke/sprinter Shuichi Matsumoto (pictured below as a breaststroker and also farther down as The Fly) lapped up the sprint opportunities and found himself our highest placing male at 12th over the whole slate of events.

We saw motivating swims from so many kids and great enthusiasm across the board. It’s impossible not to feel like we are headed in a great direction.

As it was, the direction we headed after the Pentathlon at PLU was across town to UPS for the Relay meet. Another “non-standard” format—this one with unusual relays and a lot of excitement.

Among many awesome swims, our most spectacular race came in the Mixed 200 Free Relay. Rachael, Gail, Shuichi, and Noah blazed through the sprint co-ed relay to a 2nd place overall finish.

Let’s be honest, these meets sometimes stretch on and it’s good to have time for a laugh...

And so ends another week in Pioneer Swimming.

Alumni Swim Meet and Homecoming Weekend!

Pioneer swimmers from years past joined us in Zehntbauer today for the annual Alumni Swim Meet. We had swimmers from the 70’s laughing, racing and cheering alongside recent grads and current swimmers.

This meet could loosely be described as unorthodox, but this takes nothing away from the serious competition and hard-fought races.

Just before the meet, alums gathered to throw a cheer at the varsity and then throw some water in their direction, as well.

Relay power!

Victory dance..?

And to top it all off, the football team won their Homecoming game 57-35 this afternoon? And several swimmers joined the horde in rushing the field when the clock ran down.

Where in the world are Susie, Kim, Catherine and Lee?

The short answer: Greece. Following text by Susie Trexler:

As you may have heard, we took a class this month called Attic Tragedy that involved reading (a LOT) and the performance of one play, The Suppliants (Aeschylus). This performance was last night. Lee took a leading role as the sole Greek, Pelasgus and the three of us are members of the chorus of Egyptian suppliants running away to Greece. The costume of the chorus was all black and I was seamstress and sewed our sashes which were of varying colors.

You can't see it very well but everyone we walked past on the way to school could: we all had Egyptian eye make-up.

An hour after the show found most of us in the library working on our papers (due today) and I can only imagine how that looked to anyone who didn't realize what was going on.

We're off to Lesbos tomorrow for four weeks; it's a rather large island off the coast of Turkey. Swimming? I hope so.

Study, swim and………. Fall out of a raft.

Freshman swimmer Kallie Smith is already leading raft trips with L&C’s College Outdoors program. With an Alaskan’s flair for adventure and the outdoors, she guides other fearless students on Oregon’s Deschutes River. And sometimes falls in. Our thanks to Kallie for supplying these photos and for coming back to us in one piece!

Early morning, good cause, cool shirts!

Last weekend the swim team volunteered as course marshals for Portland’s Susan G. Komen for the Cure. For the fourth year in a row, the roadblocks were guarded and the race course made safe by our fine young men and women in what has become a September team tradition.

Beach Trip!

Note their excitement over getting to pet the cows at Noah’s house!

PIO FAIR 2009 !

Last Friday campus bloomed with annual autumn Pio Fair festivities. Greek food this year, dozens of campus clubs prospecting for new members and a football field full of games and inflatable bounce areas.


Many of our varsity sports teams put on activities for students and families. Since no one would let us dig a trench in the field to have swimming races (did anyone see that Myth Busters with Nathan Adrian?) the team decided the only reasonable option was a water balloon toss. This did not disappoint. People who were exceptionally drenched in this game: Dinari Foreman (Associate Men’s Basketball Coach), Shawna Feldt (Head Softball Coach), our own Matt Yelin, and so many more…

Team Welcome BBQ and then down to the business of education

Sunday the team threw its annual welcome barbecue to bring everyone together for the first time this school year. Arms linked in a circle, important details were shared like names and hometowns, favorite events and favorite kinds of chairs. Hammocks, recliners, and beanbag chairs led the way, showing our swimmers know what they want when it comes to the business of sitting.

Monday rolled in this week and our student-athletes arose from those favorite chairs and jumped into the fall term. About fourteen swimmers descended on J.R. Howard Hall for a study session on the first night of the school year. One rookie surprised me by saying later, “That was great, we need to have more of those!” There were pairs working on French and on German. Some diving into reading assignments and you can see Matt, the team’s resident engineer, working an equation that covers the entire white board.

WELCOME CLASS of 2013 !

Our new freshmen are here! They’ve moved in, their rooms are in varying states of disarray, the posters and pictures from home are going up on the walls. College is the best! Some of our upperclassmen helped people move in this morning and have been making rounds meeting our new swimmers around the dorms.

Campus is abuzz. It’s a sight to see so many people on the threshold of a grand new experience. Another great year begins now!

Hot weather, new students, and strange pool sightings…

Today we had some drains upgraded in both the indoor and outdoor pools. Here’s a great shot of a man with a long respirator hose and a weight belt at the bottom of our estate pool.

It’s 97 degrees right now and I predict today will be the hottest day we have before next summer. Lee has been busy guarding the outdoor pool this week. Luckily his New Mexican heritage makes him a sun worshipper.

Many of our new freshmen arrived to campus this week for Breakaway trips (some of our swimmers are going rafting, sea kayaking, or camping in the Columbia River Gorge). And many more will be here next week for NSO (orientation). Campus is buzzing and I can’t wait to welcome all our new swimmers and everyone returning for another great year!

Pio is famous! (or his ancestor is, at least)

Check out this article on the top dog of the Lewis & Clark expedition. Our very own Pio lives on in his ancestor's image of Strength, Pride, and Endurance.

http://www.lclark.edu/news/story/?id=1748

World Champs have nothing on Portland... We're breaking records, too!

The swimming might be hot in Rome right now, but everywhere in Portland, Oregon is hot. We’re approaching new record highs this week. Stores are sold out of fans, the 7-Eleven Slurpee machine is working overtime, and my cat does not like being soaked in the shower to cool off.

Get to the pool!

Remembrances of Winter Training '09

Got an email from super-recent ’09 grad Sam Palmer today with this photo. I'll trust Sammy won't mind me quoting his email. He thought this photo showed, "how happy the men's team looks during January!! Can you believe the looks on the faces and it's the hardest part of the season?"

Thanks Sam. Your work ethic and attitude (and some serious sunshine) helped make this year's Winter Training one of the most productive and successful ever.

A great week in sports

The Tour de France for breakfast is a great way to start a summer day. Maybe you’ve caught the cycling excitement for the first time or maybe you've rooted for years. Are you a Team Astana fan? Can Lance come back? Can he make it on the podium? Most of us should have learned not to count him out too early. Maybe you’re a fan of the green jersey race for the sprinters… These last few mountain stages have been ugly, with the little green jersey decal on the TV screen shown as “dropped” off the back of the peloton as the best climbers tear the field apart.

As if premiere cycle racing were not enough, I just got back from the Sectional Championship across town out at Mt. Hood. It’s a hot week here and today is a beautiful day for fast swimming! We’re lucky to see such big meets coming to Portland throughout the year since kids from much of the western US make the trip each season. Good luck to competitors at this and other Section meets this week!

A Pio Alumni Wedding

Swimmer Lindsay Nixon '09 married Scott Moyer '07, in Riverside, California on Sunday. The Mission Inn is a spectacular site and my wife and I had a great time.

While I’m sometimes tempted to measure a wedding by the food (delicious), my real measure of a wedding is how happy the newlywed couple looks. What a great day and I saw so much of Lindsay’s vibrant personality, which had been absent from campus since graduation in May.


Four great swimmers, one big hug.

Happy 4th of July from Pioneer Swimming

Lindsay Nixon is Conference Woman of the Year Nominee for NCAA

Two months ago, Lindsay bid adieu to her undergraduate years at L&C and yet she is still making waves in collegiate athletics. You can read about this great honor in the article at this link: http://www.lcpioneers.com/sports/swimdive/2008-09/news/LindsayWOTY

We at the pool salute her and applaud her. Congrats Lindsay!

Drop-ins welcome!

On this last full day of our first week of swim camp, two of our newly minted Pioneer Swimming graduates made appearances separately. Sarit Gluz, ’09, came by to visit on her way to work. She checked in with coaches, counselors and swimmers at the camp where she served as a counselor extraordinaire just last summer.

Less than an hour later, Anne Scheiman, ’09, visited after class. Anne just started the Masters in Teaching program in the School of Education this week and she LOVES her classes. Nothing could be better and I’m so proud of her. I know the year will pass in a flash and she’ll find her new career in elementary education.

Swim Camp ! !

Summer is here and with it comes Swim Camp! Late June and early July on the Lewis & Clark campus see more than one hundred young swimmers here for fun, new techniques, excitement, and new friendships. Today is day two, the weather will be in the 70s, and campus is alive with the future of our sport.

Our college athletes give camp their all in serving as counselors and mentors to our campers. Last night after dinner they facilitated a campus tour, kickball, board games, movie time, and ping pong. With days like these, we all sleep well!

Zach Yeager is triathlon finalist!

On Memorial Day our very own Zach Yeager finished 3rd overall in the Heart of the Valley Triathlon. On a sunny Monday morning in Corvallis, OR, he covered the course in just over an hour, finishing in 1:05:57.

Congratulations Zach! More great races to come!

Record Board Ceremony

Last week, as school wound down and summer loomed near, we honored our successful season and put the new records up on our record board.

This has been a spectacular year! I have a feeling summer will pass in a flash and we’ll be on to an exciting new season........ (And more cake.)

Team Awards Banquet 2009

This afternoon we held our annual team awards get-together. Last year we went downtown for fondue. This year we took a turn for the zany with a trip to Pump It Up for indoor inflatable bouncing.

A few fun facts about our team awards:

**12 women and 6 men received votes for Most Inspirational. I think this gets to the heart of what makes our team successful. Our swimmers look around and see they are surrounded by people who support them and inspire them.

**Over half the team received at least one vote from their teammates for Most Improved. This is a testament to how much attention our kids paid to the experiences of their teammates and the way everyone shared in our success.

Just like our pool training and racing, the team spared no time getting down to business. There was bouncing, sliding, relay racing, boxing, jousting and generally crashing around having fun.

Lindsay Nixon is Senior Career Award Winner!

At the end of another 80-degree day in the Oregon sun, we made our way through a warm evening breeze to the Council Chamber for the annual Student-Athlete Recognition Dessert. Each year we get together to celebrate the accomplishments of all our athletes (before retiring to Stamm Hall for many desserts).

Lindsay Nixon was the night’s big winner, taking home a shiny trophy for the Pioneer Athletic Club Senior Career Award. In a swimming career that includes individual Northwest Conference titles in three of her four years and three individual and four relay school records, Lindsay has truly honored the Pioneer tradition.

Swimmers were nominated in many categories and our finalists included Annie Hay for the Rookie of the Year and Mandy Hamilton, who was the bronze medalist for the Scholar-Athlete Award. Joining Mandy on ther All-Academic Team were Matt Yelin and Zach Yeager.

10:48am and all is well

A glorious morning on our way to 76 degrees today. One simply could not ask for a better Monday on campus!

Grace Gifford competes at Paralympic National Championship

Grace is competing this week at the US Paralympic Swimming Championship. She is racking up lifetime bests including tonight's 50 Freestyle and 400 Freestyle. Incidentally, a month ago at our Northwest Conference Championship, Grace crushed by ten seconds her own American record in the 200 Breaststroke for her classification.

Western Region Sectional Championship

I spent the end of last week in Washington for the Sectional meet. Great swims by quite a few of our senior recruits and I got the chance to watch a lot of juniors, as well. Like meets across the rest of the country right now, an abundance of fast swimming.

It's always nice to talk with coaches about their swimmers, particularly those who are academically minded who will be a great fit for both our team and the vibrant learning environment at Lewis & Clark.

I also got to spend about 45-minutes talking physiology with a coach friend. Specifically anaerobic threshold training and the ramifications of training just above or just below this level. It's great to bounce ideas off of someone else and find out how they do things.

Live The Dream

This has been the season's theme, its de facto motto, and, with the conclusion of our Conference Championship, its reality. The saying came into the year with Elspeth, a senior, and made its way onto a banner, the back of our T-shirts, and our team persona.

By the end of Finals on Sunday, we were looking at what may have been the best meet in team history and what was definitely the most exciting meet I’ve coached. Our swimmers saw dozens of lifetime best times and our women broke 11 school records—8 individual records spread between 6 women, plus both 200 and 400 medley relays and the 800 freestyle relay.

Our men’s team came together like I’ve never seen before. Team huddles, themed shirts, and a real passion for fast swimming that was stunning. We moved up in our seeding by sheer will as the guys crushed their old marks and climbed in the standings. Guys made Finals for the first time and lopped gobs of time off their swims.

Noah... AKA: Banner Boy #1

Lindsay's 200 IM victory

We have three women with provisional qualifying times for NCAA Nationals—Lindsay in both IMs, Koy in the 200 Free and Annie in the 100 Back. So, there’s a waiting game for them, but most of the squad now moves into the off-season. Everyone is excited and happy.

It’s hard to believe this part of our year is over, but I’m so proud of what our team accomplished and the way they carried themselves through this meet. Yesterday people flooded by my office and the pool to visit because it’s the most natural thing to do after class and before going back to the dorms or off to dinner. Quite a few took a dip in the pool to loosen up. For a coach, there is nothing better than seeing your team happy and motivated to keep moving forward and looking to next season. The fires are stoked and the fun continues.

Seniors and Coach:

Once more, just the ladies:

Be my Pioneer Valentine

Zac surprised our women with roses for yesterday's session. In his defense, so did Matt Yelin (later that night) and Matt got one for his head coach, too...



The end approaches and the Pioneers show no signs of letting up. This morning the team crafted a new cheer to the tune of classic pep band song "Go Fight Win." Simply stunning.

Our men put up the third best 200 Medley Relay swim in school history and climbed the podium at the beginning of finals last night.



When you're in need of a little pick-me-up, let your teammates carry you through the tough times!


Our women's 800 Free Relay team and their proud, proud coach.

This shot catches a fraction of the excitement over the girls' recrod-smashing finish in the 800 Free Relay.

Nine school records... (and counting)

Just when one might expect momentum to slow, the cascade of lifetime best swims and school records continues unabated. Starting the night for the men , our 200 Medley Relay squad posted the third fastest relay performance in school history, less than a second off a mark set in 1991. Later tonight, Zac finished 5th overall in the 100 Back with a spectacular effort wire-to-wire.

On the women's side, the tumult of records has increased. Today alone, two relay and three individual school records have fallen by the wayside. Also, Koy, Lindsay, and Annie (who each set a school record in her respective event) notched NCAA provisional qualifying times.

When it rains, it pours. And we look forward to more success pouring down on the Pios tomorrow on the final day of competition.

Greatest Session in Pio Swimming History

I get to call it that because I update the blog... But, I don't think I'm wrong. I have truly never seen a team get off to such a strong start. This morning saw lifetime bests in ¾ of our swims and one school record. Tough to top… until we got to the finals.

Four school records and huge time drops nearly across the board.

Lindsay Nixon lowered her previous mark from the morning in winning the title in the 200 IM. This swim earned her a provisional NCAA qualifying time.

Claire Jordan finished 5th overall in the 500 Freestyle and dropped three seconds, breaking the Lewis & Clark school record, as well.

The final women’s race of the night was spectacular. In the 400 Medley Relay, Annie Hay lead off the relay with a school record in the 100 Backstroke. Hay combined with Susie Trexler, Lindsay Nixon, and Koy Collier to smash the former school record by more than four seconds. For the men, the finals proved sweet for Zac Hixson who lopped more than three seconds off his lifetime best time to move up to 10th place in the 200 IM. Sam Palmer broke the 22-second barrier to finish in 21.88 seconds in the 50 Freestyle.

It’s hard to believe tomorrow is only Day II, but I welcome the chance to see our team race again. We’ve had great cheers and numerous bus speeches in just the first day of competition. As Sam said, we’re still building to the crescendo. It’s going to be a great weekend!

Record-breaking morning!

Our swimmers put up one of the best first-morning performances I’ve ever seen by a team. Prelims began at 10:00am and by Noon we had seen one school record, over a dozen lifetime bests and excellent positioning for Finals tonight.

Senior Lindsay Nixon smashed the school record in the 200 Individual Medley and is the top seed for tonight's final. She touched in 2:10.81, downing the old mark of 2:11.92 by just over a second. Four more Pioneer women qualified for the consolation final heat of the IM: Koy Collier, Susie Trexler, Cat Menkel-Lawrence, and Mandy Hamilton. Claire Jordan swam to a lifetime best swim in the 500 Freestyle and is seeded fifth going into tonight's final. Senior Annie Hay qualified 8th to swim in the Finals heat of the 50 Freestyle. With this swim, she moved into 7th all-time for the Pios in that race.

In men's competition, co-team captain Sam Palmer swam to a best time in the 50 Freestyle and seeded himself 10th for tonight's final. Palmer moved into 5th place in Pioneer Swimming history for the 50 Freestyle. Co-captain Zac Hixson is coming back ranked 11th tonight in the 200 IM.

Team Dinner

Countdown: 1.5 days to Conference. Tonight Annie had the team over to her house for dinner, with the aid of her mom and grandmother. They treated us to gargantuan trays of lasagna, bottomless salad bowls, garlic bread and Annie's homemade brownies.

The run-up to Conference has flown by and we leave early tomorrow afternoon. I know we're ready to swim fast and we'll see it first thing Friday morning. The training is behind us now. The path is laid for success and we begin our walk down the path. Poetically, as it were.

A couple shots of the team, one with a smashing close-up of Koy's right arm.

Four days out of the big meet

Departure for the Northwest Conference Championship: 4 Days.

The moment is almost here where the hard work culminates in fast swimming and the best team meet of the season. The competition where you are lifted up to great performances by your teammates and the team chemistry reaches its highest point of support and enthusiasm. Each race seems less contested by the individual and more by an entire team.

These next few days we spend honing the skills and capacities we built all season. This is an exciting time! It is a time of more sleep and an opportunity to finish up some school projects, take a deep breath, and prepare for a big weekend. Our workouts this week see great focus on the fundamentals with a little time to cut loose and practice such integral actions as relay exchanges, bubble rings and the goggle toss.

Senior Day! Last Home Meet

On this day we honored our seniors for all they've meant to our program and to their teammates. This year gifts were presented, tears flowed, and so did junior co-captain Zac Hixson on the rap he put to music for the presentation. After honoring each senior, we pumped Zac's song over the sound system and let the magic flow.

Dave is the split maestro!

Racing tired, racing fast

Our final two home meets of the swim season last Friday and Saturday. My wife and her friend Cheryl attended and Cheryl caught some great action shots with her new Canon telephoto lens.

___________Abbie____________________Rachel

_________________Zach

Bread & Butter, Anaerobic Capacity, and Patriotism

It's really been quite a week since our return from California. Last Friday we boarded the bus for our long eastern Washington double. Friday night at Whitman some of the guys agreed (were talked into) singing the national anthem. After some quick practice out of the way, they gave a rousing performance. You can almost tell that the woman behind them in the video has never heard anything more beautiful. Nor had I. (This photo will have to take the place of the video until I can convince Blogger to upload the 100+ MB video...)

A mere hour after that verbal performance Lee Taylor--pictured center in the snazzy shorts--swam to a lifetime best performance in the 100 Breaststroke and moved into Top-10 all-time for L&C, bumping off a gentleman from 26 years ago.

After some great winter training, team fitness is up, as well as team morale. On Wednesday we swam a great workout including several rounds of sprint 50s from a push on 1:30. I saw max effort, quality finishes, and fast swims. After our training, Susie and Kaitlin served homemade bread with an herbed butter and a cranberry butter (all delicious) as a presentation of their "talent" leading up to the annual talent show tomorrow.

Last two home meets this weekend and tomorrow is Senior Day!

What a week!

Today marks our last full day in Cali and I think we made the most of it. After sleeping in, we hit the pool deck. First, Zach got us stretched out with a short yoga session and we hit some great core exercises (I took a yoga class on campus with Zach last summer and he was the first one in class to pull off the headstand).

After loosening up, the team put in a solid couple hours in the pool to cap off an impressive week of training. We were focused and attentive, with people supporting each other all the way.

About two thirds of us went to see Gran Torino tonight in Claremont before dinner. We leave in the morning for the Cal Lutheran Relay Meet and our trip home.

Workout, beaches and roller coasters fill our Sunday

Our Knott’s Berry Farm crew, plus Lindsay behind the camera.

Lindsay, Kaitlin and Cat line dancing and what do bobsleds have to do with Knott's Berry Farm? I do not know. But, our team is not one to shy from a photo op.

We got in our first California double of winter training today. This morning I watched the sun creep over the trees outside the pool and cut a swath of sunlight across water. Susie was the first one in its path. She was at the far end, just about to take off on her sendoff, and the sun hit her back and she turned around in the water with the biggest grin pasted across her face.

After some great training, it’s true we made time for a little frolic.


As my high school cross country coach used to say, “Workin’ hard or hardly workin’?”

Our “Prom Style” photo after dinner at Lindsay Nixon’s family home. Thank you for all the great pasta! And the homemade ice cream sandwiches. And the brownies.

Glorious Winter Training!

We arrived in southern California this afternoon for our Winter Training Camp. What followed was a trip to the pool and a sunset swim. We're looking at about 75 degrees tomorrow and that's just fine by me.

Happy Holidays from Pioneer Swimming!!

Snow Day!

Yesterday school was snowed out. Roads are still pretty sketchy, but I braved the wider world to get in to campus this morning. These are a couple shots from my walk up to the Trail Room for lunch. I didn't do any sledding outside my office yet, but these kids did.

Following are a trio of photos from freshman swimmer Erik Khazoyan during his expedition around campus Sunday when the snow was fresh (and still coming down).

Turkey with my favorite team

Thanksgiving has come and gone. So many things happening that blogging has fallen, oh so briefly, by the wayside. No longer!

Just before the team left town for Thanksgiving, they threw a holiday dinner in one of the on-campus apartments. Just like last year, I was pleased to see our team's classroom and swimming prowess extends to the kitchen, as well.

When my wife and I got there, we smelled the feast from the lobby downstairs. My wife brought a cauldron of her family-recipe punch and we all washed down delicious turkey, potatoes, stuffing, pies and several more things I know I consumed in the haze of eating. Oh right, Grace’s cookies (I had two and they tasted like fudge).

I love holidays with the team.

The sea of orange, team fun & team success

What a night! Capturing the intensity of finals in collegiate swimming is tough with just words and pictures. Lost is the deafening excitement and the hair-raising adrenaline. All this was in effect Saturday night at the Northwest Invite as our swimmers moved up places on nearly all their swims. Lee and Matt moved from 4th and 6th seeds in their consol final to finish 1-2. No more than fifteen minutes later Catherine and Kaitlin went 1-2 in their consol before watching Annie take second in the 100 Backstroke final.

The sea of orange was in action again on the pool deck as our kids cheered, danced, and hollered their teammates through big swim after big swim. Lindsay completed her sweep of the Medleys with her strong victory in the 400 IM. Watching our team cheering during races at the end of the pool, surrounding the block and spilling out behind other lanes took me back to my own college swimming days and the way a team can get you through the big races.

Catherine offered to get us home quickly by driving the tour bus. Her offer was declined, but she still got this nifty photo.

Finals tonight and a return trip to Portland

We've refueled after prelims and the team is veging out until we head back to the pool. Our 200 Medley Relays will set the evening in motion and the fun won’t stop until after the 400 Free Relay several hours later. We have loads of finals swims ahead of us and many great races already behind. Our swimmers have opportunities to move up and the chance to make small adjustments after our morning swims.

More than anything I’m impressed with how well our men and women are racing. We’re attacking swims without fear or misgivings. It is far better to give everything to a race in the face of possible discomfort and pain than to wait around hoping things will go smoothly and easily. This difference is the hard thing to teach and it is a blast to see our team lay everything on the line for great swims!

Road Trip!

The Pioneers took to the road this weekend for the Northwest Invitational in eastern Washington. Two-day meet with prelims and finals each day. In this format we cover the entire Conference Championship slate of events in only two days. The swim coach in (which pretty much takes over this time of year) loves the challenge of so many races packed tightly together. If our kids have the grit and gumption to succeed here, the big meet will prove restful and spread out by comparison.

In true Pioneer Swimming fashion we got out of the gates fast and put up great morning swims, logging seven big-final berths and many more consol and bonus consol slots. At lunch we hit the sandwich shop and returned to the hotel for quick R&R before boarding the bus for the pool. Finals were big, loud, exciting and fast. A sea of orange lined the pool for our team races and the women swam an impassioned 400 Medley Relay to finish second overall.

At the halfway point I go to sleep with a happy heart and a stomach full of pasta, salad, and garlic bread.

Albany Quad: Friday morning on campus

I walked to the Dovecote with Michael so he could get his morning hot chocolate. I've used the word "glorious" to describe the last two days on campus far too many times already. This probably won't stop me using it again.

Glorious.

Tuesday from the pool's front steps

The OTHER important election: Our own Matt Yelin wins coveted costume award

In what's been a real nail-biter, a sophomore swimmer wins the campus-wide Halloween costume contest. Check it out! http://www.lclark.edu/~infotech/HALLOWEEN/

Sprint Pentathlon, Relay Meet, and..... is that Michael Phelps on our team bus?

Friday night we competed in the annual Sprint Pentathlon. 50s of each stroke and a 100IM. You probably realize not all swimmers are suited to these events, but I told our team beforehand I believe everyone has something to gain by attacking these races, supporting their teammates, and having some fun. We did just that. There were solid swims and our returning swimmers crushed many of their times from last season.

Our women won the team competition with Lindsay Nixon taking first overall for the five-event combined time. We had 5 women in the top 13 places. Our men swam fast, the returners making great drops, and our freshmen showed us great range in their stroke events.

More to follow on our Halloween workout, but it's important to note that sophomore Matt Yelin was Michael Phelps for a day. All day!

Saturday we hosted the annual Northwest Conference Relay Meet in Zehntbauer. It's great to welcome so many teams to our home pool and the meet ran fast and smooth.

Kim dangles from the ceiling in the name of... science.

Sophomore Kim Guinn hangs from a pulley system (she volunteered for this) during a physics lecture on mechanical advantage. Hopefully the lesson on force and friction was worth the immeasurable stress placed on her swimming coach upon hearing about this.

ALASKA ! !

Fall break trip to Alaska for two meets with NCAA Div. II University of Alaska Fairbanks. Part of our women's team flew to Alaska last Thrusday night and, after few travel hiccups and a serious airport delay, we touched down in Fairbanks and stepped out into the cold. This term is relative, but to us it was cold. I can't say enough good things about how we raced and the fun we had as a team. This was a first trip to the 49th state for almost all of our women and we took in some sights between trips to the pool.

Pios take to the air... and the snow.

North Pole, Alaska (turn right on Santa Claus Lane, then right again on St. Nicholas Drive... for real).

Glow Putt Alaska!

Homecoming! Alumni! Racing! Giant dogs!

Last weekend at L&C, Homecoming activities swarmed campus. Friday night at the Hall of Fame Banquet we inducted the 1982 Women's Swim Team, along with several other Pioneer athletic greats in other sports.

Saturday was the first annual Alumni Swim Meet. Over twenty Pio swimmers of the past joined us at the pool for a dual meet. Five of last year's graduating seniors made the trip home to see us, one coming all the way from Singapore. Seeing these men and women reconnect with their teammates was a blast. Grads stretching back more than 25 years joined in on relays and individual races. The whole morning kicked off with a greeting line and team cheers for this varsity vs. alumni extravaganza.

By the time I left for the Alumni tent preceding the football game, I was riding the high from a successful first go at this event and I know we'll have even greater turnout next year.

Our new mascot is Pio, a Newfoundland dog, played last weekend by "Buddy." If you've boned up on your famous explorer history, you're sure to know Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had a dog and that dog made the entire journey with them. That same spirit now leads our athletes onto the fields of play. Incidentally, Newfoundlands are excellent swimmers. More on that later....

Swim Lab Time

Friday mornings we break into stroke groups arriving at different times to focus in on specialties. More space and great technical exploration! I was really happy with our work this morning and the attention everyone gave to the drills and skills. I was inspired to send an email to the team afterward thanking them and highlighting some key points to take forward from our work this morning:

Freestylers/Backstrokers: Rotation is power. Rotation is healthy swimming. Make each arm a strong anchor so each stroke counts. Free/Back drills are kicking drills!

Butterflyers: Remember, the rhythm controls the stroke. Butterfly is finesse as much as it is power. Keep your rhythm to keep your speed.

Breaststrokers: Know you’ve made it back to your platform quickly so the hips follow the torso in line. Take your pullout speed into fast breaststroke swimming.

Voodoo strikes swim workout!

Saturday's workout capped a successful first week of the season and I wanted to throw a minor celebration. Voodoo Doughnut is a Portland institution and the situation called for four dozen of their finest creations!

Swim Season is here! (and armed men in dark shades)

It begins! Training is upon us and the energy is amazing. I didn't fully realize the void of the off-season until we started a new year this week. Writing workouts and walking the pool deck beside our athletes is the best thing I get to do each day. It’s been a great week because of the excitement our swimmers bring to the pool and the exuberance with which they approach training. We’re having fun!

Today campus is crawling with secret service, K-9 units, and all manner of chauffeurs. As I write this, Sandra Day O’Connor is speaking next door in the gym at an event for our law school. Howard Dean was here last week so the movers and shakers are certainly rolling through early this school year. Who will be next?

I'm thinking of asking for my own security detail. Dark sunglasses, ear piece, waterproof loafers for the pool deck... the works.

Hall of Fame Swimming Alum LeAnne Desilet conquers 2nd Ironman Triathlon

I am a Pio Swimming alum, circa 1986. When I swam my final 200 yard breaststroke at NAIA Nationals in March of 1986, I never dreamed I'd ever use my swimming in a competition again. However, time marches on and I wanted to start competing in something. My husband's family was into triathlon. I still had the same five-gear bike I'd had during my LCC years and only four gears worked. Oh, and I could not run three miles without stopping to walk. But, I trained a little bit and found that I enjoyed the structure and the goal setting (sound familiar?). I didn't know if I was going to keep my breakfast down after finishing that first sprint tri in 2002, but I did and have participated in many more races since then.

Flash forward to early 2006 when I was training for Ironman Canada. Long story short -- major car accident crushed my pelvis and left foot. I ended up covering the race for the magazine Inside Triathlon, carrying a cane, five months after that accident. I then slept outside in a long line in the city park, rock concert style, so that I could sign up for Ironman Canada 2007. With months of physical therapy and a lot of pain behind me, I got to Penticton in August of 2007 and competed. My husband and three children drove to various points alongside the course to cheer me on for over 14 hours that day. Finishing that race was a fabulous accomplishment, but many things went into it and one major component was the support system I had and still have. It's a key for any and every athlete to surround ourselves with positive people who understand and support your goals and commitments.

Last month my family drove once again to the Great White North and installed ourselves in a condo for a week so that I could do Ironman Canada 2008. I had the race of my dreams. I cut four minutes off my swim time, which started the day off very well. During the 7 hour bike, my extended family were at various spots on the course. I am not sure I could ever do this race without seeing family during the course of the day. 7 hours seemed like about 12 and I finally deposited my bike to the waiting volunteers and put on my running shoes.

It had started to rain by that time -- nearly unheard of during Ironman Canada where they routinely record temperatures of 100F. I was probably one of the few people who was really happy to see the rain, since I live and train in it all winter and spring. It rained during my entire run, and I remember seeing Brazilians, Mexicans, and Greeks running by in garbage bags as I stayed happily in my tri suit. I had never run an entire marathon before, and during this one only walked about a half mile during a steep uphill section. I kept telling myself that it would end faster if I ran.

At mile 21, I saw my wonderful daughter running toward me and I could hear the finish line announcer 5 miles away. My daughter ran with me for a short section and I continued into town. By mile 24, the spectators were three-deep on either side of the racers and the noise was incredible. At mile 25, racers turn onto the road where the finish chute is, and do an out-and-back. There, I saw my entire family once again, all screaming and yelling and the kids joined me from the sidewalk. During the time it took me to get to that finish line, I don't think I heard any noise, though. I asked my kids after I finished, "Where were the grandstands this year?" and my middle son turned me around. They were 50 yards behind me, so noisy that we couldn't make ourselves heard without yelling.

My final time was 13:12:32. Everything had come together -- my training, my nutrition and hydration during the race, my support team throughout the year, and even the weather.

Oh, and on the day prior to the race, I signed up for Ironman Canada 2009. Guess I'd better get to the pool.

More of LeAnne's race-day photos:

BARBECUE!

Team barbecue at the apartments on campus to welcome the freshmen swimmers. Sam grilled me a cheeseburger and someone was thoughtful enough to bring a couple plates of mini-cupcakes. I thoroughly enjoyed one (one cupcake, not a whole plate).

Welcome to Campus!

Tomorrow our incoming freshmen arrive for orientation! I look forward to seeing our newest team members and their families this week. After a summer of recruiting, swim camps, planning, and watching pools do their thing, it’s exciting to know our swimmers will be back in school next week and a new season is upon us.

For a few weeks our returning swimmers have been popping back onto campus. The reunions have been grand and this Olympic summer has put everyone in a seriously motivated frame of mind. Now the fun begins!

Gold Medal moments of August

If there was ever any doubt about the value of a good finish, surely we've learned our lesson. The Lezak freestyle relay anchor leg and Phelps' 100 Fly were tight enough to knock a person off his couch in anticipation. I was reminded of the finger tip margins in great 50 Free duels between Tom Jager and Matt Biondi, the great American heroes of my swimming youth.

The pundits and journalists deign to call this the best Olympics ever and, as a swim coach and swimmer, it's hard not to agree. As I watch the U.S. women win the mile relay on the track, I am sad to see the competition drawing soon to a close, but I have to say I welcome the end of my sleep deprivation.

"What I did on my summer vacation!" Part 5: Erik Khazoyan, Freshman

The highlight of my summer so far has been going to Europe and spending 12 days travelling through Switzerland, Italy and France. Some of my favorite moments included: swimming in Lake Lucerne at night which was cold but was really refreshing and relaxing to float in the lake and stare at the stars and commune with nature. Switzerland was beautiful and Lucerne is a great city.

Venice and Florence are also amazing cities. In Venice, we saw a thunder storm and were in the middle of the laguna on a water taxi during the storm; it was really intense. Eze was also absolutely gorgeous and for those who do not know of Eze, it is this little old hilltop village that looks down on the Mediterranean and near Nice in the South of France. Then on to Paris.

Since I have been back from my Europe trip, I have been working at a pool and getting ready for school. But now, I am looking forward to meeting all of you.

"What I did on my summer vacation!" Part 4: Zach Yeager, Senior

I love the team blog! What a great idea Chris. This summer was a blast. I learned all about nutrition with Koy, studied Yoga with Chris, worked at the Nike swim camps with Cat, Sarit, Koy, and Mandy, watched the Olympic trials in Eugene, and then went to Philosophy camp in Boulder, CO for a month!

It wasn't really philosophy camp but almost. CU puts on a seminar for undergrads in philosophy every summer. They bring in a bunch of amazing professors from all over the country to lecture on their specialties. It was a lot of fun but I'm not looking forward to the twenty page paper I still have to write. As for the rest of the summer I'll be getting ready for the XC season, that is, when I can pull myself away from the Olympics. I'm so excited! I hope everyone else is having a great summer as well and looking forward to swimming as much as I am.
See you soon, Zach

"What I did on my summer vacation!" Part 3: Elle Stark & Claire Jordan, Sophomores

Claire took a break from nannying and long course training and Elle from guiding raft tours outside Aspen, CO so they could spend part of July in the Hawaiian islands. See them here communing with nature and one another...

"What I did on my summer vacation!" Part 2: Sam Palmer, Senior

it's been a glorious summer for me out in the boonies of california rafting on the american river. i've spent my days working on the south fork and training for the class IV middle fork river which i finally am running commercially as of last week!! if you don't know what it's all about you should look for it online and even come up rafting with me! i love the days here even though they are super long and hot.

sad for the summer to be closing but super stoked to be moving up to portland in about a week. i'm running the Raft The Deschutes NSO trip so you freshmen better watch out. either way we should plan a team trip some time in september before it gets too late. i'm going to go catch the last hot part of the day and make some dinner, but to all, welcome to Lewis and Clark College and especially the Pioneer Swim Team. you're in for a real treat.

"What I did on my summer vacation!" Part 1: Coach Chris Fantz

I just returned from four days at a horse ranch in British Columbia with my wife and her family on our annual Canada vacation. Warm days filled with horseback riding and eating, reading and playing games, lake swimming and stargazing.

We saw coyote and deer. We watched loons, ducks, and bald eagles. My wife and I went on a two-hour trail run where we communed with dragonflies and damselflies, bees (and bee stings), mosquitoes (and mosquito bites). Every year I finish another book or two and reach the pinnacle of relaxation before coming home recharged and ready for a new season!

Sectional meet comes to Oregon

I spent several days with Assistant Coach Michael out at the Mt. Hood pool watching recruits race and speaking with a lot of great coaches. Fast swimming! Summer sun! A great meet!

Too hot for dry land!

Our outdoor pool has been enormously popular in these hot days of summer. Sarit, a team captain next season, is holding things down poolside. Tough lifeguarding gig, but she's up to the task!

Track & Field Trials!

Last night I traveled to Eugene, OR with fellow L&C coaches and families to take in a session at the track, watching the best in the world vie for spots on the U.S. Olympic Team. Eugene is known as "Tracktown, USA" for good reason. We saw javelins flying higher than the grandstand roof and women high-jumping Michael Jordan's height. The swell of excitement through each lap of the women's 5K and the men's 10K finals grew to a frenetic, deafening roar. What a night for racing!

Nike Swim Camps bring age group excitement to campus

Late June and early July saw our campus and our pool bustling with activity as Pioneer Swimming hosted two weeks of Nike Swim Camps. A total 97 age group swimmers swam, learned, and played through glorious summer days on campus.

Camp was a time of much excitement and much exhaustion for coaches and the hard-working camp counselors (otherwise known as our generous swim team members who gave of their time and energy to create great camp experiences).

Awards and Desserts!

Last night the Athletic Department honored its athletes at the annual Student-Athlete Recognition Dessert. This year we met in the intimate setting of the Council Chambers. Swimmers were nominated for several awards!


(I only break out my patriotic swimming tie once every few years.)

Northwest Conference Championship!

What a weekend! We entered the Conference meet prepared to set the tone the first morning and our athletes did just that.

It was a weekend encompassing fast swims, countless laughs, and a salute to our beloved seniors. After dinner and a stop at Dairy Queen (and some number-crunching) we were glad to report 75.9% lifetime best swims for the entire team, including prelims and finals. No small feat and a real testament to our swimmers' hard work, preparation, and team spirit.

He's got spirit, yes he does!

A spirited interlude during the team talent show over Winter Training.

Winter Training special treat

We used state-of-the-art equipment to take real-time velocity measurements and underwater video of every athlete on the team. This helps us define the strong and weak points in each length and focus our efforts in training.

Wound up and ready to race!

Team cheer before finals at the Northwest Invitational.

Halloween hits L&C campus hard

With school colors like orange and black, you have to know Halloween is a major holiday all over campus. This morning I saw a ninja with textbooks on her way to class...

First Away Meet of the Season

Travel meets make intercollegiate competition what it is. This shot was from about four minutes before the opening relays.

The view outside my office at 9:12 this morning.