Thursday, October 30, 2014

October with the Pios!


The month of November will be a big one for Lewis & Clark swimmers.  Our dual meet season kicks off next week and competitions abound.

For now, Halloween is almost upon us and I think it’s time to take a look back at the past weeks of awesomeness that is Pioneer Swimming!

We are seven weeks into our collegiate season.  Swimmers are training hard in the pool and weight room.  The soreness going around is the product of vigorous exercise and Coach Ange’s strength and conditioning routines downstairs.  We are also seeing some real speed cropping up in our workouts.  Our coaches are pretty stoked for how our athletes look in the water and even more so for how the team is functioning as a family and community in the early season.

Last Friday we dove into competition with the annual Orange & Black Meet, our intra-squad extravaganza.  Race distances are non-standard and there is even a 100 Kick event.  Orange and Black teams were relatively evenly matched, with event wins bouncing back and forth throughout the meet.  In the end, Black edged ahead for a final score of 99-82.

The Orange & Black meet is a fun way to kick into racing mode and get our team cheering ramped up heading into our competition season. 

That same Friday night, several Pios ventured out to a haunted corn maze on Sauvie Island just outside of Portland.  They were in for some scares, some laughs, a few chainsaws, and a lot of mud.  The corn maze has become something of a tradition and one of the many things our team likes to do together.  This, I think, is something that makes for a great team environment.  There are enough activities and outings that there is something for everyone and they can have a lot of fun together when they choose to hang out, without feeling like it’s all required.

Saturday night it seemed like half the city came to campus to see Bill Nye “The Science Guy” live in our gymnasium.  Most of our team was there, along with Coach Sarit and I, plus several swimming alums.   

To our campus community, Bill Nye is pretty much a rock star.  Two of our swimmers, Libby and Momo, got invites to the VIP meet-n-greet with Bill beforehand.  Pretty great night at L&C!


That’s a glimpse into October.  Now we kick into another gear as the team starts hosting and traveling to swim meets.

Tomorrow is Halloween—huge deal on campus—and Saturday is our annual Alumni Swim Meet for Homecoming weekend.  Stay tuned for more swimming action and more fun!

Roll Pios!