The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

In a community along the Columbia River and so near the coast, fish stories are numbered by the people who tell them and multiplied by the span of each lie, if lies can be measured.

This tale is about an eighth grader named Stephanie. She is a fish story and she has the times to prove it. Stephanie is in a prestigious group. She is ranked among the top five competitors in two events in her age group for Oregon swimming, the 50m backstroke and the 100m breaststroke.

She moved to Wahkiakum County this summer to join her parents, Ginger and Mark Hake. Ginger works for the Wahkiakum Community Network, and Mark is a deputy with the sheriff's office. It was an easy choice for her parents to come here, but a competitive swimmer needs a competitive team, and it took a little while for them to find the right place for her nearby. In the meantime, she stayed with extended family in Camas and competed with the third ranked club team in the state of Washington, The Lacamas Head Hunters.

"It is an excellent program," Stephanie said. Ginger agreed.

The family looked into programs in southwest Washington, but nothing seemed to fit. They found a program in Astoria with a greater focus on competition and settled in for a six day a week trip for practice.

Practices typically last two hours, with the hour long trip there and back each day. It adds up, but they all seem to be taking it in stride.

"Astoria is a good place to be. They had eight kids go to state last year," Ginger said. "Stephanie has trained for seven years and we didn't want her to go backwards."

"It's fun," Stephanie said. "I want to keep going, as much as I like it and hate it at the same time."

There is a 16 year old girl on the team whose time she is chasing now. And there is a 13 year old boy who beats her in everything, but isn't too far out of reach.

"I sort of need someone to push me," she said, "it helps me get better. It's usually older kids, or guys."

The family was living in Sitka, AK, when Stephanie had her first lesson at the age of six. After that first session, she was hooked.

"She announced at the beginning of her first grade school year that there were tryouts and that she wanted to do it," Ginger said. "The only requirement to be on the team was to be able to swim the length of the pool unassisted."

It was Stephanie's idea, and perhaps that is what has made all the difference.

"She was competing in January of that first year," Ginger went on. "Our six-year-old even competed against a ten-year-old that year."

In fourth grade, the family moved to Anacortes. There

was a swim club there and she was able to continue competing. That year, she was the only girl from that program to go to state.

Eventually they ended up in Camas and then here.

USA Swimming is a club sport and therefore different from competition in public schools, according to Ginger. Eventually the program allows for bigger and wider competition, if times are good enough. Not only can swimmers compete on a state level, they can also compete in sectionals and zones.

When she turns 15, she will join the senior age division, and will no longer have to compete only against her age group.

"If you get really fast," Stephanie said, "you can start competing against people like Missy Franklin and Michael Phelps, but you have to have the times for it."

Besides the opportunity for travel, the sport has given a lot to her.

"It keeps me fit," Stephanie said. "It helps me make friends I normally wouldn't know. It gives me a routine and I get to learn how to be a member of a team."

Swimming is a goal oriented sport, and it's given her her own set of goals.

"I'd like to make it to meets all over the US," Stephanie said. "I think it would be nice to compete in college. It would be nice to have a scholarship and compete in faster meets. Olympic times aren't that far off from some college times. Sometimes college times are even better."

Right now she's trying to beat the 16-year-old girl who is a second ahead of her and that boy that always wins. And there are a couple girls in Bend and Gresham with targets on their backs as well.

And like any teen who moves to a small town for the first time, she's trying to make friends and make the most of school. She really enjoys Mrs. Wilson's science class.

Mostly, she's swimming, and letting the rest of us tell stories.