The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: swimming

  • Triathlon ends season in Arizona

    by Vanessa Saltos

    Swimming, cycling, running; all great sports on their own, but some people tackle all three at once. For Cal Poly Humboldt, seven triathletes took on this challenge. On Saturday, Nov. 11, the Lumberjacks traveled to Tempe, Arizona for the NCAA National Championship. 

    After their last race on Oct. 1, they had about four weeks to prepare to finish out their fall season. Head Coach Kinsey Laine wanted to ensure she was getting the best out of her athletes for this last stretch of the season. What Laine wanted to focus on in practice was speed and maintaining health. 

    “The deeper you get into the season, the greater the chances are for injury and illness. After regionals, I did have them take a week where it was easier,” Laine said. “They had an extra day off, just because I wanted to make sure they were healthy and not go right back into challenging training, and maybe compromise their immune system or put them at a higher risk for injury.”  

    This is the second season Cal Poly Humboldt has had a triathlon team. The growth from the players and the team is evident. Last season, they finished 12th out of 12 teams. Going into this race, they have earned the 7th spot out of 13 teams. Laine attributes this growth to the culture shift she has seen within the team. She notices her athletes wanting to not only get the best out of themselves, but out of each other in a positive way. 

    “It’s been phenomenal. It’s been such a joy to watch this team grow and improve,
    Laine said. “I think probably the biggest difference is that the new athletes that are here this year came in knowing part of the reason they came to Humboldt was to do triathlon.”

    One of the new athletes this year is Sierra Erlandson, a freshman majoring in environmental resource engineering. Erlandson had no experience with collegiate triathlon, and didn’t know what to expect when joining the team. She was pleasantly surprised to be a part of what she now calls family. Erlandson understands that the deeper you get into the season the more mental strength it takes. 

    “Right now, we’re just supporting each other, and we’re just so proud of how far we’ve come so far as it is, that we’re not looking for some miraculous outcome from nationals,” Elandson said. “We’re looking for strong finishes and smiling faces”. 

    Six out of the seven Lumberjack athletes crossed the finish line in Tempe, Arizona this weekend. Leading the way was freshman Eve Wendley placing #137 out of 208 athletes. Racers were either from division I, II or III programs. As a team, Cal Poly Humboldt placed 10th out of the 12 division II teams in attendance. 

  • Swim club makes a splash

    by Dezmond Remington

    Water is a terrible medium for sound, being roughly 800 times denser than air. It is practically impossible to speak underwater. This makes it all the more incredible that water brings people together so well.

    Emily Handy, president of the new swim club on campus, is attempting to bring that sense of community to what is often a very solitary sport. Handy swam competitively in elementary school, but took time off from the sport until last November, when she broke her ankle after slipping down a wet hill while biking. Swimming was one of the few sports she could do, as it’s low-impact and it didn’t hurt her ankle like a bike did.

    “I want people to come regardless of their skill level or commitment,” Handy said. “I just want people to be able to go into the pool, be able to have contact with lifeguards, or coaches, people who can kind of mentor them if they have questions…there’s people who aren’t necessarily the strongest swimmers or people who don’t necessarily want to compete but they want to show up to the club anyways just to be able to swim, to ask questions about form, just kind of be in the water, figure it out. And I want to give them access to that.”

    Indeed, there are quite a few people interested in joining the club, well over thirty at last count, all different varieties of people.

    Kaden Tobin was a competitive swimmer for 11 years, has taught swim lessons for five years, and coached for a year and a half. One of the reasons they chose to go to Humboldt was the fact that there is a pool on campus, and they assumed there would be a team or a club that used it. When they got to campus and discovered that wasn’t the case, they were disappointed. They believe the swim club has a lot of potential to bring people together.

    “There’s a lot of people that go into watersports, and you get this sense of community,” Tobin said. “I think it’ll be great for connecting people, especially incoming freshmen or people who have been on campus and haven’t really explored it yet.”

    It is that sense of community that has the most appeal to the members of the swim club. Transfer student Emma Wilson, who has been swimming since she was nine and is now a lifeguard and swim instructor at the Arcata Community Pool, agrees.

    “Working together, even though it’s an individual sport, you still get that motivation from each other,” Wilson said. “Like when someone completes a lap and they… make progress and I think that’s really inspiring for me to continue swimming and my passion for it.”

    What members want to get out of the swim club varies. Handy hopes it will be a gateway to expanding student access to the pool. Tobin wants it to be a good social outlet, and Wilson wishes for a competitive, dynamic team, with swim meets and the like, even though she describes herself as a very noncompetitive person. Regardless of goals, that desire comes down to the people you’re doing it with.
    “It’s an individual sport against yourself,” Wilson said. “But then the team brings everyone together…it’s just really uplifting. And so I hope we can bring more of a community and acceptance for it.”

  • Stuck Swimming in Circles

    Stuck Swimming in Circles

    Completing and contemplating Mac Miller’s final album

    Mac Miller‘s family and record producer, Jon Brion, released his final album, “Circles,” on Jan. 17. “Circles” completes his previous album, which was under works during his accidental overdose a month after “Swimming” was released in 2018.

    “Circles” goes deeper into his personal life and the struggles he was dealing with. Songs such as the last song, “Once a Day,” hit home. Miller had posted a snippet of the song on his Instagram story the day before his death.

    Jena Schuh, a zoology student at Humboldt State University, said she knew this album was going to be one of, if not the greatest, album Miller worked on when she first started listening.

    Miller’s album goes deeper into the idea that although he was rich and famous, he still dealt with struggles.

    “The style of ‘Circles’ truly portrays who Mac as a person was,” Schuh said. “Even though he had a lot of money and fame, he still went through the daily struggles that a lot of normal people have too.”

    Throughout the album, Miller openly talks about how he was feeling and some of his darker thoughts about the world and himself. He displays vulnerability to himself and is more transparent in “Circles” than any other album he made.

    Miller’s album goes deeper into the idea that although he was rich and famous, he still dealt with struggles. In the song “Circles,” Miller talks about how he’s tried to change, but can’t.

    “He’s just so creative and so unique. I feel like no one could ever guess what Mac would want, you know?”

    Hazel Belair

    This album in particular has a lot of things that people can relate to, such as going around and around in circles in life. In his song, “Blue World,” Miller describes the craziness of the world and the devil being on his doorstep, but carrying on and shining. It’s an album of pain and tribulations, but also triumph. He continues to talk about himself rising up, shining or continuing on.

    This album gave Mac Miller fans mixed emotions. Hazel Belair, a 21-year-old Arcata resident, said she chose to avoid listening to the album because it wasn’t finished by Miller himself.

    “He’s just so creative and so unique,” Belair said. “I feel like no one could ever guess what Mac would want, you know?”

    The family asking Brion to complete the album was an important part of keeping the authenticity. Brion had been working with Miller on not just “Circles,” but also on his last album, “Swimming.” They had been experimenting with different sounds, instruments and lyrics.

    With the amount of time the two spent together, Brion learned a lot about Miller, but particularly about his music style and preferences. After countless hours in the studio with him, Brion picked up on what Miller was looking for in the album and how he wanted it to sound. There isn’t anyone else who could have made this into a more pure Mac Miller album than Brion did.

    HSU geography student Olivia Dorenkamp thought Brion did a great job on the album and brought out new sounds.

    “‘Good News‘ and ‘Woods‘ put me in a state of bliss and remembrance of his past music,” Dorenkamp said. “Overall into a groovy state of mind.”

    Although “Circles” was Mac Miller’s final contribution to the music world, it was one of his most beautiful. He died over a year ago, but his memory continues to live on through his lyrics and the musical creativity that’s portrayed in “Circles” and his other albums.

  • First annual kids plunge

    First annual kids plunge

    By| Iridian Casarez

    The Discovery Museum held their First Annual Kids Plunge at Freshwater park.

    Unlike their annual Perilous Plunge, a fundraiser that’s held in the winter only for adults, this plunge was kid friendly. According to Redwood Discovery Museum Board President Lynn Langdon, young plungers needed to raise a minimum of $50, pass a swim test and be between the ages five to 17 to plunge into Freshwater pool.

    “The kids weren’t really involved in the regular adult plunge so we decided to give them their own plunge,” Langdon said. “I’m excited for this. The kids are taking ownership in helping the Discovery Museum.”

    Langdon said she represents the community’s interest in the museum. As Board President, Langdon is responsible for making sure the museum makes enough money to keep it open.

    Both of Langdon’s children participated in the plunge. Kids were encouraged to wear silly costumes, and one group of plungers dressed as the characters from Disney Pixar’s animated film “Inside Out”. Their team name was The Inside-Outers.

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    The Inside-Outers posting ready to jump into Freshwater swimming hole on Saturday, August 19. | Photo by Curran Daly

    6-year-old Erin Arnivaz dressed up as Sadness, one of the protagonists of the film. Arnivaz had attended the museum’s summer camp and said she was not afraid of plunging into the swimming hole.

    “I like being Sadness,” Arnivaz said. “I like making sad faces.”

    Skylar Elcock was also a part of the Inside-Outers and dressed up as Fear.

    “I’m afraid to go into the water cause I’m Fear,” Elcock said.

    According to Danielle Jacobson-Elcock, Elcock’s mother, everyone that was in the Inside-Outers plunge team are a part of the Dream Athletics cheer team. Jacobson-Elcock said that all the parents got together and decided on the costumes as a group. The Inside-Outers raised $275 all together.

    “I think it’s a great idea to teach the kids to fund raise at a young age,” Jacobson-Elcock said. “It’s awesome, I love it.”

    Lexi La Jeunesse, 10, is from San Jose, Califonia and has attended the Redwood Discovery Museum’s summer camp program since she was 6-years-old. La Jueness has family in Humboldt County. She raised $205 to be able to plunge into the swimming hole.

    “I’m excited to jump,” La Juenesse said. “Usually it’s the parents that get to jump now it’s my turn.”

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    Lexi La Jeunesse happily showing off her prizes for fund raising the most amount of money on Saturday, August 19. | Photo by Curran Daly

    Kala Minkley, executive director at the Redwood Discovery Museum, said she was very excited to be able to put together a Perilous Plunge fundraiser for the kids.

    “For years the kids have been asking to plunge at the Perilous Plunge and so we made it happen,” Minkley said

    Twelve participants were ready to jump into Freshwater Pool in Eureka for the Redwood Discovery Museum. According to Minkley the kids fund raised almost $1000 for the museum.

    “We hope for many years to come for this event,” Minkley said. “We want it to grow and grow.”

  • Plunging into the Humboldt Bay

    Plunging into the Humboldt Bay

    By Iridian Casarez

    Participants line up to plunge into the icy cold waters of the Humboldt Bay for the children’s Discovery Museum.

    The Discovery Museum in Eureka held its 16th annual Perilous Plunge fundraiser Saturday February 11.

    The Perilous Plunge is a fundraiser for the Discovery Museum where people dress up in costumes to jump into the Humboldt bay to raise money. The Discovery Museum is a science museum for kids. It is the only children’s museum in the area according to Kala Minkley the executive director of the Discovery Museum.

    The Perilous Plunge is the only big fundraiser the museum throws and covers 20 percent of their yearly budget said Minkley. Plungers needed to raise at least $150 to jump into the bay.

    Plunger Brenda Urueta was dressed as Prince. This was Urueta’s first time plunging.  She was with the Humboldt Area Foundation group that was plunging into the bay dressed as “the fallen stars of 2016”. The Humboldt Area Foundation is a non-profit community foundation that gives grants, scholarships and resource library to non-profit organizations.

    “I am doing the plunge because I decided I wanted to do something adventurous and at the same time help advance the mission of the Discovery Museum,” Ureta said. 

    The Marching Lumberjacks performing at the Perilous Plunge on Saturday Feb. 11 2017 in Eureka, California. Photo by Iridian Casarez

    Michele Stephens works for the Department of Health and Human Services and plunged into the bay with a group of her co-workers. The Department of Health and Human Services’ costume theme was beach inspired. This was Stephen’s second time plunging into the bay for the Discovery Museum fundraiser.

    “It’s a great fundraiser for the Discovery Museum and the museum is a great part of the community,” Stephens said. “The water was super super cold.”

    Jamie Corsetti from Corsetti Accounting Corporation raised over $2,000. This was Corsetti’s 10th year jumping into the Humboldt Bay for the Perilous Plunge fundraiser. “I do it to have fun,” Corsetti said. “I plunge to support the community and the Discovery Museum.