April 12, 2007

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A 10-year old Boy Scout named Louis Boehle took a one-hour ferry ride to camp at Catalina Island. That's where Valor Swim's story begins.

Now, 12 years later, Boehle plans on making a return trip to the island along with his 5 friends. This particular voyage is scheduled to take about 16 miles longer than the ferry ride, however, as Boehle and 5 others will team up to swim the Catalina Channel this Friday (April 13) as a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Foundation.

"This is a dream of mine that has come to fruition, and that's really exciting for me," said Boehle, who has swam the past 2 seasons at California Baptist University.

The first task Boehle faced when he began to construct a feasible plan to swim the channel more than a year ago was to recruit a team of swimmers. While he was surrounded by swimmers day in and day out at the Lancer Aquatics Center, the request to come and swim nearly 50 miles of ocean water--at night--is never easy to ask.

"When Louis first approached me about it, I said, `No way'," said Lindsey Eastman, also a senior on CBU's NAIA National Champion swimming and diving team. "The more I evaluated the offer, though, the better sense it made. If there's ever a time in our lives where we can do something like this, it's right now."

Once he had Eastman recruited, Boehle's plan picked up a head of steam, as junior Garrett Miller and sophomore Barret Wilson jumped on board. Boehle's task of reeling in Miller and Wilson was met with little resistance, as Miller describes his friend, Boehle, as `a good salesman.'"

Dual-sport athlete Angie Rodriguez, a junior, joined the team in time, as well as Melanie Lentz, a graduate student who swam at California Baptist from 2003-06. Since then, Lentz has had to drop out because of the physical strain that includes an in-water temperature that Miller says ranges from 54 to 58 degrees.

Lentz, who ran her first-ever marathon in January, was replaced by another former Lancer swimmer, Amy Migliazzo (2002-03). It will be the fourth overall swim to Catalina for Migliazzo, who made the 50-mile trek in a 2001 solo effort.

Migliazzo's experience and know-how compliments the aforementioned swimmers, as well as the team of 4 ocean kayakers--all California Baptist students or graduates--who will accompany the team on the swim.

"The fact that they're making this swim as a group is unique in and of itself," said CBU head swimming and diving coach Rick Rowland, who plans to travel alongside the team on a chartered boat. "They've each grown as college students in reaching beyond boundaries in themselves."

While Boehle would be fulfilling a lifelong dream in the mere act of swimming out to Catalina, he made it his goal early in the planning process that if his dream should come to reality, so should someone else's. Enter Make-A-Wish.

Make-A-Wish, a nationwide organization founded in 1980, grants individual wishes to children suffering from life-threatening medical conditions and currently has 6 eligible children in the Riverside area. It takes $5,000 to grant each wish, a total the team has set as their "bare-minimum" fundraising goal.

"It's been really exciting to see this group of swimmers take on a great challenge for a great cause," said Rowland. "Oftentimes, athletes are perceived as being individually focused, so it's a great thing that these athletes are taking it on themselves to raise money for Make-A-Wish."

The publicity that the team has gained throughout months of preparation and promotion have not only served to boost fundraising totals, but as time has gone on, the team has been presented with various opportunities to share their faith.

Even the date of the event--Friday, April 13--has served as an opportunity for the team to discuss the Christian faith.

"Since we're swimming on Friday the 13th, several people have asked us whether or not we're afraid or superstitious about swimming on this particular night," said Eastman, whose brother, Bobby (2001-04), is one of the kayakers. "It's a great question, because we can tell them that we don't have to be held captive to our fear because we're Christians. It's been great to see how God has used that aspect for his glory."

"We've had so many chances to talk about the gospel because we've had several opportunities to explain who we are to people," said Miller. "We tell them that we're from CBU, and that gives us a big chance to share more about it."

Valor Swim is currently accepting donations that will all go directly toward Make-A-Wish. To visit the official team website and find out more about donating, visit www.valorswim.org.