Midd is hopping with islanders

Author: Peter Baumann

Middlebury swimmer Peter Swanson '09 is no stranger to speed. The sprinter routinely covers 100 yards in a little over 50 seconds, and has been known to blow through a 50-yard race in only 23 seconds. However, because Swanson is one of two Middlebury winter athletes to hail from the island state of Hawaii, even at this blistering pace it would still take him over 46 days to swim from his high school in Honolulu to the front door of his dorm at Middlebury. Luckily, he does not have to, although the trip still takes between 12 and 14 hours door to door.

As far as athletics are concerned, Hawaii is as much a part of the national lore as any of its better-known brethren. It is home to the Ironman Triathlon, a 128-mile-long test of human endurance combining an open-water swim, biking and running. The most famous team on the island, the University of Hawaii football team, recently completed an undefeated regular season, earning a spot amongst college football's elite in the Bowl Championship Series.

All told, despite the long distances traveled for many contests, Hawaiian athletes are universally proving themselves equal to their continental peers.

This is no different at Middlebury, where Swanson and fellow islander, women's basketball player Alana Wall '10, are already making names for themselves with steady, consistent contributions to their respective teams. Both athletes attended rival high schools in the Hawaiian capital of Honolulu, and despite their hometown's well publicized perfect weather, both excel in sports that compete during the winter season, although, up until this past year, basketball was actually a spring sport on the island.

For Wall, like many Middlebury students, the biggest shock she encountered upon arriving on campus was the weather. Unlike many of us, however, the temperature in Wall's home state rarely dips below 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Having lived in Hawaii for her entire life, she admits that "even wearing warm clothes was a new concept to me!"

Other than the weather, Wall has had little trouble adjusting to life on the mainland and on the Middlebury campus, although she does find herself missing her native food - in particular poke (a type of fish salad) and loco moco (a type of Hawaiian comfort food consisting of an egg, hamburger patty and gravy served over a bed of rice). And while the Vermont countryside can be scenic in its own right, it is no wonder that Wall often finds herself missing the view of the ocean from Diamond Head.

Wall was first drawn to Middlebury in part because it is so dissimilar from what she had grown up with.

"I thought it would be fun to go to a school that's so different from home," she said. "Although Middlebury is both very different and far from my home, attending school here has definitely been a rewarding experience."

Maybe the reason for Wall's relatively easy adjustment is that, snow or shine, spring or winter, indoors or out, a basketball hoop always rests 10 feet from the floor, and Wall has proven very good at finding it. In only her second year on campus Wall has established herself as an indispensable member of the team, injecting immediate energy off the bench, shooting almost 50 percent from the field and an astonishing 83 percent from the free-throw line. She noted that it would be tough for a young child to get hooked on playing an indoor game amidst all the beautiful weather, but she managed to avoid that problem because in Hawaii most youth basketball teams actually play outdoors instead of in a gymnasium.

While Wall was tuning her talents on an outdoor court, Swanson was tearing up the water. Like Wall, Swanson was attracted to the NESCAC because of its reputation for athletic and academic excellence, and chose Middlebury for the feel he got after taking a visit to campus.

Having liked to spend his free time surfing in the Pacific, Swanson was forced to make many changes upon his arrive in Vermont. "I had to buy an entirely new wardrobe," he recounted. Perhaps even more disruptive, he was forced to adapt to a new setting for his races. "I trained all throughout high-school in an outdoor pool," Swanson said. "So it was kind of a bummer having to swim inside."

Swanson has settled in nicely though, and despite the landlocked nature of his college he has found more than enough outlets for his aquatic talents. During the fall, he played a crucial role in Middlebury's victory at the New England Water Polo championships and is currently contributing to the swim team's early winning record. During the team's last dual meet against Springfield College, Swanson helped the team to an easy 170-128 victory, recording points in both the 50- and 100- yard freestyles.

Despite the long roads they have traveled to get to Middlebury, both Swanson and Wall have found a home in Vermont. Whether Swanson is turning up the heat as an anchor on the 400-yard freestyle relay, or Wall is running the fast-break for the Panther basketball team, both athletes are finding ways to bring a little of their native warmth to Middlebury's winter sports season.