In the midst of her individual accomplishments, Annette Chang is all about her Union team.
At the 4A District 4-8 meet in November, Chang’s wins in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle went a long way in helping Union overtake rival Camas for the team title, something the Titans hadn’t accomplished in 10 years.
Her contributions behind the scenes were also important. Before the meet, Chang and Union coach Doug Lumbard had numerous discussions to put together the team’s lineup and where to position each swimmer. For scoring purposes, this was important, because Union’s team consisted of 12 swimmers compared to 22 for Camas.
The plan they mapped out worked. All 12 of Union’s swimmers reached either the consolation or championship finals and contributed to the Titans’ 299 team points, 29 points higher than Camas.
Chang, who was selected as The Columbian’s All-Region girls swimmer of the year, qualified for state in the 50 and 100 free, while also being part of Union’s 200 medley and 200 free relays. As an individual, Chang, a junior, had the strongest showing of any southwest Washington swimmer, placing fourth in the 50 free and seventh in the 100 free finals, while taking down two Union records in the preliminary round.
“She’s always been a good swimmer, she’s a natural,” said Lumbard, who’s known Chang since she began swimming at age 6 with the Columbia River Swim Team, coached by Darlene Lumbard, Doug’s wife.
“But, to get to a certain level, natural ability only takes you so far. You gotta work hard and she works hard. … She could win state next year. She’s got the ability. And she wasn’t that far off this year.”
But when Chang reflected on state recently, the recurring theme was sharing the experience at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way with her five Union teammates, all of whom supported each other throughout the individual events and teamed up to record a pair of top-eight finishes in the two relays.
“Just being with the girls this season, we had a lot of people step up,” Chang said. “So it was fun seeing them get to where they wanted to be.”
Between high school and club swimming seasons, down time is rare for Chang.
A typical day begins with practice at 5:45 a.m., followed by a full day of school, a second practice from 4-6 p.m., then returning home to do school work until 11 p.m., sometimes midnight. Chang was plenty familiar with the routine until the COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home-order disrupted it.
Two months out of the pool was a win and a loss at the same time, she said. On one hand, the shutdown gave Chang a much-needed break, while also benefiting from other forms of training, such as lifting weights.
However, upon returning to Cascade Athletic Center to swim, Chang said she “felt like a little baby swimmer again.”
“I was definitely trying to feel out the water,” she said. “It was definitely hard at the beginning and I was like, ‘I don’t really want to swim that much.’ Then you start getting back into it.”
Though Chang and her teammates went months without competition, they traveled to Phoenix for the 2021 Spring Speedo Sectional in March. Chang called the trip an important step, helping set the stage for summer training and the fall high school season.
Chang had little time to celebrate her and the team’s wins at the district meet. Just six days later in the state prelims, Chang took second in the 50 free in 24.09 seconds, followed by a fifth-place effort in the 100 free (53.24). Not only were the two times lifetime bests, they also set two Union records previously held by Andrea Young, whose family befriended the Changs through their time on the Columbia River Swim Team.
“(It meant) a lot,” Chang said. “Freshman year I was really close, and sophomore year there was COVID so there was no chance to (break the record).”
Chang also helped both Union relay teams reach the finals and ensure top-eight finishes. The 200 medley team, featuring Chang, Jean Lin, Joli Fong and Nicole Adams took sixth place, while the 200 free team of Chang, Fong, Ariel Ammentorp and Joanne Lin finished eighth.
“The difficult thing is transitioning them from districts to state, because they get pumped up and they’re excited for districts, and then you’ve got to try and recreate that,” Lumbard added. “She delivered on the first day of state.”
Due to COVID restrictions, there was no actual podium, but it didn’t diminish the fact that six Union swimmers went home with medals. Five of the six, including Chang, will return next season.
“Knowing that we got there was a big deal,” Chang said. “Hopefully next year we have another chance.”
All-Region girls swimming
Swimmer of the year — Annette Chang, Union
The rest of the team
Campbell Deringer, Camas — Junior placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke 4A state finals with a time of 1:06.32. Deringer also qualified for the 200 individual medley at state after winning districts.
Aubrey Horner, Mountain View — Junior qualified for the 3A state championships in the 200 individual medley, the 100 breaststroke as well as two relays, the 200 medley and 200 free.
Jean Lin, Union — At districts, the junior swam two state times by allocation in the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke, respectively, and was also part of the Titans’ 200 medley relay team that placed seventh at state.
Lila McGeachy, Camas — Freshman earned a trip to the 4A state championships after placing second in the 500 free at districts. In the state prelims, McGeachy’s time of 5:31.34 was more than three seconds faster than her seed time.
Jane Tewinkel, Columbia River — Senior reached the 2A state finals in two events, the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. Tewinkel placed sixth in the 100 backstroke (1:03.28) and seventh in the 100 butterfly (1:04.54).
Nina Uchtmann, Battle Ground — Junior won the 200 freestyle (2:05.30) and 100 backstroke (1:03.60) at districts to qualify for the 4A state championships.
