Dr. Keith Bell
Chris Derks
Robert Alford
Chuck Wiley
Lynne Smith
David Barra

Dr. Keith Bell:  Swimming is a huge part of my life.  It is my passion, my hobby, my relaxation, and my retreat.  I even found ways to make it an integral part of my vocational pursuits.  For that matter, a large part of my life is spent swimming.  I haven’t missed a day of swimming since sometime in the 1980’s.  While not even close to being the most accomplished swimmer in my family, I have had a modicum of swimming success:

• Oldest person ever to medal in a U.S. National Championship placing 6th in the 10k National Championships
• Only male ever to win 11 gold medals in a single United States Masters Swimming National Championship.
• Held the 10k Masters World Record in 3 different age groups concurrently
• 29 World and 86 Masters National Records
• Masters National Champion in 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 1650 yard, 3,000 yard, hour swim for distance, 6,000 yard, 5k, 10k, 2-mile, and 10-mile freestyle, 100m and 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m IM and numerous relays
• 4 time All American at Kenyon College.

Chris Derks:  My first experience in swimming was back in 1976 when my mom took me to try out for the Sheeler-Winton Swim Club in Miami, Florida when I was six years old.  I can't say I enjoyed it much.  When I was about nine I asked my mom when I could quit.  She said, "When you're 40."  (I can finally hang up my Speedo in a little over a year.) 

I've been going at it pretty much full-time ever since (with a four year break during and after college.)  I swam at Tulane University during the 1988-89 school year when they dropped the program.  I transferred to Kansas for my sophomore year and quit at the conclusion of that season.  I got back into swimming in 1994 when I was in graduate school at the George Washington University and was coached by John Flanagan.  John got me involved with open water marathons right away, which became my primary focus until 2007.  I have competed in 8 USS 25K National Championships with several third place finishes and was second in 2003.  Other highlights of my swimming marathon career are:

• Manhattan Island (28.5 miles): 1998 (3rd), 2004 (1st)
• Lac St. Jean (32K): 1999 (4th)
• Atlantic City (37K): 1995 (2nd)
• Tampa Bay (24 miles): 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 (1st all four years) current record holder of 7hours 41 mins
• English Channel (2001):  8 hours 32 minutes.  Fastest time of 2001
• Lake Travis (12 miles): 2006, 2007, and 2008 (1st all four years)
• Dozens of other top finishes in one mile races up to 20K.  Too many to name or remember.

 
I'm currently spending my time training for pool events.  In 2008, I broke the men's 35-39 age group record for the 1500 with a time of 16:32.72.  The record had belonged to Rowdy Gaines since 1994.

Robert Alford:  Swimming has been an integral part of my life from the moment I was tossed into a pool as a toddler. As a youngster my father was a YMCA director in Northeast Ohio and I spent a lot of time in the chlorine. Growing up I swam on several swim teams. I loved the competition and the experience taught me about setting goals and working hard. As I've grown older I've come to enjoy the peaceful self-reflective aspects of swimming. Today swimming allows me quiet time to reflex on the day's accomplishments. Swimming keeps me sane and happy.
Swimming has also provided me with an employable skill. From the beginning of my work career in high school through college being able to swim provided me with an income whether as a swim lessons instructor, life guard, or swim team coach.

The Great Travis Trek provides an opportunity to bring the joy of swimming into the lives of others. The self-confidence gained by taking the plunge and the lifetime of fun physical activity is priceless.

Chuck Wiley:  I was introduced to swimming kicking and screaming at three and a half years old. After those early lessons, I spent the better part of the next 40 plus years in and around the water. I swam competitively throughout high school and college. I swam for L. C. Anderson high school locally in Austin, progressing to the Junior National and National level in addition to the UIL state high school championships my junior and senior years. I attended Arizona State University where I was a member of the varsity travel squad all four years and swam at the NCAA National Championships my junior year. I was an NCAA Academic All-American that same year. The other years I swam at the USA Swimming national championships. After graduation, I continued to swim and was a member of the USA Swimming national teams from 1992 to 1998 inclusive. I was the USA Swimming national champion in the 25Km swim for four years running from 1994 through 1997.

During those years as a member of the national team, I was able to travel to numerous meets and swims both throughout the United States and elsewhere around the world.  Swimming has allowed me to travel to Canada, Hawaii, Italy, France, Switzerland, Australia and Japan. It has taken me to pretty much every corner of the United States. I have done races in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Japan, the Gulf of Mexico, and a list of lakes too numerous to run through.  It has allowed me to meet and befriend a vast array of people from a diverse geographic and cultural spectrum.

After concluding my elite competitive career in 1998, I have stayed active in swimming at the masters level and enjoy swimming as part of an exercise program as well as a good way to relieve stress and just get away from the pressures of work and other life areas.

Lynne Smith:  I think my parents taking me to the local YMCA for aqua baby swimming had a significant impact on me.  I just never stopped swimming.  Growing up in Tulsa, OK, I swam on the local AAU/USS swim teams, and was the solid swimmer the coach could put in for any event. 
The discipline, dedication, and goal setting I learned swimming as a kid has carried over to every aspect of my life.  Over the years, my athletic focus has shifted many times from swimming to triathlon and back to swimming again.  I graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1990, where I was recruited to swim distance free.

Some of my significant athletic accomplishments include Hawaii Ironman '04, Catalina Channel '06, English Channel '07, Lake Austin Dam to Dam '08.  I am currently training for the Santa Barbara Channel in '09 and a double English Channel crossing in '10.  Professionally, I manage Dell's Executive Briefing Center in Round Rock, TX.


David Barra:  My first taste of competitive swimming came freshman year in high school. I continued through my junior year. During this time I had the opportunity to lifeguard at Coney Island and developed a passion for swimming in the ocean.

I competed in about a dozen triathlons in the early 80's and raced road then mountain bikes for the next decade. In 1998 I returned to swimming as part of a rehab program for a lower back injury and joined a masters swim club in New Paltz, NY. In the past 11 years, I have participated in close to 150 open water events and hope to attempt an English Channel crossing in 2010 or 2011.  Having just completed a 2 person Tampa Bay Marathon relay, I am planning to enter as solo next year.

My 2009 schedule is:
April 18 Tampa Bay Marathon (2 person relay w/ Patricia Sener)
May 23-24 The Great Travis Trek
June 14 The Chesapeake Bay Swim 4.4 mi
June 20 The Mashpee Super Swim 5k (Cape Cod)
June 26 Liberty Island 2k (Manhattan)
June 27 The Aquarium 5k (Coney Island)
July 11 2mi USMS National Championship (Canandaigua, NY)
July 25 The Kingdom Swim 10 mi (Lake Memphremagog VT)
August 1 Metro Mile (Point Lookout, NY)
August 8 Island Beach 2 mi (Greenwich CT)
August 9 Grimaldo's Mile (Coney Island)
August 15 2mi USMS Cable Championship (Lake Placid, NY)
Sept 4 Governors Island 2mi (Manhattan)
Sept 11 English Channel Relay (w/ Terry Laughlin, Willie Miller and Steve Shtab
Sept 26 Little Red Lighthouse 5.85 mi (Manhattan)
Oct 21-25 Highland Lakes Challenge

SUPPORT CREW

(Lead Paddlers)
Gary Sertich is originally from Tucson, Arizona, and has a lifelong love of the outdoors. In addition to kayaking, he enjoys camping, backpacking, geocaching, gardening, sailing, and flying hot air balloons. He has an eclectic collection of antique windmills and steam train memorabilia around the house.

Melissa (Mel) Kaplan is a native of El Paso and met Keith and Sandy when she swam the Cap 2K in 2004.  When she's not romping around the trails or lakes with Gary, she enjoys training for and competing in sprint triathlons, testing out new vegetarian recipes, and attending canine agility trials with their rescue mutt, Oakley.

(Boat Captain)
Chris Copeland:  I grew up in an Air Force family, I began swimming when I was five and continued to swim competitively through High School.  I attended the University of Texas and received a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Civil Engineering.  I am currently a practicing engineer, Vice President and Shareholder of MLAW Consultants and Engineers a local structural engineering firm.  I have been married 8 years to Merideth Copeland and we own a home in Cedar Park with our children Cade, 7; Kelly, 5.  My son is involved in swimming and has had the privilege to benefit from swimming lessons in a competitive swim program and has since moved on to the Nitro swim team. I try and keep in shape by staying connected to swimming, biking and running. I have listed a few noteworthy events:

2003 Ride to Drop 205 mile single day cycling event
2003 3M Half Marathon
2003 Motorola Marathon
2005 ATT Half Marathon
2006 Baja Half Ironman
2007 Marathon
2009 Buffalo Springs Half Ironman (upcoming)

Sandy Neilson-Bell:  I learned to swim at the El Monte pool in the city program when I was 6  years old —  joined the city swim team when I was 10.  AT 16, I won 3 gold medals in the 1972 Munich Olympics.   I was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame, the Helms Hall of Fame, the El Monte School Hall of Fame, and the UC Santa Barbara Gaucho Hall of Fame.  The hall of fame recognitions seemed to come after bringing more attention to myself when, with my hubby's encouragement & support, I made a comeback onto the international swim scene at age 28.  They called me the "old lady."

I've won over than 100 Masters National & World titles and was the first woman to compete on the National elite level in three different decades.  I just missed making the '88 Olympic team (at age 32) by less than a finger's touch — but, had the time of my life getting after that challenge.

Currently I enjoy coaching TeamTexas Masters &  organizing swim events  with my husband, Keith. We've been doing these things together for the better part of this decade.  I also love coaching the Westover Wild Orcas with our son, Cooper.  It's my 11th year there. 

I'm glad we're working to raise awareness for the need for swimming lessons for all kids.  I feel very fortunate to have been given the "gift of swimming."  Thanks, Mom & Dad.

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