5th ASOS captures swimming team trophy

  • Published
  • By Dean Siemon
  • Northwest Guardian
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  The unit-level championship trophy went to the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron during the 2015 Joint Base Lewis-McChord Swim Meet Jan. 21. But members of Team Red, White and Blue and 4th Airlift Squadron took home the most gold medals through all 26 events.

The majority of the individual event medals were collected by the 4th Air Squadron, while Team Red, White and Blue, the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron won the unit-level championship trophy swim meet at Soldiers Field House pool.

The JBLM chapter of Team RWB, composed of current and prior-service members, collected 12 gold, seven silver and six bronze medals to finish with 181 points. The 4th AS had eight gold, six silver and five bronze medals while finishing with 150 points.

Along with the team representing Madigan Army Medical Center, Team RWB and 4th AS were considered open teams -- pulling athletes from outside of their office. Despite finishing fourth in the overall standings, 5th ASOS was given the trophy after all the numbers were totaled.

"We weren't expecting it, but we're happy," said Jordan Nelson, co-captain of 5th ASOS. "It was coming together as a team and rooting each other on."

Nelson received a silver medal in the women's 50-meter backstroke with a time of 36.7 seconds. She also finished with three bronze medals in the women's 50-meter butterfly (42.19), women's 50-meter breaststroke (48.72) and as part of the unit's 200-meter mixed freestyle relay (2 minutes, 19.67 seconds).

Nicholas Picoc also earned two silver medals with times of 1:38.07 in the men's 100-meter breaststroke and 44.37 in the men's 50-meter breaststroke. The other three members of the mixed 200-meter freestyle relay team that won bronze included Tom Zieler, Justin McDonald and co-captain Nathan Rings.

It wasn't a bad performance considering the team only had a couple of days to train for the annual swimming competition.

"It's not the Navy," Rings said. "Everyone who does (swimming) does it on their own time -- it isn't part of (physical training)."

While they weren't eligible to win the overall trophy, swimmers from the open teams were happy to leave with some hardware. Team RWB's JBLM chapter is still young, but its branching from the Seattle-Tacoma chapter that has built a presence at several events in the region.

The team was organized by the JBLM athletic director Brian Trainor and long-time member David Hsu. It was the first nonrunning competition the group has participated in on base.

"I think there's a lot of people, veterans and nonveterans, who really connect with fitness as a coping mechanism for the hardship that Soldiers go through," Hsu said.

Many of the RWB members have gone through or are currently in the medical evaluation board, said Trainor, who was released from the hospital in December with Crohn's Disease. Whether it was members of JBLM leadership like Bowline (colonel), Tempel (major general) or Thomas Lee, who lost his leg to an improvised explosive device during a mission, Trainor and others were motivated to give their best effort.

"(Leadership) will see their Soldiers getting out to become veterans who want to stay connected and that's where Team RWB supports," Trainor said.