Mom and son linked by love of swimming
NORTH BEND, Ore. (AP) — For decades, the name Stuntzner was synonymous with excellence for North Bend High School's swim team.
Denise Stuntzner held nearly every school record when she graduated in 1980, heading off to the University of Michigan on a swimming scholarship.
Now, 32 years later, Stuntzner's son, Max Stuntzner-Gibson, is wrapping up his own career for the Bulldogs. He'll compete in his final high school meet at the pool this weekend, with the Class 4A-3A-2A-1A District 4 championships.
Mom and son have been linked by their love for swimming.
Max said there was no pressure for him or his younger brother, Karl, to follow his mom's path in the sport, though they all ended up on swim teams as young kids for the same reason.
"In the beginning, she just wanted us to be able to not drown," he said.
So Denise put Max on the swim team as a first-grader, asking him to give the sport at least a two-year trial period.
"We kind of liked it," he said.
That early joy for the sport stuck.
Max hasn't had quite the success of his mom in high school.
Denise won five individual state titles, including the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle as a freshman and sophomore and the 200 freestyle again as a senior.
But Max has one thing his mom never got, a team state title, which the North Bend boys won for the first time last year.
"It was a great experience," he said.
The two also share one other similarity — a spot on the North Bend school record list.
Kim Jasmer took most of Denise's old records during her standout career for the Bulldogs, but North Bend's old record in the 400 freestyle relay still stands.
"It's kind of cool," Max said of his mom also being on the record board. "Her record's been up there a long time."
Denise agrees having both names on the record list is neat.
"It's really special, I have to say," she said. "I don't think there's any other school in the state with a parent and child on the board.
"Over the years, it's become something special with my sons."
Denise said her parents got her onto the swim team when she was in first grade, after she struggled in regular swimming lessons.
One of her best friends was on the old North Bend Aquatic Team, and her parents persuaded her to join that squad so she could spend time with her friend.
But when her friend advanced to a higher level, Denise had to get better so she could move up, as well. Then she learned she could do the butterfly better than everyone else and grew to love winning.
She helped North Bend's girls team to fourth place as a freshman and second as a sophomore. All of her relay teams placed between second and fourth.
At Michigan, Denise set school and Big Ten records in the 100 and 200 butterfly as a freshman and just missed qualifying for the Olympic trials. She said an experimental weight-training program ruined her college career after that.
Denise didn't push her kids toward a high school career.
"I knew what the life was like, and I didn't want to put that on them at any level," she said of the long hours in training.
But she has enjoyed watching Max follow in her footsteps.
"It was nothing I ever dreamed would happen," she said. "It's neat to see him here in the pool I basically lived at for 12 years."
Max plans to swim in college, too. If the financial aid works out right, he hopes to compete for the Colorado School of Mines, one of the top mechanical engineering schools in the country.
Max's senior season was almost derailed by a fluke accident on New Year's Day, when he suffered a gunshot that went through his upper arm, but somehow missed the bone and arteries.
Max's arm recovered quickly. What he couldn't get back was the time he lost in the pool.
"Most of the difficulty has been being out of practice eight days," he said, adding that swimmers can lose a lot when they miss that much time from their usual level of fitness.
North Bend coach Chris Richmond expects big things from the senior.
"For having a gunshot wound, he's doing fairly well," Richmond said.
"He's a great kid to be around," Richmond said.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
