While it is always nice to hear open water swimmers from Lynne Cox to Hank Wise being honored by the Aquatic Capital of America, it is also very inspirational and educational to hear about the exploits and achievements by other accomplished athletes who spent mega time in the water.
Yesterday, the Aquatic Capital of America Hall of Fame ceremonies were held along the shore of the 1932 and 2028 Olympic rowing basin as the sun was shining on a beautiful fall evening in the City of Long Beach where 11 different Olympic sports will be contested during the LA28 Olympics.
The 2025 Hall of Fame inductees included an Olympic swim coach, a competitive sailor, a dragon boat event organizer, an Olympic canoe paddler, surf skier, and triathlete, a pioneering big-wave surfer, an Olympic water polo silver medalist, an Olympic water polo gold medalist, an Olympic rower, a record-breaking barefoot water skier, and an Olympic triathlon bronze medalist.
Listening to their stories and backgrounds was enlightening to hear while enjoying the quick wit and insightful questions by Olympic champion John Naber who served as the Master of Ceremonies. Small talk about their training, injuries, comebacks, and challenges, and hearing about their motivations and challenges behind their grand visions was a perfect learning opportunity, held in a relaxed setting along the shore of the 1932 and 2028 Olympic rowing basin.
The Future Meets The Past
Each of the honorees were introduced by local high school students who represented various aquatic sports. You could sense the awe the young athletes felt towards the honorees in the words they spoke.
The evening with so many accomplished athletes, all tied intimately with the water, was California casual and enchantingly cool.
2025 ACOA Hall of Fame Inductees and Student Presenters
Dave Salo swam at Long Beach State under Hall of Fame coach Jon Urbanchek, and he graduated with a B.A. and M.A. in exercise physiology. Dave served time as a national coach leading the women at the 2013 and 2015 FINA World Championships and the U.S. Men at the 2005 World Championships. He also served as an assistant coach at the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Olympics. As the long-time head coach at the University of Southern California (for 14 seasons 2006-2020), his teams posted eight top 6 finishes at the NCAA Championships and produced 89 Women’s All-Americans and 76 on the Men’s side. In 2010, Dave was inducted into the American Swim Coaches Hall of Fame. He coached Olympic gold medalists Amanda Beard, Aaron Peirsol, Lenny Krayzelburg, Jason Lezak, Ous Mellouli, Staciana Stitts, and Rebecca Soni and arrived at USC after serving as head coach of the Irvine Novaquatics from 1990 to 2006. Student presenter was Claire Billish.
Claudia Schneider began her rowing career at Long Beach State, graduating in 1975. She joined the Long Beach Rowing Association. She rowed for renown coach Harry Parker and was a member of the famed “Red Rose Crew,” which won a silver medal at the World Championships. She continued winning national titles until 1980 when it became evident that the U.S. was going to boycott the Olympic Games. Claudia raced successfully for years at the Masters World Championships. Student presenter was Julia Torres.
Craig Vestermark was born and raised in Long Beach. He graduated from Wilson High School where he played football, as the starting quarterback, and baseball. Craig is a retired Long Beach firefighter and spent a lifetime swimming and skiing in the waters of Long Beach and Marine Stadium. In 1972, he became the world record barefoot water skier clocking a 72-mph run. Three months later Craig represented the United States at the World Championships, held at the Long Beach Marine Stadium, and won the event by 4 mph. In 1975, Craig broke the World Record again at 92 mph. Craig ended up being the World Barefoot Water Ski Champion in 1972, 1973 and 1974. He was the first barefoot water-skier to exceed 100 mph, with a 103 mph effort. Student presenter was Piper Anderson.
Lauren Wenger earned All-American All-CIF and All-League honors at Wilson High School. She matriculated to USC where she won the Peter J. Cutino Award as the top collegiate water polo player in the nation. As a Trojan, Lauren was a three-time All-American and helped USC make history as the first team to go undefeated with a 29-0 finish enroute to the 2004 NCAA Championship. Lauren played on the USA Water Polo National Team, earning a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships. In 2007 she earned MVP honors at the FINA World Championships while helping Team USA to a gold medal. A year later she reached her first Olympic podium, earning silver in Beijing. She added a second World Championship in Rome in 2009 on the run-up to her greatest career achievement, the program’s first Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games, where she dominated play. Lauren was inducted into the USA Water polo Hall of Fame in 2019. Student presenter was Abby Billish.
Susan Bartholmew-Williams began her swimming at 9 in Florida and Hawaii, then with the Long Beach Swim Club. At the age of 15, she set a junior national record in the 200 meter butterfly. She won a scholarship to the University of Alabama and joined coach Don Gambril there, but her swim career sputtered when she fell ill. After graduating with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, she moved to Boulder, Colorado for grad school and turned to triathlon, a perfect match for her competitive nature. In 2004, she qualified for the Athens Olympic Games by placing third in the trials. At the Olympics, she stunned the triathlon world by winning the bronze medal. Student presenter was Emmy Lou Kennedy.
Mike Baker was the former executive director of the Southern California Dragon Boat Club and an accomplished youth paddling coach. He led outrigger canoe teams to great success and was instrumental in coaching and inspiring youth dragon boat teams. Baker’s love for the water began with surfing with his father in Hawaii and continued into his adult life as a co-founder of the Surfrider Foundation-Long Beach Chapter. At one point, the Dragon Boat Club that Baker led was the only certified club in the United States. He was responsible for orchestrating the Long Beach International Dragon Boat Festival, which brings hundreds of teams and thousands of paddlers to Long Beach every year. Mike dedicated himself to ensuring the safety and organization of thousands of paddlers on Mother’s Beach. He was with the National Ski Patrol from 1984-2006, where he received many awards. He also served as a California Highway Patrol Officer in the Long Beach area. He passed away last July at 79. Student presenter was Jacob Eckelman.
A native Kiwi now living in California, Scotty Dickson (@scottyd_racing)has been in the match racing game longer than most and competed in many events worldwide over his extensive career. Having been coach to many of the younger sailors on the circuit and heavily involved in developing match racing in California, Scotty skippered his first Congressional Cup in 1996 and has not missed many since, including making the finals in 2019. He has won the Ficker Cup 14 times since 1996. Having completed 5 Transpac’s, Cape Town to Rio, Auckland Noumea, Van Isle 360 and Tour De France races, Scotty has an extensive international offshore/inshore resume. Additionally he has appeared at many events as commentator including at the Bermuda Gold Cup, Auckland, Chicago and Saint Petersburg, Russia. Student presenter was Taryn Tande.
Julie Leach studied at Long Beach State and competed at a high level in both canoeing and triathlon. Julie started her paddling career in 1971 and quickly excelled. In 1974 she competed in the Junior World Championships in Poznan, Poland. In 1976, Julie qualified for the Montreal Summer Olympics and finished seventh in the Women’s K-1 500 Meter event. In 1987, she won the Molokai to Oahu Surf Ski race, considered the World Championship at the time. Julie switched from canoeing to Triathlon, winning the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon in 1982. Student presenter was Chelsea Drew.
Chuck Linnen was born in Long Beach and attended St. Anthony’s High School and California State University, Long Beach. The “Surf King” as many called him, competed in the 1958 Oceanside Invitational, the first U.S. Championships held at Huntington Beach Pier in 1959, the 1961 World Championships in Makaha, and the 1964 Senior World Championships in Peru. Linnen was runner-up at the 1973 Malibu Masters event. More recently, Linnen was crowned N.S.S.A. Senior champ and won the W.S.A. Grand Master title. Linnen was among the first wave of California surfers to travel to Hawaii’s North Shore during the early ‘60s, and then was instrumental in starting the U.S. Surfing Association. Chuck was inducted into both the Huntington Beach Walk of Fame and the Surfer’s Hall of Fame. Student presenter was Noah Corelli.
Anesthesiologist Alan Mouchawar, MD initially played baseball at Long Beach Poly High School, but his brother talked him into going out for the water polo team when he was a sophomore. “They needed bodies out there to make a team and baseball slowly faded,” Alan said. “Water polo was successful, and baseball wasn’t. It’s a lot more fun to win than to lose.” Alan then enrolled at Stanford, where he was a four-time All-American and lead his team to three national championships. He was on the US National team from 1981-88, winning a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and gold medals at the 1987 Goodwill Games and 1987 Pan American Games. He also competed at the 1986 World Championships. Student presenter was Aiden Greenwood.
For more information, visit www.theaquaticcapital.org.
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