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Teen Immersed in His Sport: Swimming, Boy Scouts and Famous Athlete All Await Aberdeen Student

Posted on: Friday, 3 March 2006, 06:00 CST

By Deb Smith, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

Mar. 3--This is shaping up to be a banner week for an Aberdeen athlete.

Swimmer Andy Russo is poised to receive the highest honor from the Boys Scouts, meet his favorite athlete for the second time and compete in a state meet.

The state indoor swimming championships will be today through Sunday at the Northeast Regional Health and Fitness Center for the first time. The Aberdeen center recently opened.

"We've never had it here before," said Russo, 16, who will compete in seven events, including three freestyle sprints. "It's usually in Sioux Falls or Rapid City or Pierre. Now, I don't have to drive anywhere. It should be good for Aberdeen. There'll be a lot of people in town."

In conjunction with the state swimming meet, U.S. gold medal swimmer Rowdy Gaines will be in Aberdeen on Saturday and will be the keynote speaker at a banquet at the Aberdeen Civic Arena. Gaines, who won three gold medals at the 1984 Olympic games, has also worked as a commentator for NBC Sports.

Gaines just happens to be Russo's favorite athlete. The two swimmers met one time. When Russo was about 10 years old, he attended an NCAA swimming meet at the University of Minnesota and saw Gaines in a hallway.

"I'm not sure how I recognized him. I got his autograph on a swimming card and I still have it. Hopefully, I can have him sign it again. I'm excited," Russo said.

To make the week even more meaningful to Russo, he will be awarded his Eagle Scout badge from the Boy Scouts. He has been in scouting since first grade.

Russo's introduction to swimming came when he was 9. His parents, Art and Maggie Russo, took advantage of a free offer.

"As a little kid, I was never good at basketball or soccer," Andy said. "One day my parents dropped me off at the pool. You could swim free for two weeks with the swim team to see how you liked it. I loved it."

He has been with the program ever since and has developed into one of the leaders on the team.

"Andy has a focus on improving as an overall athlete," Aberdeen Swim Club coach Elyce Kastigar said. "He has focused on improving the technical aspects that will affect his performance in the pool. Andy has had to use the clock to push himself. I compliment him on this difficult task for a long season."

Russo, who has several friends on other swim teams, has an interesting dilemma. At the state meet, he will be competing against his friends, but in the sectional meets they join forces and compete together on the same South Dakota team.

"I like to go to the big meets and meet up with my friends. This week I'll be swimming against them and then at sectionals we have to think of each other as a team," he said.

Russo acknowledges that swimming isn't as high a profile sport as football or basketball, but his sport of choice has several long-term advantages.

"Swimming keeps you in shape and active," he said. "Anyone can do it for as long as you want. When you're 60 years old, you're not going to be playing tackle football in your back yard."

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Copyright (c) 2006, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

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Source: American News (Aberdeen, S.D.)

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