JOY & HONOR

Andrea Young remembers the time her dad came home with collegiate sweatshirts for his three children. Andrew Young had made his selections based on their interests. Andrea, 9, and a swimmer, got Cal, at the time one of the nation’s top swimming programs. The Oregon State sweatshirt went to Andrea’s little brother, Ryan.

The choice in sweatshirts didn’t end up predicting the future, but the impact of a father encouraging his children to dream big endures.

Swimming is Young’s signature event. But thanks to her dad, she has been immersed in sports her whole life. On weekends when there wasn’t swim meets, she and her sister Marissa and Ryan would hit tennis balls or golf balls, toss the football or play a round of h-o-r-s-e with their dad.

All the best memories of her childhood seem to revolve around sports. Out-of-state swim competitions turned into mini family vacations in the RV, as they visited national parks on the way home from events.

Andrew Young worked as a police officer at the Vancouver, Washington, Police Department, and he was known for his big smile and even bigger personality.

"He was like a cross between The Rock and Vin Diesel," she said.

Sometimes Young wasn’t happy with her time or performance.

"Did you have fun?" her dad would ask.

"He didn’t care how I did at the meet," she said. "If I can say yes every time, that’s what mattered."

Andrew Young never got to see his oldest daughter compete in college swimming.

But the love for sports he taught her would propel her to the next level.

"That’s why I stuck with it," she said.

Young competed at the state swimming championships with her club team the summer before her sophomore year of high school. Her dad watched the girls on first day of the swim meet. The second day of competition, her dad and mom switched roles, with her mom going to the pool, while her dad took Ryan on a hike in the Gorge.

Swim meets can be pretty boring to watch, Young said, and her parents didn’t want to force Ryan to have to sit for hours.

Just before her race, Young heard her mom’s name being called over the intercom. After she finished, one of the moms from the team came rushing over.

"Go to your mom," she heard.

Andrew Young had collapsed and died suddenly.

Years later, tears fall as she talks about her dad.

"I cry because I’m so grateful for everything I once took for granted," she said.

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Swimming is an easy sport to burn out on without having to overcome tragedy.

But Young never stopped swimming. Determination pushed her forward through grief and loss.

"I am the type of person to give 100 percent in warm-ups," Young said. "I’ve always been internally motivated."

Even when it didn’t matter, she pushed herself. In elementary and middle school, students perform an aerobic capacity test called the pacer.

"I don’t like running," Young said.

But she would beat all the other girls in her class. When she got home, she would tell her dad about her accomplishment.

"Why do you take it so seriously?" friends asked.

"I like to leave my mark," Young answered.

At Union High School in Vancouver, where she earned four varsity letters in swimming, Young held eight school records. She also earned numerous other athletic and academic honors. She is a five-time state club swimming champion and set three records at Columbia River Swim Team.

Hoping to sign early, Young had gone on several recruiting trips. But she didn’t receive the scholarship offers she had hoped for. She had invested so much time and work to make it to the next level. The thought of not being able to achieve the dream her dad believed in weighed heavy.

"It wasn’t what I expected," she recalled. "I began to think, maybe I won’t swim."

That’s when she decided to check out Oregon State University. But not as a potential student athlete, at least at first.

Though she had visited Corvallis many times for club swim meets at Osborn Aquatic Center, the pool where Beavers Swimming competes, she had never considered swimming at OSU.

Then a high school teacher, an Oregon State alumna with connections to the swim team’s coaching staff, got involved. "Are you going to meet the coach?" the teacher asked.

When Andrea said no, her teacher reached out on Young’s behalf. Arrangements were made to attend a home swim meet during her visit. She was offered a recruiting trip the following week, where she met fellow recruit Czsarina Isleta, who would become her teammate, best friend and roommate.

It all came together the moment she stepped foot on campus.

"I have always loved Corvallis," she said. "It is the perfect spot away from home."

Young wanted to remain close to her family. Her mom, Marnie, could easily make the trip down from Vancouver, and she could go home to visit.

"It’s not easy taking care of three kids all by yourself," Young said. "She provided us with everything we needed to be successful. I’m so grateful for that."

Just days before her 18th birthday, Young accepted an offer to swim for Oregon State.

From a class of 10 that started as freshmen and swam together all four years, Young surfaced as team leader. She was named captain her junior and senior years.

Young wants to be like her dad, someone others look up to and respect.

"He spread the spirit of aloha and made everyone feel like ohana (family)," Young said. "This influenced me to put myself in positions where I could grow to be a leader like him."

Young is credited with shepherding the team through a transition in coaches.

"She was the one to say, ‘I’m going to be there. Are you going to be there?’" said Beavers Swimming Coach Jennifer Buffin. Young set a tone for the team. She and the others seniors laid the foundation to build the swimming program.

She leaves Oregon State with four all-time top-10 marks and shares the school record for the 200-medley relay.

Young leads by example in all aspects of life, Buffin said. She served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee at Oregon State. She’s earning a degree in business management with a minor in leadership and will graduate in June.

It’s been several weeks since the Pac-12 Swimming Championships in late February, the last time Young was in the pool. She’s never before spent this long out of the water.

The transformation from student-athlete to life after college has begun.

After 14 years of competitive swimming - waking up at 4:50 a.m. to make 5:30 a.m. practices, two-a-day workouts spending 4 hours in the pool, plus weight lifting and dryland training - she’s looking forward to her first summer off.

"Swimming has been my whole life," Young said.

It was a lot to sacrifice, she concedes.

"But I knew I had to do it to get to the next level," Young said.

Did swimming mold Young into the disciplined, focused student-athlete? Or did she excel at swimming because passion, talent and purpose existed in her independent of her sport?

"That’s a good question," Young said. "I gained skills and qualities that made me me. But I gave a lot back to the sport."

The answer begins to reveal itself in how she spends her time off. The girl who hates to run is coaching Girls On The Run at Adams Elementary School in Corvallis, inspiring the next generation to gain confidence and discover a passion.

And when she talks about her future, it intersects with her past. The memories of hitting tennis balls or swinging a golf club with her dad, his love for sports, are a gift.

Her younger siblings are now both in college, and they remain close. In honor of Andrew Young, the police officer’s guild dedicated a basketball court in his name. It’s a place the family goes whenever they are together.

Young would like to work in sports, possibly for a team or as a coach.

"Anytime I play, it reminds me of my dad," she said. "Sports is what brings us joy."