Hundeby Thrives in Pressure of Seal Beach Rough Water
When Chad Hundeby rounded the pier for the final 300 yards of the Seal Beach Rough Water Swim on Sunday, he wasn’t concerned about battling Chuck Wiley for the lead of the 10-mile race.
“I just wanted to survive,” said Hundeby, a former Woodbridge High School distance swimmer. “I just wanted to make the 10 miles and find the finish line.”
Survival was all Hundeby could think about after leaving Huntington Beach Pier at 6:33 a.m. along with 68 other swimmers. Usually at home in the water, Hundeby found himself battling tricky currents, a steady Northwesterly wind and varying water temperatures.
But Hundeby not only survived. He thrived.
He stumbled out of the surf and outraced Wiley to the finish line to win his first 10-mile race in 3 hours 8 minutes 19 seconds. Wiley, of Austin, Tex., was second in 3:08:22 and Karen Burton of Colorado Springs, Colo., the first woman finisher, was third overall at 3:14.44.
Hundeby led the whole way. He swam alone most of the race, but Wiley made a charge at the eight-mile mark.
“I went out a little fast,” said Hundeby, who will be a freshman with the Southern Methodist University swim team in the fall. “I just tried to hang on. Wiley really came on in the last two miles.”
Wiley’s strategy was simple. He wanted to stay with Hundeby down the stretch, wait for him to tire and then take the lead in the final mile.
“I didn’t think I could stay with him until we came around the (rock) jetty,” he said. “I picked up the tempo and I started catching him. That boosted my confidence.”
He continued to push Hundeby as they reached the surf line. Hundeby got to his feet first and did his best to run to the finish. It was more like a jog.
“I just kept telling myself ‘the finish line,’ ” Hundeby said.
Burton, a captain at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, had similar thoughts. She had lost her paddler, a buddy on a surfboard who guides the swimmers, halfway through the race.
“She couldn’t keep up with me,” Burton said. “I was lost. I was disoriented and I didn’t know where to go.”
Burton, 27, kept her eye on Wiley and his paddler to stay on course. Her paddler eventually hitched a ride on a boat and caught up.
From there on, it was smooth swimming. Burton easily won the women’s division, finishing nearly 18 minutes ahead of second-place Martha Jahn. Jahn finished sixth overall.
One of the biggest ovations of the day came for Mark Rowley of Mesa, Ariz., an amputee who’s competing in his eighth consecutive rough-water swim. Rowley, 37, placed 35th overall with a time of 4:23:33.
“I was disappointed with my time,” said Rowley, whose right leg was amputated at the knee after a bout with cancer in 1977. “But it was still my second-best time. The water was really rough. The current kicked up halfway through. It’s the worst it has been in the last three years. I was bobbing like a cork out there.”
So were Hundeby and Wiley, who are more comfortable swimming in a pool than in the ocean. Wiley, a former Arizona State distance swimmer, was competing in his first 10-mile swim.
After training for the event in a pool, Wiley found the varying water temperatures of the ocean bothered him.
“The water was warm, then it was cold,” said Wiley, shivering. “Then it was warm again. It was bad.”
Top finishers
10-mile--Chad Hundeby (Irvine), Three-mile men--Andy Miller (Huntington Beach), Three-mile women--Tracy Dries (San Diego), Mile men--John Blaney (Mission Viejo), Mile women--Natalie Norberg (Industry Hills).
Age Groups: 7-8 boys--Ian-Michael Benevidez (Seal Beach), 7-8 girls--Brianne Barth (Long Beach), 9-10 boys--Blaise Morita (Triple A Swim Club), 9-10 girls--Rebeccah Mischel (Culver), 11-12 boys--Tim Haney (Huntington Beach), 11-12 girls--Rori Rangel (Placentia), 13-14 boys--Reyn Cabinte (Gemini Club), 13-14 girls--Kari Linderson (Encinitas).