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ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis men's and women's swimming and diving teams have raised more than $17,000 for Swim Across America (SAA), a national organization that funds cancer research, clinical trials and patient programs by hosting charity swims.
 
The Bears recently swam in the St. Louis Open Water Swim, held at Alpine Lake in Innsbrook, Mo. It is the third year in a row WashU has participated and the St. Louis regional swim has been active for nine years.
 
A unique aspect about the Swim Across America regional open water swims is that money raised in the region stays in the region. The St. Louis swim partners with Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes Jewish Hospital and the Washington University School of Medicine. Since its inception, SAA raised over $1.6 million to support cutting edge research and clinical trials.
 
"I think it's great that we work closely with a lot of WashU physicians because WashU is known for the research they're doing. We're one of the top institutions receiving grants from the [National Institutes of Health] and our researchers are doing world-class work," said senior Nathan Lin. "Knowing that money is going to people who are really going to make a significant impact on patients and the wider world is really great."
 
Team WashU has raised $17,653 at the time of publication, ranking fourth among all local teams in dollars raised. As a region, St. Louis has raised $281,466 for Siteman Cancer Center grants and that number is still climbing.
 
In 2024, SAA-St. Louis gave out $250,000 in grants to various Siteman Cancer Center physicians focused on prostate cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, blood cancers and lymphoma.
 
First-year Lucas Caswell leads the charge for the Bears, having raised $8,322 so far. Caswell won two awards for his fundraising efforts – Rookie of the Year and the John C. Traube Memorial Collegiate Challenge.
 
The Rookie of the Year honor is awarded to the rookie who raises the most amount of money. The John C. Traube Collegiate Challenge was established in honor of a past participant and supporter who lost his fight with brain cancer six years ago.
 
Caswell won the John C. Traube Collegiate Challenge for being the college student who raised the most money between June 15 and August 23. With that he received a match of funds up to $5,000 and a personal prize of $1,000 towards education expenses.
 
The Bears have seen steady increases in both the number of participants from their team as well as money raised. Since the first year, the money the team has raised has nearly quadrupled.
 
"I think almost every first-year this year did it," said senior Ryan Hillery. "They started to get acclimated to the team and they wanted to be a part of it. That's something that we were really excited about."
 
Participants had several distance options – two miles, one mile or a half mile. The organization also offers 'angel swimmers' who are people who swim the course along side those who are hesitant about swimming in open water.
 
In addition to those participating in the water, there are numerous volunteer positions available, which the divers were able to take advantage of to support the cause.
 
"They really make it as inclusive as they can, to make sure that everyone who wants to engage can engage," said Lin. "They also have a lot of options to volunteer. We had a some of our divers volunteer and not do the swim so they were able to fundraise and donate their time to the cause. It was really great because it was a whole team event."
 
In addition to raising money for a great event, it offers swimmers a chance to break up their pool-swimming routine and get out into the open water. Although technically not a race, it gives competitive swimmers from the area a chance to challenge themselves in new ways.
 
"I think it's a lot of fun," said Hillery. "It's a lot more interesting. You can swim with hundreds of people at the same time as opposed to seven others in a pool where you can't really see them. It's more strategic where you can get behind people and catch the draft they provide. You can swim in a real body of water and see the sights around you which is cool compared to just a black line on the bottom of the pool."
 
"As competitive swimmers, you don't get a lot of opportunities to swim in open water settings," added Lin. "It's an interesting challenge. You can't see that far ahead of you, you have no line to gauge you, so you have to self-direct to swim in a straight line. It's a little bit different how you're breathing and there's hundreds of other swimmers so you're all kind of jockeying for position. It's a really fun experience and I think that's why a lot of people on the team enjoy it."
 
In addition to the open water swims, that are currently in 24 cities across the U.S., Swim Across America has something called SAA My Way, which allows a virtual option for those who are unable to attend an open water swim or who would like to fundraise outside the water. Individuals are able to choose an activity, hobby or social media challenge to fundraise through and support the cause.
 
Although the open water swim is over for the year, the Bears plan to continue fundraising for Swim Across America until October 31, including a fundraiser at the season-opener Pink Out meet against St. Louis University on October 18 at 5:30 p.m. You can donate to Swim Across America through WashU's swimming and diving team HERE.