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Most
competitive swimmers dive into the sport at
an early age. That
wasn't the case for Andrew Langenfeld, but
once the Centralia Hall of Fame inductee got
acquainted with the water the pool became a
second home. "I
started swimming very late, when I was
15," Langenfeld said. "Most
kids start around seven or eight. It
was something I was good at but I didn't see
swimming as an opportunity for a university
scholarship or a way to see the world.
I saw it as a way to compete. It
was a nice pastime and I had fun doing
it." With
a 6'6 frame in a hoops crazed town,
basketball seemed like the obvious sport of
choice for Langenfeld as he entered
CHS. But at the suggestion of
Centralia Junior High School teacher Becky
Luebben Langenfeld chose the pool instead of
the hardwood - competing with the Centralia
Seals and Centralia Recreation Complex/Mt
Vernon YMCA Barracudas. "I
didn't know much about swimming as a
competitive sport until I tried it,"
Langenfeld said. "I fell in love
with it." Competitive
swimming meant a lot of travel for the
Langenfeld family, but parents Forrest and
Julia were always supportive of their son. "Andrew
put a lot of hours in the water over the
years," Julie Langenfeld said.
"We're so proud of his
accomplishments. We spent a lot of
time on the road and weekends in hotel rooms
going to meets, but it was fun. It was
busy but it was worth it. We probably
enjoyed it more than he did." When
Langenfeld was 18 he was selected for 2005
USA Junior National Team and ventured to
Hawaii for the Junior Pan Pacific
Games. He placed fifth in the 50 free
and 100 fly, but more importantly that meet
gave him a glimpse into the future. "It
was that meet that changed my entire
perspective of the sport," he
said. "I saw the opportunities it
would give me." The
opportunities included scholarships at West
Virginia University and Purdue University
where he would transfer after two years. Langenfeld's
accomplishments were prolific at both
schools. He shattered records and
reaped rewards. He
broke seven different records between the
two schools and has the Big 10 Conference
Meet Record in the 50-yard freestyle (19.34
seconds) and the Big East Conference Meet
record in the 100-yard butterfly (47.72). He
was an 11 time Big East Champion, winning
three individual events and eight
relays. In the Big 10 ye was named to
All-Conference team in 2009.
Langenfeld also earned NCAA Division 1
All-American status in 2006 and 2007. Langenfeld's
feats drew heavy praise from coaches and
competitors alike. "He's
a go-to guy," Purdue swimming coach Dan
Ross said to the Exponent, Purdue's student
newspaper in 2009. "He's a show
stopper; he's the guy that can win events
for you against about every level of team
out there. And that's something we
don't have on the team other than him." Langenfeld
no longer swims competitively but still
swims recreationally. He's lived in
Tel Aviv, Israel for the past five years
where he works in training and development
for a trading company. He
may be 7,000 miles away from home but
Langenfeld hasn't forgotten the life lessons
he's learned from his hometown. "I'm
very proud to be from Centralia, being from
a small town," he said.
"I've been away for 11 years and I've
lived all around the world, but I think
coming from Centralia gave me a lot of great
values that have helped me today. To
be even considered for the hall makes me
very proud that the community wants to
recognize me for the things I did in
swimming." bcorrigan@morningsentinel.com
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