Tenzin Kelsang of Camas named The Columbian’s All-Region boys swimmer of the year

Tenzin Kelsang’s introduction to the swimming pool came when he was just 3 years old.

“My father took to me to a swim lesson,” the Camas senior said. “He didn’t know how to swim. So the main thing for me was like ‘don’t drown.’ ”

In the 15 years since that first lesson, Kelsang has not just met that expectation, he has exceeded it in ways that reached new heights this past winter.

Kelsang became the lone Clark County swimmer to finish on the podium at the 4A state championship boys swim meet, placing sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke.

And for that, Kelsang has been selected as The Columbian’s All-Region boys swimmer of the year.

“The most fun thing about Tenzin is he is really focused,” Camas swim coach Kelly Dean said. “When he’s training, he always finds something to work on. He trains himself in a lot of ways, but he also contributes to the team. The coolest thing is when we are at a meet, he’s all in. And he’s always competing on our relays, pumping everybody up because he loves to compete.”

That competitive side of Kelsang was on display at the 4A district meet in Kelso.

Kelsang entered that meet as the No. 1 seed in the breaststroke, but No. 2 in the 100 freestyle.

But using a late surge, Kelsang moved past top seed Cullen Kahler of Union to win the 100 free. After touching the wall, Kelsang exploded into a splash of celebration.

“This year I wanted to try to win four events at district,” said Kelsang, referring to two individual events and two relays. “In all my four years, I never won four events. I might win one or two events. So this year, I distributed my training throughout the last two months between the freestyle and the breast.”

Kelsang has been a part of a core group of swimmers on the Camas team for the past four years that included fellow senior state finalists Owen Yam, Atali’i Seumalo and Aarnav Krishna. Some of Camas seniors have been competing with each other since they were 8.

“It’s been one of the most amazing experiences in my life,” Kelsang said about being a part of the Camas High team. “I feel like I’ve grown as a person because of the people I’ve been training with my entire four years. I’ve made so many friends through the sport and the community that we created over the four years has been very impactful.”

Sharing that experience made getting up for 5:45 a.m. practices so much easier.

“They all motivate me, and I motivate them,” Kelsang said. “It’s like a ritualistic relationship.”

Kelsang hopes to continue to swim in college, even if it is for a club team.

He’s had offers to swim competitively in college. But his college choice must fit his academic goals first, so college swimming may not be part of that equation.

“I’m planning on studying biology,” Kelsang said. “I want to major in biology, then I plan to study medicine in the future and hopefully become a doctor.”

But he already is looking forward to one swim meet this summer — Camas’ alumni meet which Dean launched for the first time last summer.

“It was great last summer,” Kelsang said. “Some of the swimmers there I hadn’t seen in like three or four years. Like Nathan Kim, I hadn’t seen him since my freshman year. It was really, really good to see them again and reconnect.”

But this summer will be different.

“Last year, I was part of the high school team,” he said. “This year, I’m going to part of the alumni team.”

Rest of the All-Region boys swimming team

Ryder Hough, Hockinson: Junior was the 2A GSHL swimmer of the year and placed fourth at 2A/1A state meet in 50 freestyle and fifth in the 100 free.

Cullen Kahler, Union: Senior was a first-team all-4A GSHL selection in the 100 free and placed 16th in the 4A state meet in the event.

Aarnav Krishna, Camas: Senior was a first-team all-4A GSHL pick, placed 10th at state in the 100 backstroke and swam two state relays.

Atali’i Seumalo, Camas: Senior was a first-team all-4A GSHL pick in two events and placed 10th at state in the 50 freestyle and 100 fly.

Lincoln Swift, Ridgefield: Senior was a first-team all-2A GSHL selection and placed fourth at 2A/1A state meet in the 200 IM, fifth in 500 free.

Owen Yam, Camas: Senior was a first-team all-league pick in two events and placed ninth at 4A state in 200 IM and 13th in 100 breast.