High school swimming’s reach has extended to Washington County.

Nine students at Washington Academy of East Machias are competing on the school’s varsity team, which is the only Downeast Athletic Conference school to offer the sport.

WA athletic director Blaine Steeves said the school had a club swimming team last winter but expanded to a fully funded varsity sport this winter.

In previous years Washington Academy offered just two winter varsity sports, basketball and cheerleading.

“That was one of the reasons behind this. We wanted to diversify our winter program a little,” Steeves said. “… Swimming is a lifetime sport. We get so hung up on sports like football, basketball and baseball, but sports like swimming, golf and tennis, those are lifetime sports.”

The Raiders, who are practicing at the University of Maine-Machias’ Center for Lifelong Learning pool, have a six-meet schedule against Belfast, Foxcroft Academy, MDI, Presque Isle, Caribou, and Ellsworth.

The WA team will travel for all six meets because the pool in Machias isn’t set up to host competition. The CLL pool is a regulation 25-yard, six-lane facility but it doesn’t have a timing system and is set at 84 degrees, which is a bit warm for competitive swimming.

Steeves said Lindsay McMahon, who works as a lifeguard at the pool and also works in UMM’s daycare center, is coaching the Raiders.

Steeves said he announced the new team at a recent meeting of DAC athletic directors but so far no other students from Washington County have expressed an interest. Swimming teams often take on individuals from schools that don’t offer the sport.

Ellsworth and MDI are the closest schools with swimming teams.

Steeves said he’s like the program to expand. He was hoping for 10 boys and 10 girls but there are five and four, respectively, on the team this winter.

“The numbers are a little disappointing, but you have to start somewhere,” Steeves said. “I’d really like to see it grow.”

Stanford right choice for Cimino

Imagine being courted by a premier women’s college basketball program and watching, in person, that team win a national championship – and turning down a scholarship offer?

That’s just what McAuley of Portland star Ashley Cimino did. Of course, Cimino had plenty of options besides NCAA champion University of Maryland, including national powerhouse Stanford which is where Cimino will wind up next fall.

In the end, Stanford’s combination of premier academics and basketball was more than enough to lure Yarmouth’s Cimino to California.

“They’re a top 10 basketball program and one of the top 5 schools in the country academically,” the 6-foot-3 forward said after playing in a Tuesday night exhibition game against Bangor at Red Barry Gymnasium.

Cimino, a first-team All-Maine player who was ranked No. 16 nationally in the Class of 2007 in a recent Blue Star Report newsletter, was also considering Harvard, Dartmouth, Boston College and Villanova. She was invited to the NCAA title game in Boston in which Maryland defeated Duke 78-75 in overtime.

“I saw the atmosphere [at the title game],” Cimino said. “It was hard to turn that down but once I went to Stanford, I hung out with the team and then I got accepted, I knew it was where I wanted to go.”

Stanford’s coach had something to do with Cimino’s decision, too. Tara Van DerVeer, who guided the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in 1996, has led the Cardinal to two national championships and 18 conference titles. Stanford is currently ranked 15th in two national polls.

“Ashley shoots the ball well from the perimeter and should be a very good fit for our program,” VanDerveer said in a release last month. “She is a skilled, versatile player who runs the floor really well. And she is a scorer.”

Now that she doesn’t have to worry about college plans or striving to impress college coaches, the pressure’s off. Except, of course, that Cimino would love to lead the Lions to another state title.

McAuley won back-to-back Class A state crowns in 2002 and 2003 and last played in a state final in 2004, when the Lions lost 58-40 to Cony of Augusta.

“I haven’t won a gold ball in the past three years and I really want to end the season winning a state championship with the team,” Cimino said.

One of her teammates is her sister, freshman Caitlin Cimino, who swings between junior varsity and varsity. The two have enjoyed playing together, Ashley Cimino said.

Cimino has also been preparing for her future at Stanford. The coaching staff told Cimino it envisions her as a small forward-power forward so Cimino said she has been working on her perimeter game and ball-handling skills.