Hunter brings a rare combination of elite competitive experience and genuine passion for athlete development to the pool deck. A lifelong student of the sport, Hunter began competing at age eight with the Gig Harbor YMCA Swim Team before progressing through Tacoma Swim Club and ultimately King Aquatic Club, one of the Pacific Northwest's premier training programs. There, he trained at the national level under coaches including Jay Benner, who developed 8-time Olympic medalist Nathan Adrian, and Milorad Cavic, the Olympic silver medalist famously remembered for his 0.01-second finish against Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Hunter continues to train with King's national group today.
A multi-stroke specialist with deep expertise in the individual medley, Hunter went on to swim collegiately at Occidental College, giving him firsthand insight into the college recruitment process at every level, including Division I.
Now in his fifth year of coaching, Hunter serves as head coach and has developed swimmers across the full spectrum of ability from first-time competitors to junior national qualifiers. His athletes have earned state-level berths and college roster spots, including Division I placements. Whether working with a beginner finding their first stroke or a high-performance athlete chasing a best time, Hunter's elite background and genuine love of the sport make him one of the most well-rounded coaches in the region.
Coach Athena is a lifelong athlete who is passionate about helping other athletes reach their individual goals and their team's collective goals. In her ten years of competitive swimming, she specialized in distance freestyle and breaststroke, which she trained for year-round. The majority of those years were spent at the Tacoma Swim Club in the senior/national level group. At 14, she earned a top-12 spot in the Pacific Northwest Region for her age group. She went on to be an integral part of Peninsula High School’s Varsity Team, competing in the State Finals from 2013-2016 and serving as Team Captain for the 2016 season. Coaches, Adam Martinez (Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club’s former National group coach) and Craig Brown (former PHS head coach for over 4 decades), greatly inspired her coaching approach.
Coaches, Athletes, and Parents have referred to Coach Athena as a motivator. Athena understands that getting to know her kids as a group and as individuals is an essential part of building trust and, in turn, individual and team success. She has been committed to the success of the Peninsula High School team for almost a decade. Athletic and Academic Success go hand in hand. Being a good student is important and necessary in the sport. In Athena’s time coaching at PHS, she has for both girls and boys, contributed to a consistent five year run of top 3 league finishes, as well as numerous state final swims, and 5 school records. She is extremely confident in the Varisty program she has built, and continues to regularly study swim-specific strength training and new race-specific coaching techniques. She combines the old and the new, drawing on her extensive experience and knowledge of the sport to uplift all athletes who swim under her.
