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Vienna natives Andy and Gil Rieger, along with other Trumbull County natives, have been swimming to raise money and awareness to fight cancer.
Andy, 50, a Vienna native and Mathews High School graduate who resides in Houston, said he and his father took part in August in a Swim Across America event in Chicago and will be swimming again Saturday at an SAA event in Houston.
Rieger's swim teams have raised more than $75,000 since 2018.
The former county residents who participated in Chicago all come from the Warren area. Gil and Casey Rieger, natives of Vienna; Thad Rieger of Columbus; Amy (Rieger) Bos of Heber City, Utah; and Kristen (Van Fossan) Paternina of Houston, Texas, participated alongside Andy.
Andy said family members from Salt Lake City, Utah, that participated in the Chicago swim event were Stephen Bos, Rachael Bos and Andrew Bos.
The group formed Team Matt for the SAA competition in Chicago,
Andy said his family (Team Matt) raised nearly $18,000 in Chicago, and the overall event raised nearly $330,000 to support cancer research at the Rush University Hospital in Chicago.
"This is our second straight year in Chicago, and we now raised close to $40k in the past two years," he said.
Andy said his family and friends take part in fundraising events in memory of family members who they lost to cancer, including his wife, Jordana; his brother Matt; and Thad's father-in-law, Bob McLain; and survivors of cancer, which includes Gil and Thad.
A competitive swimmer from age 5 to 22, Andy swam at the Trumbull County YMCA, Youngstown State University and later at West Point, where he was swim team captain. He then took time off from swimming until Jordana encouraged him to get back in the water, this time swimming in open water.
Andy said Jordana was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in 2012 and received multiple treatments, radiation, chemotherapy and surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center. After a six-year battle, Jordana died in 2018, he said.
He said he never realized how cancer impacts so many people until his wife's battle.
GIVING BACK
Wanting to give back to the community, Andy learned of Swim Across America in 2018, which hosted its first event in Houston in April 2019.
He said by participating in the swim event he could honor Jordana and also swim for a good cause.
Team Rae was formed, and Andy, family and friends have swam every year starting in 2019 at the Houston event.
Funds raised at the SAA-Houston event are given to researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Andy said.
Andy said that in late 2021, his brother, Matt, was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer and died shortly after his diagnosis at age 50.
Matt lived in Chicago, so Andy decided to swim in that city's event in memory of him.
Team Rae has expanded to include friends and family whose lives have been touched by cancer. In addition to his father and older brother Thad, his mother Casey, sister Amy, several other family members and some friends have supported the cause.
"Everyone safely completed their respective swims despite the water was really choppy, and we had a few who were completing their first open-water swim in some rougher conditions," Andy said.
The SSA-Houston event will be at Lake Longhorn, just south of Houston. In the event, Andy will swim 2 miles, Gil will take the middle 1/2-mile swim and Paternina will finish it off with a 2-mile swim.
Andy said Paternina, a former swim teammate, joined Team Rae in Houston. He said he and Paternina hadn't seen each other for almost 30 years and reconnected at the event. They swam together on the local YMCA swim team.
"This will be our fifth year swimming in Houston. Our goal is to raise $10,000,"Andy said.
To donate funds for the team, go to the SAA website (SwimAcrossAmerica.org) donate to Team Matt (Chicago) or Team Rae (Houston) or any swimmer from either team. People also can send a check to Swim Across America, 8508 Park Road No. 389, Charlotte, NC 28210. Checks should be made out to Swim Across America and include a note mentioning the name of the swimmer they are supporting.
Rieger said Swim Across America has raised $100 million since its inception in 1987.