‘Somanycame from so far’
An unlikely reunion40years laterfor theBengals
BY PAMBORDELON
Contributing writer
Though the LSU Bengals swim team dissolveddecades ago, for abrief and shining moment, it lived again last weekend.
Thecompetition was fierce at theKenilworth Pool ClubonJuly 13, as former team members swam for glory for thefirst time in some 40years. Back in the 1980s,the Bengals wereapartofUSA Swimming, the nationalgoverning body forthe sport of swimming acrossthe country.The Bengals were aforce to be reckoned with on thelocal andstate swim scene. Eventually,the team produced astring of exceptional swimmers, including swimmers whocompeted on the national level and an Olympic coach.
Forty years later, amid trashtalking, good-natured ribbing and races on giant inflatable flamingos, membersofthe Bengals reunited andreminiscedabouttheir glory days —along with commentsabout aging joints that hadclipped their “fly” wings.
Directing the relays, which included aheat atop alargeinflatable flamingo,duckand dinosaur,was former coach Rick Hartman,who to this dayswims competitively And, while there was grumbling when he insisted on at least onelap being thebutterfly, theparticipants dove in and did as the coach said. It was areunion yearsinthe making. Team member Chris Bryan, a professional eventplanner,finally succumbed to Robert Begg’spleas andorganized the three-day celebration of wins,friendships and memories.
Theweekendstarted Friday with atourofwhatusedtobethe Huey P. Long Pool, where the team swam until LSU built anew pool to host the1983 International Special Olympics. The Bryan brothers admit they were hit with arush of nostalgia whenthey did awalk-through afew days earlier.The celebration ended with aget-together at Tin
ä See REUNION, page 3G
BY MARGARETDELANEY Staff writer
Following the lead of the likes of LSU national champions, including the women’sbasketball, baseball, gymnasticsand football teams, this Louisiana-based beach volleyball duo headed to Raising Cane’stowork ashift at
the founding location before goingfor goldatthe ParisOlympics.
“It smells so good in here,” future U.S. Olympian Kristen Nuss of New Orleans said repeatedly as she and her teammate spent themorning behind the counter at thechicken shop Nuss and her partner,“sister, andbest friend”Taryn Kloth met four yearsago during the COVID pandemic. They had been LSU teammates, but Klothwent home to South Dakota once the pandemic restrictions went into place.Evenso, thepair decided
Beachvolleyball duoworks aRaising Cane’s shiftahead of ParisOlympics ä See DUO, page 2G
STAFFPHOTOSBYMICHAEL JOHNSON
Alumni of the Bengal and Y-Nauts swim teams gather for areunion at the Kenilworth Pool Club on July13.
Burak Arnas lands on a flamingopool tubeasmembers of the Bengal and Y-Nauts swim teams have afun relayraceduring the reunion.
STAFF PHOTO BY MARGARET DELANEY
TarynKloth, left, and Kristen Nuss work the drive-thruatRaising Cane’s in Baton Rougeonthe corner of Highland Road and East State Street.
His alma mater,Baker High School, would even name its annualtrack meet after him: the Billy Brown Relays.
That’show he was known to everyone, Billy Noone called him William. And he would tell the story of his Olympics experience throughout his life.
It’sastory Jennifer Coghlan, of Deville, had heard about growing up, yet she didn’tknow the specifics.
“Being from Central Louisiana, I’m not as familiar with this story,” she said. “With the 2024 Summer Olympic Games opening ceremonies coming up on Friday,and the History Channel’supcoming biography on Jesse Owens, Istarted thinking about this Louisiana connection again. I’m curious about the story behind it.”
Well, Brown was born Aug. 3, 1918, in Baker, where he lived across from Baker High School on Groom Road. That lot now is occupied by aCVS Pharmacy Brown was the youngest of five children, all boys. His brother,Percy, would letter in track, football, baseball and basketball at LSU. But the youngest Brown brother’s athletic career would take adifferent turn.
The Advocate, The Times-Picayune and Brown’shometown community newspaper,The Observer in Baker,would recount his story many times through the years When Brown died at age 84 in 2002, his obit even recalled his athletic achievements.
Brown’strack career beganwhen he was in the sixth grade. He began receiving accolades as an 11th grader in 1936, which was the year of the Summer Olympic Games
in Berlin.
Brown had been winning in all of the track meets in which he participated, and though he would later set a collegiate record inthe 100-yard dash for LSU, he would compete in the triple andlong jumps in Berlin.
So, that basically answers Coghlan’s question, but,ofcourse, there’salways more to thestory.
“The Amateur Athletic Union was holding ameet in New Orleanstoqualify for the Olympic trials, and Iwouldhave to havewon theAAU meetto qualify,” he told The Observer in 1984. “ButIhad the mumps and wasn’table to go.”
But Brown still had hope. AsecondAAU meet was beingstaged in Dallas.
“I thought, ‘What the heck,’ and went and participated,” he said in the same interview That’swhere he qualified for theOlympic team in thetriple jumpand long jumpcategories.
From Dallas, Brown was sent to Princeton, New Jersey,where he won theNational AAU meet in his categories.
“I wentfrom Princeton to New York,where I entered thejunior finals,” Brown said in the1984 interview.“Iwon those, and that automatically put me in thesenior finalsatRandall’sIsland in New York. Iwasn’t even entered in the senior AAU finals, but having wonthe junior AAU finalsautomatically put me in thesenior finals.”
Brown placed third in the senior competition with apersonal best long jumpof49feet,2 inches —three feet shy ofthe worldrecord.Hespent thenextweek getting fitted for hisOlympic uniform and waswhisked away onthe U.S.S. Manhattan ocean liner to Berlin.
Back home, Baker resi-
DUO
Continued from page1G
they wanted to train together,and their chemistry built from there. At Cane’samong tigerstriped benchesand red accentedwalls, beyond marveling at the sweet smell of chicken, Nuss and Kloth reflectedontheir timeatLSU and beyond
“Weplay around the world, and everywherewe go somebody says: ‘Wow Iwent to LSU! Geaux Tigers!,’” Kloth said. “We’re knownasthe LSU girls, which is areally cool statement.”
The Olympic teammates are the only professional beach volleyball teamnot based on acoast. They deliberately made the choice to stay in Louisiana andare not only proud of their LSU ties, theyare looking forward to representing LouisianainParis
“It means so much to me to represent this state,”
AT RANDOM
Continued from page1G
for making progressona few of them. Among other things, I’d promised myself to volunteer more, become amentor and renew old
Nuss said.“We wouldn’tbe heretoday with out LSU.”
Both Nussand Kloth look forward to “bringing home some hardware” fortheir country and for Louisiana.
“Other than L-S-U,” Nuss said.“The three lettersU-SAare themostimportant.”
They plan on taking part in the opening ceremony on the RiverSeine on July 26 and livinginthe Olympic Village.Pool play in the beachvolleyball tournament starts thenext day The knockout round of 16 starts Aug. 4,with thewomen’sgoldand bronze medal matches set for Aug. 9, two days before theclosing ceremony
“We’ve heard so much aboutthe Village,”Nuss said. “Tofeel that energy is what I’mlooking forward to the most.”
They will compete in perhaps the most exciting location at the Paris Games: a basketball arena-sizedtemporary outdoor facility (capacity 12,860) calledEiffel Tower Stadium,with the iconic 19th-century edifice
friendships —all areas in which I’ve logged afew wins.
Butpersonal growthis alwaysawork in progress, which is whyIlabeled this year’s resolutions“life goals.”They’reidealsworth pursuing in anyyear,and Idon’texpecttoraise a
as thebackdrop.
“It givesmethe chills when Ivisualize it,”Nuss said.
“That (the Eiffel Tower) has been our homescreen for thepast two years,” Klothsaid. “So hopefully it feelslikehome when we get there.”
Klothspoke aboutinspiring thenext generation of athletes. Her advice: Dream huge
“Your dream should absolutelyterrify you,” Kloth said.
And the most important questionimparted on the duo at their timeatthe originalRaisingCane’s: “What is your favorite Cane’sorder?”
“Oh, the box combo, no slaw —extra toast,” Kloth said.
Nuss agreed on the box combochoice.
“But honestly,asakid, I wouldsay no slaw,” Nuss said. “And now I’mlike: ‘Give me all the slaw.’”
Email Margaret DeLaney at Margaret.Delaney@ theadvocate.com.
“mission accomplished” banner on my resolutions in December
The good news, as my tea bag reminded me, is that we can always start again. Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman. com.
dents took up acollection to fund Brown’sfirst-time trip outside of Louisiana, which resulted in atrip outside the United States.
Everything happened so fast that the hometown boy didn’thave time to get homesick.
“I was on the team, and it was easy to make friends,” he said. “There was just too much to see and do.”
In aJune 30, 1996, Times-Picayune interview,Brownshowed sports writer Peter Finney Brownie camera snapshots from the boat trip.
“Jesse Owens in a double-breasted suit swimming champion Eleanor Holm relaxing on the deck of the S.S. Manhattan heavyweight champion Max Schmeling flanked by U.S. Olympians,” Finney wrote.
Then, Finney continued, there werethe photos in Berlin, including a “packed Olympic Stadium equipped with an electronic scoreboard and VIParea forHerr Hitler apeaceful Olympic village dotted with lagoons and shade trees agalaxy of smiling Americans, including a tall, thin kid decked out in ablue blazer,white slacks, white shoes and a straw hat.”
“That’sme,” Browntold Finney,“On my way to the opening ceremonies.”
At 17, Brownwas the American team’syoungest member.Hewould place ninth in the competition, but he didn’tallow that to spoil his timeat the games.
“He watched Jesse Owens four gold medals,” Finney wrote in the 1996 story.“He watched Hitler remain in his stadium box (“Our seats wereonly a stone’sthrow away”) but refuse to recognize Owens’ achievements as he did other Americans.”
“He obviously wanted to showcase Germany,” Browntold Finney.“Ev-
erything went off like clockwork. There was entertainment every day in the Olympic Village. The German people when out of their waytobefriendly.Unlike Hitler,they looked on Jesse as ahero. They kept asking about him.Hewas hounded for autographs.”
Browntold Finney that there wasnever amore modest superstar as Owens.
“I got to be around him quite abit, because we were housed in the same building in the village,” Browntold Finney.“With all of the pressure building around him,Jesse took it in stride. I’msure what he did took some of the edge off Hitler’s show.”
Finally,inaJune 23, 1984, story about Brown, Advocate sportswriter Bruce Hunter pointed out that the Baker native would have been amedal contender in the 1940 Tokyo summer games after winning the National Collegiate title by running the 100-yard dash while at LSU. But those games would be canceled with Hitler’s launch of World WarII. Brownwould graduate and enter the business world. He’d have a successful career with Kaiser Aluminum,serve as the founding chair of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and serve on the LSU Board of Directors.
Brown’sstory plays out like amovie of the quintessential small town kid whomade it to the international stage. But Brown’sstory wasreal. And now it’simmortalized not only in the annals of LSU sports but also the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
To submita question about somethingin Louisiana that’s got you curious, go to theadvocate.com/ curiouslouisiana.
PHOTO
Former LSU beach volleyball starsKristen Nuss,left,
Roof Brewing Saturday night.
While Begg, who traveled fromBirmingham, Alabama, for the reunion, takescredit forthe idea, he was quick togive Bryan credit formakingithappen.
“Westarted remembering names and Chris startedmaking alist,” said Begg. “Ms. Crawford was huge in getting us information, too.”
Carolyn Crawford, now in her 80s,became aBengals coach in 1975.While she started aswim team when she was in the eighth grade,she was “justamom in the stands” when her three children —Tracy,Brett and Scott, started swimming withthe Bengals. Crawfordmade afew commentsonthe technical aspects of afew swimmersduring apractice and was overheard by another coach’swife, who quickly put herincontact Bengals head coach George Newport. He put herincharge of the young kids who were trying to make thecompetitionteam.Twenty years later,she hung up her goggles.
“She’sthe gluethat, over the years, has held us together,” added Bruce Bryan, younger brother to Chris, who started with Crawford at the age of 4.
BurakArnaswas anotherofCrawford’s young swimmers. He traveled the longest distance to join the reunion —from SanDiego. He was beyond excitedtosee his former coaches.
“I’m ateacher now and Iknow how important having amentor,a teacher,can be fora young person,” he said. “I’ve always asked when we were going to do this when I’d talk to folks. It’scrossedthe realm of possibilities. I wish we’d done it sooner.”
In the late 1960s, when the Bengals were first formed, their biggest rivals werethe YMCA’s Y-Nauts.
“They used to beat us all the time,”said Chris Bryan with achuckle.
In 1984, when the Y-Nauts lost accessto their pool, the crosstown rivals merged. Twoyears later,the combined Bengals team broughtthe state championship trophy home to Baton Rouge, unseatingthe perennially winning team from New Orleans That winwas pivotal, notjustinterms of bragging rights, but in forging astrong team ethic and friendships. It also took alot of commitment from both theswimmers and their parents because this level of swimming took alot of practice. Gettingto practice atthe Huey Long Pool at LSUfor 6a.m. and, when notinschool, going back for afternoon practice was not for the faint of heart.
young lives. It just feels comfortable when any of us get together.”
After adrowning scare at the age of 3, Holly Whittinghill, of Gonzales, decided she wasn’tgoing to let water intimidate her
“I flourished in the water.Swimming really just became my life,” Whittinghill said.
“Swimming totally shaped ourlives and whenever any of us get together,whether for good or bad reasons, it’slike it was yesterday.Even our parents —they remember so much, too.”
Vendetto said that part of the beauty of the reunion brings is achance to share so many memories with the people who played such integral parts of their formative years.
“Tosee the Bacas brothers, Mia Anthony and Julia Robertson who came in from New Mexico,” she continued.“Thatsomany came from so far, it just shows youmuch we all care about our swim family.”
“Wewere allfrom different schools— Tara, Lee High (now Liberty High School), CatholicHigh, St. Joseph’s— but we became friends,” Crawford said.
“Wewere aclique that went to different schools, but we all hung out together,” added Robert Begg.
“You boys were always at our house,” Diane Begg Young, who traveled from Michigan,saidtoChris, Adam Fishbein and brotherRobertinthe toneonly littlesisters know
“Weswam year-round,”said Chris Bryan. “We were in the water four,five hours aday for years.” Brett Crawford still marvels at the friendships that resulted when the LSU-affiliated Bengals merged with the YMCA’s Y-Nauts.
“You bonded with these people; we weretogether all thetime.”
“Ofcoursewedid,wespent 11 months out of the year with them!” echoed Fishbein, whose siblingsDaniel, Jonathan and Lynn were also on the team.
“It was natural that we were all so close,” said Judy Moore Vendetto. “Weswam together.Weate together.Wegrewuplike siblings or cousins. Tracy Crawford and I just talked about how truly instrumental swimming was in molding and forming our
