CORVALLIS — For close to 15 years now, a Philomath team organized through the high school has been a regular participant in the Polar Plunge, a Special Olympics Oregon late-winter fundraising event at the Crystal Lake Sports Park boat ramp.
Philomath’s largest-ever contingent participated this year and more than $4,200 was raised — half of that amount will remain in the school to benefit the local Unified basketball program. A number of those who showed up had made the plunge in the past.
Gallery: Polar Plunge 2024 (Feb. 17, 2024)
A collection of photos from the Polar Plunge at Crystal Lake Sports Park in Corvallis on Saturday.
PHS junior Colton Hruska participated for the second time at the Corvallis event, third time overall.
“I just try to get in as fast as possible so I can get out as fast as possible,” Hruska said when asked about how he plans to jump in. “Wading in, I feel like that just draws it out.”
David Dunham, a Philomath High teacher who serves as adviser for the Associated Student Body organization — the group that led fundraising efforts — has been on hand for the Polar Plunge on several occasions. He was making the jump into the Willamette for the fifth time.
“My biggest thing is trying not to step in the pothole that’s on the boat ramp like I did last year,” Dunham said. “You can’t see it so it’s just kind of hit-and-miss really. I’m really careful walking out.”
But there were also first-time plungers, such as PHS senior Bailey Bell.
“I’m not going to run because I don’t want to like break my ankle or something so I’m just going to go in at a steady pace,” said Bell, who has tennis season around the corner. “I’m not going to inch in but I’m not going to go like a full sprint either.”
For Hruska, although it was his third plunge, he participated in the event in Corvallis for just the second time. On one previous occasion, he had to improvise when out of town.
“I did it my first year and then last year, I wasn’t able to make it but I was in Sisters so I just ended up jumping in a creek that was just snow runoff,” Hruska said.
He remembers that back during his freshman jump of 2022, plungers were greeted by very cold temperatures.
“We were waiting out here — we were like the 100th or something to go in,” Hruska said. “So we were already freezing, expecting to get colder, and then the water was warmer than the air.”
ASB set up a table in the hallway during lunch to sign up students as part of its organizational efforts. And the work paid off with a record 48 participants this year (although not all were on hand for the plunge).
“Last night, we were just over $4,200,” Dunham said about funds raised by the PHS group, an amount that exceeded their goal by more than $1,500. “They told us last night because we’re a ‘super school,’ we get 50% of it straight back to Unified (basketball).”
The other 50% goes to Special Olympics Oregon.
“Almost all of this money came out of the halftime hoop shoot this season,” Dunham said. “Our ASB donation directly was $1,250 … and then the participants raised the other $2,500.”
Donations were also accepted online at the PHS team’s Special Olympics-hosted webpage.
“This is fun, we get to hang out all day and cheer other people on and it raises a ton of money — more than other fundraisers, I think, so it’s worth it,” Hruska said.
In regards to 50% of the money raised going back to Philomath, Dunham was referring to Special Olympics Oregon’s Unified Champion Schools designation, which donates half of what the group raises to spend on their team’s needs. The Philomath Unified basketball team’s season is winding down with games this week at Lebanon and in the state tournament at Oregon State University.
“I think it’s a great program,” Hruska said. “It makes all those kids so happy to just be doing something.”
Bell was among those in attendance at a home appearance this season.
“It’s really fun just to go there and I think it’s a great program for our school,” Bell said. “We had a really huge student section at one of their games a few weeks ago and it was just awesome.”
