Paige grew up in the Riss Lake community and began her swimming journey with the Riptides as a Little Ripple. Following in the footsteps of her siblings, she quickly found a passion for competitive swimming. She spent every summer competing for the Riptides while also swimming for her club teams, eventually wrapping up her club career with Tsunami Swim Team.
In high school, Paige swam for Park Hill South, where she earned the maximum number of all-state titles—16 in total. Her success in the pool led her to the University of Kansas on a swimming scholarship, where she continued to excel both athletically and academically. At KU, she earned numerous honors, including Academic All-Big 12 First Team for four consecutive years, seven individual top-8 finishes at the Big 12 Championships, and the prestigious Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award. She graduated in 2022 with a bachelors degree in Elementary Education and now teaches 5th grade in the Shawnee Mission School District.
Paige is no stranger to coaching, having previously served as an assistant coach for the Riptides in 2018 and 2019. Returning as Head Coach is a full-circle moment for her, as some of her best childhood memories were made swimming with this team.
Her goal is to create an environment where swimmers of all ages develop their skills, set and achieve goals, and, most importantly, have fun. With her deep swimming knowledge and experience as an educator, she is excited to help each swimmer grow both in and out of the pool.
Paige lives in Overland Park, KS, with her husband, Jake, and their energetic two-year-old golden retriever. Since retiring from competitive swimming, she has taken on new challenges—running marathons and diving into good books in her free time. She is thrilled to be back with the Riptides and can’t wait for an amazing season!
Luke was born in the Kansas City area and grew up in the Riss Lake Community. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University, with a major in Elementary Education.
He swam competitively from the age of 5 to 18, spending time with multiple levels of competition. He swam for the Riss Lake Riptides for 13 years. He also swam for Blue Wave for 9 years and Park Hill South for 2 years. This will be his 5th year of coaching for the Riss Lake Riptides.
He is passionate about helping others achieve their goals, whether they be big or small. Luke’s favorite part of coaching is being able to help everyone reach that moment of excitement when they finally reach their goal. He doesn’t care if it is competitive or casual, Luke loves to have a good time and help any level of swimmer.
Outside of swimming, Luke spends most of his time at school, playing music, or relaxing. He really enjoys music of all kinds, whether it be playing or listening, and is active in a multitude of bands at Northwest. Luke also likes to spend his free time playing video games and spending time outdoors.
Bella grew up in Kansas City and has been part of the Riptides since she was a little ripple. She swam competitively for over a decade with various clubs and spent all four years of high school on the Park Hill South swim team, where she was a state qualifier and helped her team win back-to-back state championships.
Bella is a student at Mizzou studying elementary education. She has been instructing swim lessons for four years and was an athlete coach for the Riptides last summer. She is thrilled to return as an assistant coach and give back to the team that helped her fall in love with swimming!
Bella loves being active, whether it's getting in the pool, running, or enjoying the time outdoors with friends and family. She values the connections made through this community and looks forward to guiding swimmers with both support and encouragement, helping them grow, have fun, and reach their goals in and out of the pool.