Jeff Orringer poses with his son, Matt,12, and daughter Katie,10, during the Washtenaw Interscholastic Swim championships (WISC) at Skyline High School on July 23, 2009. Jeff is a 41-year-old physician at U-M hospital and was a member of the Huron River Valley Swim Club in the 70s. (Photo by Mark Bialek)

Twelve-year-old Matt Orringer on Thursday earned a pair of first-place finishes, and twice came in second, helping the Huron Valley Swim Club win its 35th straight Washtenaw Interclub Swim Conference championship.

No, that’s not a typo - the Huron Valley Swim Club hasn’t lost a WISC championship meet since 1973.

How long is that streak?

So long that Matt’s father, Jeff Orringer, swam for Huron Valley during the third year of the streak, in 1976. So long that the team’s former coach, John Crispin, who started the streak, took a 12-year sabbatical to the West Coast, moved back, and picked up where he left off as an assistant coach.

Not that anyone’s counting, right?

“Yeah, we talk about it,” Matt said.

So, maybe they are counting. But if anyone has a reason to, it’s Matt, who’s not only enhancing his swim club’s tradition, but also his family’s. Ditto for Katie Orringer, 10, who earned three second-place finishes earlier in the week.

“(The streak) means a lot,” Matt said. “My dad was on the club when it started. He was a part of this streak, so it’s cool for me to be part of it too.”

Jeff Orringer, now 41 and a University of Michigan physician, still remembers his youthful days on the swim club, illustrating how important Ann Arbor-area club swimming is to hundreds of children each summer.

“There are great memories (at WISC), seeing generations of grandparents, parents and kids we’ve grown up with,” Jeff said. “It’s neat seeing family names posted in the results that were there 30 years ago and beyond.”

Pete Loveland, the Huron Valley coach for 15 years, said the club is more about camaraderie than it is about success.

“We have dedicated coaches and dedicated families,” he said. “We have second-generation families, parents who grew up in the club who know what it stands for and want their kids to have the same experience.”

But the club isn’t run like an elite institution, Loveland said, pointing out Huron Valley accepts anyone who wants to join - part of the reason why its roster topped 300 this summer.

“A lot of people don’t like (our size), but we’re not going to turn kids away,” Loveland said. “We’ve created a program that allows all kids of all levels of ability to find their niche and contribute in different manners.”

Crispin, 58, is the last Huron Valley coach not to win the WISC championship. He jokes that his 12-year move out west was a temporary exile from the swim club, but also beams when discussing his decades of involvement with Huron Valley.

“This word can be overused, but there is very much a Huron Valley family,” Crispin said. “It’s a marvelous club. I’ve coached in a lot of places, and I’ve never seen a finer facility. This place is absolutely the best place to be.”