Whitefish, Columbia Falls swim coaches resign

Columbia Falls and Whitefish will need new swim team coaches next season. Both head coach Amy Caudill and assistant coach Mike Nelson have resigned.

Caudill, who teaches at Columbia Falls, is starting a family with her husband, and Nelson has moved to the Missoula valley for his job, said Columbia Falls Athletic Director Troy Bowman,

Nelson started the fledgling program and then stepped down to become an assistant coach under Caudill last year so he could watch his daughter, Karyssa, swim in college.

Columbia Falls will advertise and interview candidates, but both school boards will have to approve the hire, Bowman said.

The two schools share the same coach, but compete separately. Swimming is paid for by the athletes and through independent fundraising — it is not supported by either school’s athletic budget.

Last year Caudill led the Whitefish girls to a state A title. The year before that, the Columbia Falls boys won the state title led by Nelson.

Originally from upstate New York, Caudill has lived in Montana for several years. She is a special education teacher at Glacier Gateway in Columbia Falls. She swam in college, attending College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York.