Former Bainbridge Island swimming star Cody Jenkins returned from a recent tournament in California with two top finishes — but in an altogether different sport.

The Bainbridge High School Class of 2010 grad earned the first-place spot in two single-rower events, both the Mens Open A 1X (Heat 1) (3:36.917) and the Mens Open A 1X Final (3:33.851) at the USRowing Masters National Championship on Lake Merritt in Oakland, California, held Aug. 16 through Aug. 19.

His victory was all the more remarkable in that it was Jenkins’ first appearance at a national rowing competition. Though he’s an old pro at aquatic contests, having been a swimmer during his time at BHS and a member of the Bainbridge Aquatic Masters swim club as well, rowing proved a novel atmosphere for the island athlete.

“In swimming … the times are everything,” Jenkins said. “You have to get a certain time to qualify for the meet and a certain time to win the meet. So competition only comes into it once your in the very final stages of the championship. But in rowing the time is much more variable.”

Jenkins found his new favorite sport in college, when he was seeking an alternative fitness pursuit. He’d taken the rigorous swimming training routine he’d honed at home away with him — but found things at college a little less demanding than expected.

“When I got to college, it was much more seasonal and I was like, ‘Eh, I need something else to do.’ Rowing just was a good fit for that,” Jenkins recalled.

Having used a rowing machine before, Jenkins decided to try the real thing and quickly learned he liked it, though he had no idea in a few short years he’d be medaling in California tournaments.

He ultimately graduated from Bate College in Lewiston, Maine in 2014. Currently, he works at Seattle Genetics in Bothell and rows with the Lake Washington Rowing Club.

The California tournament was, he said, a hectic but rewarding affair, as both races took place on the same day.

“My Mens Single … was the seventh race on [Aug. 16],” Jenkins said. “There were two heats in the morning, and the top three finishers in each heat advanced to finals in the afternoon.”

Jenkins said it was difficult to tell at first if the day was going to go his way, and even after his initial victory he was apprehensive about the afternoon race.

“We started the race and I was feeling pretty good … and then as the race kind of went on I felt like, ‘OK, I’m pretty confident this is going to go pretty well,’” he said.

“And, as it wound up, I’m thinking, ‘OK, I can cross the finish line first.’ But I wasn’t sure what the other people were doing. Were they just kind of saving their energy? Were they going to bust out something crazy that afternoon? I just kind of kept my head down and focused on what I needed to do to kind of get ready.”

Ready he was.

“Luckily, it went my way that afternoon,” Jenkins laughed.

Single-rower events have been Jenkins’ main focus since becoming serious about the sport, due mostly to his inconsistent schedule. He doesn’t want to leave a bunch of teammates hanging.

“Single [events] is what I’ve been most focused on since learning to row since my schedule can be kind of out of whack,” he said. “As a scientist sometimes you have to go in on weekends … and it’s just kind of tough for me to jump in with an eight-person boat if I’ve got experiments I’ve got to work on in the evening or I’ve got to go in on a Saturday for work.”

Looking back, Jenkins said he owes much to his years as a Bainbridge athlete, and credits his recent success in California with the lessons taught by many great teachers and coaches.

“My time on the swim team — before that I played lacrosse in middle school and the first part of high school — has totally shaped everything about who I am as an athlete, if not a person,” he said. “The work ethic that coach Bob Miller and Carolyn Ackerley and all of the other coaches that I’ve had — Kaycee Taylor in high school, and Greg Colby — instilled in their athletes is an invaluable lesson I’ve taken with me through my career and my education, everywhere. [I was] totally shaped by great mentors on Bainbridge.”