COEUR d'ALENE - The crowd quieted and moved closer as the splashing arms and bobbing swim cap drew near.

First a few claps, then cheers erupted as the swimmer emerged from the waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Kade Hern, 17, of Coeur d'Alene, was the top finisher in the third annual Coeur d'Alene Crossing, which took place Saturday morning. Although he was slightly winded and a bit tired after swimming 2.4 miles from Discovery Marina at Arrow Point to the beach at the Hagadone Event Center, the aquatically inclined youth said he was feeling good.

"It wasn't too choppy or anything," he said. "It was pretty smooth for today."

Kade swims with the Coeur d'Alene Area Swim Team (CAST) and spends about 15 hours of his week in water practicing. With a time of 48:59, it seemed he was far ahead of the other 174 swimmers, but really it was just by a few minutes.

Kade said when swimming across the lake, he thinks about his time and "not letting anyone touch me."

"I like open water swims. It's fun," he said. "It's not just swimming back and forth in a swimming pool. It's different."

The Coeur d'Alene Crossing is an annual fundraiser for CAST, Union Gospel Mission and the North Idaho College Booster Club. The race's tagline is "Crossing for a Cause."

"It's a unique event," said CAST co-Head Coach David Dolphay of Coeur d'Alene. "You don't very often get to do swims across a lake just because of the disruption factor."

The swimmers rode a Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruises boat from the event center dock to Arrow Point at 7 a.m. and jumped in the water at 8 a.m. The youngest swimmers this year were two 10-year-olds and the oldest swimmer was 72.

"For the little ones it's a big thrill," Dolphay said. "The 10- and 11-year-olds, I think it's pretty amazing that they can do it."

CAST assistant coach Brady Hooper of Coeur d'Alene said now that the crossing is in its third year, he has been able to see young CAST swimmers grow in their abilities.

"It is nice to see the progress that they've made," he said. "For some kids this is their third year. To see them drop time and progress and get better, it's good to see. It's enjoyable as a coach."

Judy Coyle of Snoqualmie was the first female across the finish line, and sixth finisher overall at 53:31. She is visiting her brother Andrew Coyle of Coeur d'Alene, who finished the crossing a few minutes after her.

"I did this my first time last year and the water was a lot calmer this year," she said. "What they've done with the buoys, with the channels, is a lot better too."

Coyle said she enjoys being able to participate in athletic competitions like the Coeur d'Alene Crossing with her brother.

"Now I have a partner in crime and it's kind of nice to come out and do these events with him," she added.

The Coeur d'Alene Crossing serves as event No. 2 of the official Coeur d'Alene Iron Series and is the same distance as the Ironman Coeur d'Alene swim.

"When people are coming out of the water, it's usually with big smiles on their faces," Dolphay said. "They're having a ball. They love coming up and seeing their time, they want to know how fast they did it, so I think people get a lot of enjoyment out of it. We have 190 people willing to swim at 8 in the morning across two-and-a-half miles, so they must enjoy it and have fun."

Of the 191 people who registered, 174 entered the water and all of those who began the race finished it.

Complete results are posted on the CAST website, www.swimcast.net, and the Coeur d'Alene Crossing website, www.cdacrossing.com.