PORTLAND, Ore. --- The George Fox swimming team began their 2023-24 season campaign with the NWC Relays meet, hosted by Lewis and Clark.

The Bruins competed in thirteen events against four other conference teams during their opening meet, giving them an opportunity to ease back into competition. 

Top Performances
Fox dominated both the women's and men's breaststroke relays, placing in first and second respectively. The women's team of Britney Muralt, Riley Parker and Ellie Opdahl finished in a time of 3:36.12 while the men's team finished in 3:11.34, composed of Strom Nordeng, Jared Gray and Levi Gibson.

Both the men and women also had strong finishes in the 500 yard freestyle relay. The  men placed fourth with a mark of 4:34.94, while the women secured second with a time of 5:04.33.

The Fox team of August Maberry, Levi Gibson, Britney Muralt, and Mia Smith placed third in the Mixed 200 Yard Medley Relay, finishing with a time of 1:49.78.

The Bruins came in third with a time of 3:20.28 in the women's 100 medley relay. The relay team for the Bruins was made up of Ellie Opdalh, Riley Parker and Jesse Urback. 

Owen Tonseth, Chris McLellan and August Maberry placed third in the men's 100 Backstroke Relay with a time of 3:03.36.

The women's team of Jesse Urback, Claire Harmon and Hannah Bartoo also placed fifth in the women's event.

Meanwhile, Kaylee Dicey, Chyanna Blackburn, and Cassidy Hendren finished sixth, this time in the Women's 100 butterfly relay, with a time of 3:34.69. The men finished their 100 butterfly relay with a time of 2:51.34. The effort by Alexander Cameron, Daren Sehorn, and Kaden Oprea was good for third.

The final event of the day was the Mixed 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, where Nordeng, Wyatt Green, Laurel Knox and Mia Smith finished fifth with a time of 3:45.13.

Coach's Thoughts
"I'm really happy with how our first meet went tonight," said Bruin head coach Natalie Turner, "The relay meet is always a fun way to kick off the season. We saw some great racing in the relays. For this early in the season, we saw some fast times and really good finishes in our races. I'm really happy with how we placed tonight, and I'm excited to see how tomorrow goes."
 
Up Next
The Bruins will look to build more momentum when they continue their opening weekend at the NWC Sprint Meet tomorrow, hosted by Linfield in McMinnville, Ore.