McMinville, Ore. --- The George Fox swimming team continued their 2023-24 season debut today at the NWC Sprint meet hosted by Linfield. The Bruins secured third, with a combined team with a score of 248.

The Bruins competed in ten events against four other conference teams, with several individuals setting career and program milestones for the team.

Top Performances
Levi Gibson impressed in the men's 100m Individual Medley, placing third with a time of 55.84. Kaden Oprea and Cameron Alexander finished in 17th and 19th respectively.

In the women's Individual Medley Riley Parker led the way for the Bruins, clocking in at 1:02.87 to finish second, just one one-hundredth of a second behind the race winner. Britney Muralt also finished in the top-15, clocking in at 1:06.37 to secure 12th place. 

Gibson took seventh in the men's 50 yard butterfly with a time of 25.32, while Oprea and Alexander once again finished neck-and-neck. Opera's time of 25.52 was good enough for 12th, while Alexander took 13th with 25.53.

In the women's 50 yard butterfly Parker and Muralt continued to impress, placing second and eleventh respectively. Freshman Ellie Hoover's time of 30.39 saw her finish in 26th. 

The Bruins put together a solid performance in the men's 50 yard backstroke, with Gibson taking fourth in 25.67, while Alexander finished in 11th with a time of 27.35. Sophomore Owen Tonseth and Freshman August Maberry secured 14th and 15th with times of 27.96 and 28.14. 

In the women's 50 backstroke, Gibson was the only Bruin to place in the top ten, clinching tenth position with her time of 30.64. Senior Ellie Opdahl completed the race in 31.65, good enough for an 18th place finish.

Levi Gibson secured his first win of the season in the men's 50 yard breaststroke with a time of 27.34. Strom Nordeng also performed well, finishing in sixth place with a race time of 29.60. 

In the women's breaststroke Parker once again only narrowly missed out on victory, finishing in second with her time of 32.23. Muralt and Opdahl were the next best finishers for Fox, clocking in with times of 33.28 and 34.27 to take 5th and 11th place.
The 50 yard freestyle was the last event of the day. Gibson was the only Bruin to finish in the top ten, taking fourth with a time of 22.60. In the women's division, Parker finished in third for Fox, clocking in at 25.89.

Coach's Thoughts
"We are really happy with how the sprint meet went, individually, Riley and Levi are the highest places we have ever had," said Bruin head coach Natalie Turner, "We saw some really good improvement from when recorded practice times a week ago. Next week we start official duel meets and we are excited to transition into longer events."

Up Next
The Bruins will look to build more early season momentum when they travel to Spokane, Wash. on November 4th. The meet is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.