FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- The 2023 George Fox swimming season came to an end on Sunday evening at the Northwest Conference Swim Championships in Federal Way. After a full year of hard work and dedication, the Bruins set several more program records en route to an eighth-place finish for both the men's and women's teams.

Top Performances
For the third straight day, Kaylee Dicey set another program record; this time around, the freshman re-set her own record in the 1650 free record with her time of 18:21.14, beating her old mark by 15 seconds. Dicey's time was good for fifth out of 21 competitors. Austin Rohrbach also impressed by setting a record of his own in the 1650 free, taking the crown from teammate Cameron Alexander with his time of 17:44.82.

Stewart Johnson was the highest-finishing Bruin in the men's 200 backstroke, placing 12th in the B Final with his time of 2:00.10. Levi Gibson also qualified for the B Final in the men's with a 47.94 in the prelims, and finished 15th in the finals.

Britney Muralt came within 0.6 seconds of setting a program record in the women's 200 breaststroke, finishing 12th with her mark of 2:33.65. Chris Mourich was the next Bruin to make the A final, finishing eighth in the men's 200 breaststroke with his time of 2:14.22.

Abbey Nardella broke through for the Bruins in the 200 fly, improving on her prelim time by two seconds with a 3:14.35 — a time that set the American record for the Paralympic Swimming S7 classification. Nardella has previously held the record at 3:16.67.

Cameron Alexander kept Fox on their record-setting ways, recording a 1:55.04 in the men's 200 fly. Alexander's time, good enough for fifth place in the conference, beat the previous record by nearly five seconds.

The Bruins finished out the season with a competitive showing in the 400 freestyle relay. The women's team of Ellie Opdahl, Mia Smith, McKenzie Brennan, and Britney Muralt finished sixth with a time of 3:44.16, while the men's team finished seventh. The group of Aries Valenzuela, Stewart Johnson, Hunter Bartoo, and Levi Gibson rounded out the year with a time of 3:13.27.

When all was said and done, Fox finished with two eighth-place finishes — the men's team finishing with 228 points and the women with 180.

Coach's Thoughts
"We had a great year and an exciting end to the season," Bruin head coach Natalie Turner said, "On our last day we had three more team records and another American record for Abbey. It's hard to end on a higher note than that.  We are really excited about everything we accomplished this season, from duel meets to our conference championship. I think with our returners next year we will be at our most competitive we have ever been."

"We are so grateful for the support of families and friends that came to Federal Way to support us," Turner went on to say, "and for them to volunteer as timers, officials, and snack bringers throughout the meet."