NEWBERG, Ore. -- In their first competition back from the Christmas break, the George Fox men's swim team lost to the Whitworth Pirates, 61-143, while the women's team also fell, 54-148.

How It Happened
Fox's first podium of the day came in the men's 400 yard medley relay, when Aries Valenzuela, Storm Nordeng, Cameron Alexander and August Maberry clinched second place in 3:44.51.

Jesse Urback and Kaylee Dicey impressed in the women's 1000 yard freestyle, continuing their strong form in distance events. Urback finished second in 11:31.52, while Dicey secured third with a time of 11:44.65.

Fox continued this long distance dominance in the men's division, with Micah Hugo picking up the first Bruin win of the meet after a blistering time of 10:47.23. Wyatt Greene raced well to pick up second with his mark of 10:55.19.

In the women's 200 yard freestyle Laurel Knox was the lone podium finisher for Fox, taking home third place in 2:07.08.

Riley Parker had a strong race in the women's 200 yard individual medley, adding yet another podium to what has been a strong season so far with a third place finish and time of 2:21.36.

The women's 200 yard breaststroke saw Ellie Hoover pick up her first podium of the meet, with a second place finish in 2:25.43.

Mia Smith and Heidi Gray led the way for Fox in the women's 100 yard freestyle. Smith's time of 57.77 was good enough for second place, while Gray was right behind her teammate with a mark of 58.11 – securing third place.

On the men's side, Aries Valenzuela clinched a podium finish, finishing just one tenth of a second behind the second competitor en route to his third place finish.

Zoe Stapelman picked up the next podium for the Bruins after her time of 2:29.16 saw her secure third place in the women's 200 yard backstroke.

Riley Parker added another third place finish, this time in the women's 200 yard breaststroke, after a tome of 2:29.25. On the men's side, Strom Nordeng and Jared Gray had strong races, finishing in second and third place with times of 2:24.09 and 2:25.08, respectively.

The Bruin's finished out the meet with the 400 yard freestyle relay events. The women's team finished in second with Heidi Gray, Claire Kuniper, Jesse Urback and Laurel Knox racing a time of 4:05.03. 

Coach's Thoughts
"While the final results didn't go our way, I'm incredibly proud of the effort and determination this team showed today," said Bruins head coach Natalie Turner. "We saw personal bests, technique work, and perseverance in every heat, and that's what we'll focus on. The growth we're experiencing is evident in January, and I'm excited to keep building on this momentum as we prepare for our conference championship meet in five weeks. Until then we will prepare for our next three dual meets this month." 

What Comes Next
The Bruins will look to regain momentum when they travel to Tacoma, Wash. for their next road meet against Puget Sound. The first race is set for 11:00 a.m.