TACOMA, Wash. -- The George Fox swim team was unable to push past the Puget Sound Loggers in their first away meet in over two months — with the women losing, 115-145, and the men falling 55-207.

How It Happened
The meet opened with a strong showing from Fox in the women's 200 yard medley relay, with Zoey Stapelman, Riley Parker, Ellie Hoover and Mia Smith picking up a second place finish in 1:58.89.

The Bruins also continued their dominant form in the long distance events, as Laurel Knox picked up her first win of the meet in the women's 1650 yard freestyle. Knox finished almost thirty seconds clear of the nearest competitor in 18:56.76. Kaylee Dicey also secured a podium finish in the event, clinching third with her time of 19:29.82.

On the men's side, Micah Hugo led the charge for Fox, delivering a standout performance and third-place finish in an impressive 18:24.53.

In the 200 yard freestyle Fox secured podium finishes in both the men's and women's divisions. Riley Parker led the Bruin women in 2:05.81 to bring home third place, while Wyatt Greene also clinched third, in a time of 1:53.23 on the men's side.

Jesse Urback secured Fox's second win of the meet in the women's 100-yard backstroke, edging out the competition with a clutch performance and a time of 1:05.62.

Aries Valenzuela led the way for George Fox in the men's 100-yard backstroke, securing a strong third-place finish with a time of 56.04.  

In the women's 100 yard breaststroke Ellie Hoover delivered a great swim, clinching the race win in 1:12.85. In the men's division Jared Gray picked up yet another third place finish for Fox with his mark of 1:04.47.

Riley Parker claimed her first win of the meet in the women's 50 yard butterfly, with a solid time of 28.26, while Kaylee Dicey finished third with her mark of 30.89. On the men's side, Cameron Alexander and Kaden Oprea finished second and third, racing in 24.66 and 25.05, respectively. 

Mia Smith led the way in the women's 50 yard freestyle, securing the only podium finish for the Bruins in her time of 26.61, good enough for third. Smith continued her strong racing with an impressive performance in the 100 yard freestyle, winning the event in 57.10.

The next podium for Fox came in the men's 50 yard backstroke, where August Maberry clinched third with a mark of 25.93.

The Bruins put together strong races in the women's 50 yard breaststroke, as Riley Parker and Ellie Hoover had a one-two finish with times of 33.14 and 33.91.

Laurel Knox maintained her strong form in distance events with a third place in the women's 500 yard freestyle, racing a time of 5:32.91.

Fox's men's team had another podium finish in the 100 yard butterfly, with Cameron Alexander securing second place in 54.17.

In the women's 400 yard individual medley, Jesse Urback secured yet another race win, outpacing the competition in 5:00.08. Aiden Buchanan raced a time of 4:35.34 in the men's division, which was enough to clinch a third place finish.

The meet closed out with the 200 yard freestyle relay events. On the women's side, Claire Kuniper, Kaylee Dicey, Laurel Knox and Heidi Gray raced a 1:50.17 to finish in third, and pick up Fox's final podium of the evening. 

Coach's Thoughts
"We knew going into this meet that Puget Sound would be a strong challenge," said Bruins head coach Natalie Turner. "While we didn't pull off a win with points, we had some great races and fun individual wins. This close to our conference meet, it was fun to swim different events and throw some challenges at our swimmers. Our group never fails to step up and push hard. I'm very proud of our performance tonight and I'm excited to see what we can do tomorrow against Pacific Lutheran."

What Comes Next
The Bruins will hit the water again in another road dual meet on Saturday, January 18, against Pacific Lutheran University. The first race is set for 1:00 p.m. in Tacoma, Wash.