NEWBERG, Ore. - The George Fox swim team claimed four race wins between a pair of dual meets against Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound in a unique Mystery Meet competition between the three teams. 

In the double dual between the team, the Bruin men lost, 75-166, to Pacific Lutheran and 52-191 to Puget Sound. The women also lost both matchups, with a final result of 99-142 against the Lutes and 106-136 against the Loggers.

Top Performers
The meet between the three teams was billed as a "Mystery Meet" — meaning that for the majority of the meet, no one knew what event they would be doing. As the male athletes stepped up to the block, the aquatic center PA announcer would draw an event from the hat, announcing it to the crowd. As such, several athletes experienced different events than they would usually compete in.

Before the fun, though, the Bruins opened the meet with a third place finish in the Men's 200 yard medley with Christopher McLellan, Nordeng Strom, Cameron Alexander, Mark Seldekov racing a strong time of 1:43.13. The Bruins also picked up first place on the women's side of the relay, with Gabrielle Patti, Riley Parker, Ellie Hoover, and Donna Talmadge clocking in at 1:53.60.

The first draw of the day resulted in the 200 IM for both the men and the women, and Cameron Alexander was sure to show out. The senior secured a second-place finish, surpassing the competition with a time of 2:09.86. For the women, Jesse Urback secured third for the women's event for the Bruins with a time of 2:23.12. Riley Parker was the next podium-placing Bruin, ending the 50 backstroke in second place with her time of 30.13. 

Gabrielle Patti, meanwhile, picked up the next win of the day for Fox in style, clocking in with a 57.55 in the 100 backstroke — a new school record. It was Patti and Parker that picked up the other wins of the day for Fox — Parker winning the 50 fly with a 28.19 and Patti taking the 50 breaststroke with a 32.17.

Fox ended the event with a slough of third-place finishes: Christopher McLellan (100 fly, 58.40), Donna Talmadge (100 fly, 1:05.94), and Strom Nordeng (50 breast, 29.43). Talmadge picked up another third-place finish with a 26.23 in the 50 free before the events shifted away from mystery and back to their regularly-scheduled programming. 

The Bruin women were sure to finish strong in the 200 freestyle relay, with the team of Laurel Knox, Zoey Stapelman, Kyah Webber, and Jesse Urback placing third with a 1:49.95.

Overall, Fox lost both duals to UPS and PLU, they competed beyond their comfort zone and competed strong to start the season.

Coach's Thoughts
"It was a great early-season test for us against two talented programs in Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound," Bruins head coach Natalie Turner said. "The mystery meet format meant most of our team was racing off events and had to adapt on the fly, and seeing them step up with that kind of flexibility and competitiveness was pretty amazing. Meets like this are all about learning, adjusting, and setting the tone for the season—and I'm really proud of how our team raced. Our freshmen have had their first go of college racing and we are excited to see how they do this season!"
 
What Comes Next
The Bruins will be back in action when they return to the pool on Friday, November 14, against Whitworth University. The first race is set for 6:00 pm at Meghan Thompson Aquatic Center in Spokane, Wash.