WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The George Fox men's and women's swim teams competed against the Whitman Blues this Saturday; while the men dropped their matchup to the Blues, 146-56, the women picked up their first-ever win over Whitman, 106-98.

Top Performers
For the men's 400 Medley Relay, George Fox came in second with Chris McLellan leading the Bruins in first with a speedy time of 27:59. The women's team was very successful in their 400 Medley Relay; Gabbrielle Patti led the Lady Bruins with a time of 28.96 which was followed by 30.80 and 33.93 splits from Riley Parker and Ellie Hoover, respectively. 

Wyatt Greene came in third for GFU in the men's 1000 Free; Greene ended with an overall time of 10:59.39. Junior Jesse Urback and senior Abby Roche competed in the women's 1000 Free. Urback placed first with a swift time of 11:20.58 while Roche — with a time of 12:40.12 — placed in fourth. 

Throughout the day, Leah Meeuwsen recorded many great times. In both the 200 Free and the 200 Back, she achieved second place with times of 2:10.30 and 2:23.89, respectively. Along with Meeuwsen in the 200 Back was Patti, who had a first place finish of her own — and had a time of 2:14.30 — as well as Zoey Stapelman in third (2:28.89). As for the women's 200 Free, Addie Gustin and Laurel Knox assisted the Lady Bruin success; Gustin achieved a time of 2:13.24 and third place, while Knox got fourth with a total time of 2:13.44.

George Fox had a tie for third (24.27) in the men's 50 Free between Owen Tonseth and Mark Seldekov. For the women's, Donna Talmadge placed in third with a time of 26.49 — just millimeters away from getting second place. 

Patti kept showcasing her abilities throughout the day, especially with the women's 200 IM; she placed first (2:13.00), and not far behind her was Kaylee Dicey in third (2:29.54).

 For the men's 200 Fly, Aiden Buchanan placed second with a 2:08.92 for GFU; Parker (2:23.76) and Hoover (2:27.30) placed second and third, respectively, for the women's 200 Fly. Next up was the 100 Free and GFU had a third place finisher for men's and women's: Seldekov with a time of 54.00, and Talmadge with a 59.21. 

Micah Stroke came in third for the Bruins — with a time of 5:38.93 — in the men's 500 Free. For the women's, Urback achieved a swift first place (5:23.19). 

Strom Nordeng — 2:21.87 — and Jared Gray — 2:25.01 — placed second and third for George Fox in the men's 200 Breast, while Parker — 2:37.20 — and Hoover — 2:37.81 — placed second and third for the women. 

Finally, there was the 400 Free Relay for men's and women's; they each placed in second with the men's achieving a time of 3:31.98, and the women's team succeeding with a time of 4:02.61.
 
Coach's Thoughts
"Today was a special day for our program," Bruin head coach Natalie Turner said. "Our women made history with their first-ever win over Whitman, and they earned every bit of it with composed, confident racing. On the men's side, we saw some outstanding individual swims that show just how strong this group can be as we head into midseason. Overall, I'm really proud of how our team competed. With our invitational coming up next week, we're excited to taper, reset, and see where we're truly at mid-season."

What Comes Next 
The Bruin's next competition will be in their home waters on November 23 in Newberg, Ore. for the Bruin Invite; prelims are scheduled to begin at 10:00 am.