NEWBERG, Ore. — After a quick turnaround from a meet the night before, both the George Fox men's and women's swim teams secured a dominant pair of wins against the Willamette Bearcats; the women ended with a score of 127-78, and the men ended 107-92. 

Top Performances
The dual meet began with the 200 Medley Relay for both the men's and women's teams. With an overall dominant time of 1:42.12, the men recorded their first victory of the day with a first place finish. Swimming for this team was Christopher McLellan, Strom Nordeng, Cameron Alexander, and Mark Seledkov. The Lady Bruins continued the high energy with two top places in their relay. In first place — with a time of 1:54.98 — swimmers Leah Meeuwsen, Gabbie Patti, Riley Parker, and Donna Talmadge all swam great legs to secure their win. It was only seconds later that Zoey Stapelman, Heidi Gray, Ellie Hoover, and Laurel Knox concluded their relay. With an overall time of 2:02.60, the team claimed third place for George Fox. 

The 1650 Freestyle came next and the women's team pulled another top two finishers. Patti was first to finish with a time of 18:07.88, and not far behind her was Knox in second (20:05.83) — Knox finishing strong despite losing her swim cap at the tail end of the race. This wouldn't be Patti's only first place finish of the day; she achieved another in the 100 Backstroke after concluding the event with a 1:01.30. Meeuwsen followed not far behind in third place (1:05.99). 

The men found just as much success in their events. In their 1650 Freestyle, Micah Hugo recorded his first top place finish of the day in second after swimming an 18:09.36. Later in the day, he recorded another second place in the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:11.83. Their victories continued into the 100 Backstroke where McLellan and Owen Tonseth dominated the waters and achieved first (58.92) and second place (1:00.24), respectively. Finally, Seledkov competed and recorded a third place finish in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 23.94. 

Jesse Urback was able to record her first — but not last — top place finish of the day in the women's 500 Freestyle. Clocking in with an overall time of 5:44.93, she achieved another first place finish for Fox. Along with her first place victory, Urback secured third in the 400 IM with a time of 5:12.67, just behind Hoover's second place (5:05.22). For the men's 400 IM, Aiden Buchanan made an impact in the water after clocking in a 4:38.23 which added another second place to his record. 

The George Fox men's swim team showed their dominance in achieving all three top place finishes in not one, but two separate events. First came the 200 Freestyle where Nordeng achieved first place, Tonseth finished in second, and Parker Kiniry concluded in third; the three put up a great distance between them and the other swimmers with times of 1:57.36, 1:58.68, and 2:00.95, respectively. The second event — the 100 Butterfly — once again showcased the men's swiftness in the water. Alexander led the way in first (56.08), just milliseconds behind him was Tobin Jansen in second (56.38), and Buchanan finished their streak in third (58.28). 

The Lady Bruins proved to be just as quick in the water as well. The women's 50 Freestyle contained 14 competitors battling it out for the top spots, but once again, George Fox remained on top. Talmadge secured first place for Fox with a speedy time of 25.93, and it didn't take long for Gray to follow with a time of 26.30 and a second palace finish. The 200 Freestyle brought more success for the women's team thanks to Meeuwsen and Kaylee Dicey. The two were on the heels of the first place finisher with Meeuwsen coming in second and Dicey in third clocking in times of 2:08.08 and 2:09.80, respectively. Parker and Hoover also displayed their swiftness in the water in the women's 100 Butterfly; Parker grasped another first place finish for Fox (1:02.15) while Hoover tailed just behind in third (1:03.59). 

Both the men's and the women's swim teams had a second place finisher in the 100 Freestyle. For the men, Wyatt Greene got on the board after clocking in a time of 50.97 to secure his second place. For the women's, Talmadge finished in 57.87 seconds to obtain second. For individual events, Strom wrapped things up for the men's team by clocking a 1:03.41 third place in the 100 Breaststroke. In the same event, Parker and Gray secured first (1:11.22) and third place (1:16.39), respectively. 

The competition ended just like how it started: with relays. And once again, both the men's and women's teams achieved first place finishes. Swimming for the men and clocking in an overall time of 1:36.26 was Greene, Jansen, Jared Gray, and Tonseth. On the other side of the waters, the Lady Bruins finished with a 1:49.84 thanks to Addie Gustin, Dicey, Urback, and Knox. 

Coach's Thoughts
Both our men's and women's teams earned strong, and hard fought wins against Willamette, which was especially encouraging coming off a very intense winter training period," said Bruin head coach Natalie Turner. "We haven't raced since our invitational in November, so this meet was a great opportunity to get back at it and set the tone for the second half of our season. I was really pleased with how our team competed and approached their races."

"I'm excited to see how January begins to take shape for us as we continue to build momentum. Our next meet against Linfield will also be our senior meet, where we will have the chance to honor some of the most decorated swimmers in our program's history—Cameron Alexander, Owen Tonseth, Kaylee Dicey, Claire Harmon, Laurel Knox, Riley Parker, and Abby Roche—and we're looking forward to it being a competitive and meaningful meet for our team."

What Happens Next
The Bruins will stay in their home waters for their next competition against Linfield University on Saturday, January 24; along with the contest, the Bruins will also be honoring and celebrating their seniors for Senior Night. The meet against the Wildcats is scheduled to start at 11:00 am in Newberg, Ore.