SALEM, Ore. — The George Fox swim team completed their second meet of the season and added yet another blowout victory to their record; the women's team ended with a 115, while the men's team had a score of 104. 

Top Performances
The competition started off with the 400-yard medley relay for both teams. The Lady Bruins — consisting of Gabbie Patti, Leah Meeuwsen, Leah Bernard, and Donna Talmadge — took the top spot and finished with a time of 4:14.75. The men's A team was just five seconds away from taking first place; Chris McLellan, Strom Nordeng, Cody Moreland, and Wyatt Greene combined for an overall time of 3:49.56 and a second place finish. 

Next up was the 1000-yard free where Fox had three athletes in the top spot. Jesse Urback earned first place with a 11:42.31 for the women, while Micah Hugo and Parker Kiniry placed in first and third with times of 11:01.90 and 11:37.99, respectively, for the men. 

After her success in the 400-yard relay medley, Meeuwsen went on to claim second in the 200-yard free, recording a 2:09.30; it was only a short time later that Claire Kuiper followed for third place, 2:10.45. As for the men, senior Jared Gray not only took first, but also obtained a personal best with a time of 1:57.49. Liam Juvan came not much later in third, 2:00.94. 

In the 50-yard free, freshman Mitchel Gray was only milliseconds from first, but still ended up taking third place — as well as a personal best — after recording a 23.94 for the men. As for the women, Talmadge was also only moments away from the top spot; she ended up taking second with a time of 26.71 and a season best. 

George Fox only continued to build on their previous wins as they headed into the 200-yard IM. Pattie claimed first for the Lady Bruins with a 2:17.34, while Bernard followed ten seconds later (2:27.83) in second place. For the men, Greene took second and M. Gray placed in third with times of 2:10.28 and 2:11.87, respectively. 

Tobin Jansen started things off for the Bruins in the 200-yard fly with a second place finish with a, and Brody Hollis followed not far behind in third, 2:20.63. On the women's side of the water, Ellie Hoover was the only top place finisher in third and recorded a time of 2:26.66. 

Bernard maintained her endurance throughout the day and went on to claim the top spot in the women's 100-yard free, 58.53; not long after Heidi Gray recorded her first top place finish of the day in third with a time of 59.14. Holding things down for the men was Nordeng who claimed second, 53.27.

For both the men's and women's teams, Fox took first place in the 200-yard back as well as the 500-yard free. Patti ended with a 2:11.86 while McLellan recorded a time of 2:10.00 in the 200-yard back, meanwhile in the 500-yard free, Meeuwsen recorded a 4:45.61 for the women, and Greene ended with a time of 5:19.92 for the men. Along with Greene, Juvan placed in third, 5:34.47. 

In the last individual event for the meet — the 200-yard breast — GFU had two top place finishers. For the men, Nordeng placed in third and had a time of 2:21.66, while Hoover took second for the women with a 2:39.22. 

Just like how they started the meet, both the men's and women's teams recorded a first place finish in the 400-yard relay to go out with a bang. M. Gray, Juvan, Hugo, and J. Gray came together for the men's team with a combined time of 3:34.61. On the other hand, the Lady Bruins had Peyton Atkins, Claire Kuiper, Hoover, and H. Gray to thank for their time of 3:57.56. 

Coach's Thoughts
"I'm really proud of how our team competed today, " said Bruin head coach Natalie Turner. "Coming off a Friday night meet, we knew we would be racing tired, but our men and women both showed up ready to compete. The men's meet was a back-and-forth battle all the way through, and they really stepped up in the final relay to bring home the win."

"Our women did an incredible job finding ways to score points, getting important touch-outs in close races, and competing for every point. To come away with wins on both sides and such a strong opening weekend is exciting. I love the way this group competed and supported each other, and I'm looking forward to seeing how we build on this as the season continues."

What Happens Next 
The Bruins will have a small break before they head to McMinville, Ore. for their next competition against Linfield on Saturday, November 7. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11:00 am.