Athlete 1995 - 1999
Achieving an unprecedented and never-again-replicated feat in Linfield men’s swimming history, James Adams of the class of 1999 captured four national championships as part of a storied Hall of Fame career.
More than 15 years after Adams last raced as a collegian, five of his eight program records still stand at Linfield, and he remains one of just five Wildcat swimmers to have won an individual national title.
Adams’ string of championship success began at the 1996 NCIC Championships, where he won five titles: the 200, 500 and 1650-yard freestyles as well as two medley relays. Easily qualifying for the nationals, Adams entered the NAIA Championships as a championship contender in both distance freestyles.
With a comeback over the final few strokes in the 500 and an unexpected move midway through the 1,650, Adams became a two-time national champion after just a single season of collegiate swimming. Upon returning to McMinnville, Adams was tabbed as the men’s Rookie of the Year.
Winning a championship is hard enough, but defending it, some say, is even more difficult. Adams was up to the challenge, however, and repeated both NCIC and NAIA champion in the 500 and 1650 freestyle races as a sophomore in 1997.
Over his final two seasons, Adams helped the Wildcats win back-to-back conference championships and captured four additional league titles, including two consecutive 200-medley relays. He was twice named the team’s most valuable swimmer.
The 1997-99 years were not without adversity, however.
Adams was unable to successfully defend his national titles as a junior in 1998 due to a devastatingly timed illness. Battling a 103-degree fever and the flu, his dedication to the team cause shone through. He made the finals of the 500, but passed on the 1,650 in favor of concentrating on a fourth-place finish in the 200 butterfly and fifth-place effort in the 400 individual medley, helping the Wildcats achieve a top-three team finish.
A preseason hand injury kept Adams out of the water for the first half of his senior season. Without the necessary endurance training, Adams faced an uphill battle trying to attain new NCAA qualifying times in the 500 and 1,650, so he focused on the sprints instead. He added two more conference championships to his total in the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relay, setting program and conference records in both.
Adams qualified for the national meet with career-best times in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly, but an administrative error prevented the entire Wildcat squad from being able to compete in their first national championship meet of the NCAA era.
Despite that, Adams still repeated as the team’s most valuable swimmer and later that spring, graduated with a degree in business management.
All told, Adams achieved seven NAIA All-America citations and 11 conference championships during his time as a Wildcat. In the years since he departed Linfield, three of his program records have fallen but to this day, Adams continues to own the top times in five individual events: the 200, 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyle races as well as the 200 fly.
Adams currently resides in his hometown of Wenatchee, Wash., where he is an industrial maintenance mechanic at Tree Top, Inc. He and wife, Sandra, have three children: Amelia (12), Benjamin (9) and Christina (6).
Swimming has very much remained a part of Adams’ life in his post-Linfield years. He coached with the developmental Canby Swim Club for five years before relocating to eastern Washington, and began competing in U.S. Masters swimming in 2009. He has achieved 64 top 10 national age group rankings, three relay top 10 and one all-American honor.
