Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Is it conceivable that an athlete who never competed in a particular sport in high school, would go on to become a university-record holder, a two-time All-American and an inductee into the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame?
If your name is Rose Hollingsworth, the answer is a resounding “Yes.”
Hollingsworth, a two-sport athlete from the Class of 2009, developed into one of the finest swimmers in Linfield history at the same time shaping herself into an accomplished track and field athlete.
“You could tell Rose was an extraordinary athlete right as soon as she hit the water,” remembers former Linfield swim coach Gary Guttierez. “She made things look easy. She was extremely talented with a natural feel for water.”
Hollingsworth lettered four times in swimming and earned two more letters in track and field. The bigger the stage, the greater the performance for the Lincoln City native and Taft High School graduate.
In the swimming pool, Hollingsworth was a three-time NCAA championship-meet competitor. She capped her career with a runner-up finish in the 100-yard backstroke at the 2009 NCAA Championships, improving upon a 16th-place national finish a year earlier and a 15th-place result in 2007.
Hollingsworth made an immediate impact during her first two seasons of collegiate competition when she was twice chosen by her teammates as the Wildcats’ Most Improved Swimmer. As a sophomore, she captured the first of three straight Northwest Conference titles in the 100 backstroke while blossoming into a national-caliber performer.
Guttierez remembers that “what separated Rose from other swimmers was her lower body control and strength. Not a lot of other people could equal her tremendous kick.”
During her time at Linfield, Hollingsworth won four Northwest Conference individual titles while rewriting all of Linfield’s standing backstroke records. Hollingsworth continues to hold all-time best marks in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events, more than 10 years following her graduation. Her record-setting times of 56.18 in the 100 backstroke and 2:04.39 in the 200 backstroke were each achieved at the highest level of competition – during at the 2009 NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Three weeks prior to her brilliant performance at the NCAA Championships, Hollingsworth established a new conference-meet record at the NWC Championships in Federal Way, Washington. Clocking 56.81 seconds, she shaved over four seconds off her previous best time in the 100 backstroke on the way to breaking the all-time NWC record in the morning preliminaries. Later that day, Hollingsworth eclipsed that mark again in the finals, finishing with a mark of 56.70 seconds.
As testament to her versatility, Hollingsworth also holds top-10 marks in the 200 individual medley, where she ranks third, and the 100 freestyle, ranking 10th.
With superior upper-body strength, Hollingsworth etched her name on Linfield’s top-10 javelin list, despite competing in the sport for just two seasons. Her toss of 126 feet, 4 inches, recorded at the 2007 Western Oregon Preview meet, stands 10th all-time in the Wildcat record book.
“I truly believe Rose would have been an All-American in the javelin if she hadn’t always gotten a late start due to swimming,” said Linfield track and field coach Travis Olson. “She was so naturally talented. She could come out from swimming and immediately be one of the top javelin throwers in the conference.”
Hollingsworth and her husband, Arlen Pedersen, live in Newport. She works as an aquarist at Oregon Coast Community College and also serves as a Title I teaching assistant at Yaquina View Elementary School.
