Inching closer to tasting championship glory each of the past five seasons, Linfield men's and women's swimmers believe 2019 could be the Year of the 'Cat.
 
The Linfield men last won a Northwest Conference team title 20 years ago. The women's most recent NWC crown came in 1992. With those droughts in mind, the Wildcats are eager to write their own bit of history when the league's nine swimming programs gather for the annual NWC Championships, Thursday through Sunday, at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.

Linfield coach Kyle Kimball acknowledges Whitworth could well be considered the favorite on both sides of the ledger. That's okay, he says, preferring instead that his Wildcats fly under the radar heading into the big meet.
 
Whitman is the defending NWC women's champion and Whitworth is the reigning men's titlist, but Kimball believes his respective squads are positioned nicely in the midst of the championship hunt.
 
As evidence, the Linfield men capped a successful dual-meet portion of the 2018-19 season with a 7-1 record. The Wildcat women posted a 6-2 record with their only team defeats coming by three points or fewer.
 
At last season's NWC Championships, the men's squad earned third place while the women took fourth for a second straight year. Both squads remained in the hunt for the team title until the meet's final day. This time, Linfield enters the meet armed with needed top-end speed plus substantial depth to score crucial middle-tier points.
 
WOMEN
Seniors Evette Dow, Tahnijo Kakazu, and Kaedi Fry are all proven big-meet performers as well as multi-event school record holders. They are poised to score vital points in championship finals races, but Kimball notes the women's X-factors are largely mid-level swimmers who will pick up additional points in the consolation finals.
 
"On the women's side, it seems like a four-team race. Whitworth has a little bit of an edge, but we have girls who are in position to move up," he said. "If we do what I believe we are capable of, and have people move up into the right positions, we have a shot of winning the conference championship. It's going to be a very, very close meet."
 
Swimmers can compete in a maximum of three individual events and four relays, which means Kimball must choose wisely which events to slot his top athletes into.
 
A two-time NWC Swimmer of the Meet, Dow enters her fourth Championships ranking first in 500 freestyle (5:10.18) and 1,650 freestyle (18:01.94), both of which she is the three-time defending champion. Dow also is rated second in the 200 freestyle (1:56.51) and 200 backstroke (2:07.60).
 
Kakazu, who has flirted with winning a NWC individual title in seasons past, is ranked second in the 50 freestyle (24.21) and fifth in the 200 freestyle (1:59.53) and 11^th in the 100 backstroke (1:00.83).
 
Fry, who shared the NWC Swimmer of the Meet award with Dow two seasons ago, enters this week's Championships ranking fifth in the 400 IM (4:47.53), seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.04) and ninth in the 200 backstroke (2:12.95).
 
The Linfield women look to score a lot of points in the 100 butterfly, where Vianka Hoyer is ranked third (58.84), Emily Samudio is sixth (59.03), Molli Hartzell eighth (59.86), Abby Mattern 10th (1:00.18) and Molly Shields 12th (1:00.38).
 
Hartzell, a key cog on Wildcat relays, is sits fifth in the 100 backstroke (1:00.38).
 
Also expected to play important point-scoring roles are Anne Walkup, Lottie Steward, Alexis Murphy and Elizabeth Fryer.
 
Walkup is 10th in the 400 individual medley (4:54.07), Steward is 12th in the 200 freestyle (2:01.58), Murphy is 11th in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.11), and Fryer stands in 25th in the 100 backstroke (1:06.21).
 
MEN
Like the women, the Linfield men have ample top-end speed and will place their championship hopes at the feet of the squad's mid-level performers.
 
Veterans Noah Cutting, Trevor Gourley and Daisuke Fitial, plus newcomer Matt Lemire are all capable of winning individual events as well as boosting relay results, which count for double points in the team standings.
 
Cutting, a two-time NWC Swimmer of the Meet, returns to defend his individual titles in the 200 IM, 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly. He enters the meet ranking third in the 100 backstroke (51.68), third in the 200 butterfly (1:56.76) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (51.64).
 
Fitial is expected to be an important point producer who could claim multiple individual championships. He's ranked first in the 200 individual medley (1:55.58), and second in both the 100 butterfly (51.14) and 100 backstroke (51.18).
 
Gourley, the lone senior among the championship contenders, comes loaded with motivation to win a title and record a NCAA qualifying mark. He enters the NWC Championships with the fastest time in the 50 freestyle (21.12) and is rated second in the 100 breaststroke (58.37) and seventh in the 200 freestyle (1:48.00).
 
Lemire, a transfer from Sacramento City College, is slotted third among NWC swimmers in the 500 freestyle (4:42.31) and fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:46.59).
 
As noted, Linfield's middle-tier athletes are being counted on for maximum output as the Wildcats chase the team title.
 
Senior David Flores is among those, ranking eighth in the 500 freestyle (4:57.50) and ninth in the 400 IM (4:30.79). So, too, are Joseph Simpson and Zachary Sherlock.
 
Simpson owns the NWC's fifth-fastest time in 200 IM (2:01.00) and is seventh in the 100 butterfly (52.31). Sherlock holds third-fastest mark in the 400 IM (4:18.66) and is ranked sixth in 200 IM (2:01.57).
 
Mitchell Morrison and Tyler Cook could also prove pivotal for Linfield. Morrison is currently 14th in the 200 IM, 16th in the 50 freestyle (22.57) and 20th in the 200 freestyle (1:50.54). Cook may play a prominent role in the sprint relays after sitting out the dual meet season while he resolved an academic issue.
 
Kimball believes this Linfield men's squad has what it takes to win the team prize.
 
"If everything comes together, we could be the ones standing at the top," he said. "It's going to take an incredible performance, which I think we're capable of and ready to do."