McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Competing in its home pool for the first time this season, the Linfield Wildcats put together another impressive team performance, brushing aside the George Fox Bruins in a Northwest Conference dual meet sweep Saturday afternoon.
 
The Linfield men defeated George Fox by a 114-83 count while the Wildcat women outdistanced the Bruins 126-69. Both squads improved to 4-0 for the season.
 
Rocco Velie won a pair of individual events for the men while Kalea Mullins and Kirsti Keppo were multi-event winners on the women's side.
 
WOMEN
Mullins nipped teammate Kate Walkup in a narrow finish in the 400-yard individual medley, surging over the final three pool lengths to win, 4:49.28 to 4:50.51.
 
Mullins scored a much wider victory in the 500 freestyle (5:31.83), winning by more than 13 seconds.
 
Keppo showed off her raw endurance with a 18:39.75 clocking in the 1,650 freestyle, winning the event by more than 41 seconds. She then flashed her pure speed with a four-second win in the 100 backstroke (1:08.46).
 
Whitney Averill continued her impressive start to the 2022-23 campaign with a solid two-second triumph in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.29).
 
Avery Campbell collected a decisive win in the 200 freestyle, topping George Fox's Kenzie Brennan 2:03.38 to 2:08.44.
 
Maggie Kelley and Lauren Bobo-Shisler battled all the way to the wall in the tight 50 freestyle race. Kelley edged her teammate by mere split seconds, 26.29 to 26.33.
 
Walkup bested Averill in the 100 butterfly, 1:01.40, to 1:03.51, collecting 13 team points between them.
 
Sarah Arpag zipped to a first-place showing in the 100 freestyle (56.21), winning by a more than three-second margin.
 
In the day's opening event, the Linfield foursome of Campbell, Averill, Walkup and Kelley combined to win the 200 medley relay by nearly 10 seconds (1:52.78).
 
MEN
Velie was a clearcut winner in the 400 IM (4:29.55) and took top honors in the 100 backstroke (57.41), where he led a Linfield 1-2-3 sweep. Fellow Wildcats Carson Washburn (58.68) and Cam Butler (1:02.12) finished second and third, respectively.
 
Donaldson continued his impressive weekend effort with a first-place result in the 50 freestyle (21.70). Garrett Sutton (21.78) and Ben Simpson (21.91) competed a three-place Linfield sweep.
 
Ben Simpson and Jack Gallo finished 1-2 in the 500 freestyle. Simpson's time of 4:59.82 was nearly three seconds faster than Gallo's 5:02.76.
 
Gallo was the men's top finisher in the 1,650 freestyle. His time of 17:36.24 was well in front of teammate and runner-up Grant Cutler (19:07.26).
 
The men's 200 medley relay, featuring Donaldson, Landry, Simpson and Sutton, picked up 11 team points with a first-place effort (1:39.83).
 
AHEAD
Linfield takes a break from competition for the Thanksgiving holiday but returns to action for the two-day Bruin Invitational, Dec. 3-4, at the Chehalem Aquatic and Fitness Center.