LAS VEGAS – Cutting substantial time in both individual and relay events, the Linfield Wildcats represented themselves well at the three-day UNLV Invitational, which concluded Monday at Jim Reitz Pool.
 
Freshman Sarah Arpag and junior Whitney Averill each established new school records to highlight the list of individual accomplishments. 

Racing against primarily NCAA Division I programs, the Linfield women placed ninth among 10 teams while the Wildcat men finished fifth among six competing institutions.
 
MEN
The best outcome on Saturday saw the Wildcats turn in a top-10 all-time performance in the 200 freestyle relay. The foursome of Garrett Sutton, Ben Simpson, Daniel Olson and Edan Donaldson trimmed more than three seconds off their season-best time, placing seventh in 1:24.45. It was the fifth-fastest time in program history, coming just short of the school record time of 1:23.08 set in 2020.
 
Ben Simpson placed eighth in the 100 butterfly on Sunday with a season-best showing of 50.30.
 
Rocco Velie turned in an outstanding performance in the 100 individual medley, clocking 54.10 in Monday's finals. That registered to the third-fastest time in that event in Linfield history.
 
Gavin Smith placed 10th in Monday's finals of the 1,650 freestyle in 16:55.05. Smith also claimed 12^th place in the 200 backstroke with a season-best mark of 2:01.93.
 
WOMEN
Cutting more than eight seconds off her season-best effort coming into the meet, Kate Walkup went 4:40.49 in Sunday's finals of the 400 individual medley. The senior's time was the fifth-fastest mark in program history.
 
Arpag clocked 57.19 in Sunday's finals of the 100 butterly, moving up to No. 3 on Linfield's all-time list in the event. She placed 19th in a field of 27 competitors.
 
In Monday's 200 butterfly finals, Arpag was even more impressive, setting a school record in 2:06.03 while placing 12th. That broke the standing record by .01, a mark set by Walkup at last season's NWC Championships.
 
Arpag added yet another eye-opening swim in the finals of the 100 freestyle. The freshman clocked 53.18, climbing to No. 3 in the record book and coming just .14 short of equaling the school record of 53.04 set by Kelsie Kimura in 2013.
 
Not to be outdone, Averill set a school record of her own, reaching the wall in 1:01.18 in Monday's 100 IM. That surpassed the school standard of 1:01.56 set by Molli Hartzell at the 2019 UNLV Invitational.
 
Linfield's 200 freestyle relay, featuring Arpag, Averill, Avery Campbell, and Lauren Bobo-Shisler, blazed to a 1:39.05 clocking to secure 13^th place. That mark chopped more than three seconds off their previous best mark and places the foursome at No. 5 on all-time ledger.
 
NEXT
The Wildcats are idle for the better part of a month before returning to action with a Northwest Conference dual meet at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14, at the University of Puget Sound.