FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – A second individual championship crown for Ben Simpson topped the list of notable achievements by the Linfield University Wildcats on Sunday, wrapping up a successful four-day run at the Northwest Conference Swimming Championships at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
 
The Linfield men held tight on their grip of third place in the team standings with 536.5 points. Whitworth repeated as NWC men's team champion with 703.5 points and Whitman was runner-up with 555 points.
 
With 441 team points, the Wildcat women were fourth overall in the team standings, a one-notch improvement over their fifth-place finish in 2019-20, the most-recently contested championship season. Whitman won the women's league title with 618 points, Pacific Lutheran was second with 506 while Whitworth was third at 485.
 
MEN
Simpson added to his spectacular championship haul, winning his second individual gold medal this weekend to go along with his participation on two title-winning relay squads.
 
On Sunday in the 200 butterfly, Simpson combined with freshman Levi Buker for 33 team points. Winning the event in a season-best time of 1:50.97, Simpson added a second championship to his resume after nabbing the 100 butterfly title a day earlier. Buker ended in sixth place at 1:56.60.
 
In the 400 freestyle relay, Linfield cut a full eight seconds off its top time but couldn't overcome a spectacular performance by Whitworth, which claimed the title in 3:01.09. The Wildcat squadron of Garrett Sutton, Simpson, Daisuke Fitial and Edan Donaldson finished second in the meet's closing event.
 
Fitial was third in the 100 backstroke, reaching the wall in 1:50.89, less than a tenth of a second behind runner-up Ethan Schwartz of Puget Sound (1:50.80). Wildcats freshman Gavin Smith clocked 2:01.92 to place 12th and junior Casey Wong earned 15^th place in 2:06.97, cutting more than two seconds off his top incoming time.
 
In the 100 freestyle, Donaldson captured third place in 45.49 and Sutton was fourth in 46.34. Both marks were season-best times.
 
Freshman Jack Gallo made a key contribution in the 1,650 freestyle, placing fourth overall. His time of 16:37.34 was a substantial improvement over his previous best time of 16:37.34.
 
Alex Landry sewed up a seventh-place result in the 200 breaststroke in 2:11.27, pocketing 12 crucial team points.
 
WOMEN
Two runner-up finishes by Kate Walkup highlighted the evening session for the Wildcats. Walkup timed 2:06.04 to claim second place in the 200 butterfly. She also picked up important team points with a runner-up finish in the 1,650 freestyle. The junior surged from fourth place over the final 500 yards to take second in 17:44.13, accounting for a remarkable 21-second improvement off her top time coming into the race.
 
In the 200 backstroke, freshman Avery Campbell and sophomore Abbi Karsseboom represented the Wildcats in the championship finals, placing fifth and eighth, respectively. Campbell clocked 2:09.04 to cut more than four seconds from her previous best effort. Karsseboom collected 11 team points with her time of 2:17.67.
 
In the 100 freestyle, freshman Lauren Bobo-Shisler scored 11 team points by virtue of an eighth-place result, snipping .36 seconds off her previous top time. Maggie Kelley was 12^th in 54.71.
 
Claudia Velie cut clipped two seconds off her previous best time to place fourth in the 200 breaststroke in 2:26.62. Whitney Averill registered a one-second improvement to finish eighth in 2:29.67.
 
In the women's 400 freestyle relay, the Wildcats surged to fourth place in 3:38.29. The relay squad comprised of Bobo-Shisler, Walkup, Molly Shields and Velie trimmed nearly to seven seconds off their best performance.
 
NEXT
With the regular schedule now complete, Simpson, Fitial and Donaldson await word whether their provisional qualifying times will earn them an invitation to the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, March 16-19, in Indianapolis.