McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Despite only competing in two dual meets in the calendar year, the Linfield swimming team is ready to take on the 2022 Northwest Conference Championships, hosted by Willamette from Feb. 10-13 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington.
 
MEN
The Linfield men enter the NWC Championships ranked second after completing a perfect 6-0 record in conference dual meets. The Wildcats picked up wins over Willamette (138-60), Lewis & Clark (132.5-70.5), Pacific Lutheran (131.5-69.5), George Fox (134-68), Pacific (135-46) and Puget Sound (139-66).
 
Linfield's meets at Whitman and Whitworth were canceled due to health and safety protocols. The Pirates look to win their fourth straight NWC title and are also 6-0 in conference dual meets. The Blues (5-1) rank third entering the big meet, their only loss coming to Whitworth.
 
Senior Daisuke Fitial holds the second-fastest time in the 100 backstroke (50.64), 200 backstroke (1:51.43), 100 butterfly (50.94) and 200 individual medley (1:56.73). Junior Ben Simpson leads the NWC in the 100 butterfly at 50.32 seconds and the 200 butterfly at 1:51.50. Freshman Jack Gallo is expected to perform well in the 1,650 freestyle while senior Garrett Sutton will help take charge in the sprints.
 
The relays will be a strong suit for the 'Cats. The team of junior Edan Donaldson, freshman Jake Maher, Simpson and Sutton beat Puget Sound in the 200 medley relay on Senior Day, clocking a time of 1:13.80, nearly two seconds faster than the Loggers. The 'Cats capped a successful meet with a four-second win in the 200 freestyle relay with Donaldson, sophomore Daniel Olson, Fitial and Sutton finishing in 1:27.38.
 
WOMEN
The Linfield women also enter the NWC Championships as the No. 2 ranked team after going 5-1 in conference dual meets. The Wildcats beat Willamette (136-59) and Lewis & Clark (122-76) before falling to Pacific Lutheran (109-96). They bounced back to win three straight dual meets, taking down George Fox (120-84), Pacific (126-94) and Puget Sound (105-100) in order.
 
The Wildcats didn't compete against Whitworth (4-2) and Whitman (3-3) this season. The Blues are the defending NWC champions while Pacific Lutheran is the top-ranked team on the women's side with an unblemished 7-0 dual-meet record.
 
Junior Kate Walkup leads the NWC in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:07.92. She is also third in the NWC in the 1,000 freestyle (10:56.93) and the 1,650 freestyle (18:05.23). Freshman Avery Campbell is third in the NWC in the 100 backstroke at 58.88 seconds.
 
In the Wildcats' final meet of the season against Puget Sound, the 105-100 victory was decided on the final race. The squad of freshman Lauren Bobo-Shisler, sophomore Whitney Averill, senior Molly Shields and Campbell won the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 1:44.02. Shields also won the meet's 100 butterfly in 1:01.82.