FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Linfield's women issued a bold statement during the opening session of the Northwest Conference Swimming Championships, which began a four-day run Thursday night at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center.
 
The Wildcat women claimed two NWC titles during the leadoff session, posting season-best times in each race while taking a commanding lead in the team championship point standings.  Linfield's men faced strong competition in their respective relays, finishing third in the 200-yard medley relay and fifth in the 800 freestyle relay. 

After Friday night's opening events, Linfield's women sit in first place with 80 points, followed by Pacific Lutheran and Whitman, each with 64 points. Whitworth (58), Willamette (52), Lewis & Clark (50) and George Fox (48) also remain in contention. Pacific (40) and Puget Sound (34) round out the women's scoring. 

On the men's side, Whitman opened up a sizable first-day lead with 80 points, followed by Whitworth (68), Linfield (60), Lewis & Clark (58), Willamette (54), Pacific Lutheran (50), Pacific (44), Puget Sound (30), and George Fox (28).

WOMEN
Linfield's 200 medley relay, featuring the foursome of Avery Campbell, Whitney Averill, Kate Walkup and Lauren Bobo-Shisler, started the night off with a bang, topping runner-up Pacific Lutheran by one full second, 1:46.72 to 1:47.76. The Wildcats' time shaved more than three seconds off their previous season-best result of 1:50.34. Campbell's split in the 50 backstroke was paramount in the victory as the Linfield sophomore established a new school record, surpassing the standing mark of 26.93 set by Molly Hartzell in 2019.
 
The Wildcat women followed up with a resounding victory in the 800 freestyle relay. The quartet of Bobo-Shisler, Walkup, Sarah Arpag and Claudia Velie grabbed the early lead then extended it throughout the race, finishing in a blazing 7:46.41, a whopping 13-second cut from their entry time of 8:05.00. Rival Puget Sound, which entered the meet with an NWC-best mark of 7:59.92, finished a distant second, clocking 7:57.26.
 
MEN
Linfield got off to a great start over the opening leg of the 200 medley relay but couldn't hold off strong surges by Whitman and Whitworth, pushing the Wildcats lineup of Edan Donaldson, Alex Landry, Ben Simpson and Garrett Sutton back to third place. Nonetheless, the Wildcats' time of 1:33.05 was a notable improvement over their previous top time of 1:35.43.
 
Linfield swam a season-best time of 6:59.52 in the 800 freestyle relay, but the grouping of Sutton, Rocco Velie, Cam Wheeler and Carson Washburn could not keep pace with the NWC front-runners, leaving the Wildcats to settle for fifth place. Linfield, which entered the meet with the second-fastest 800 freestyle relay time of 7:03.06, was edged out for fourth place by Puget Sound, which finished a blink-of-an-eye sooner in 6:59.40. Whitman, Whitworth and Lewis & Clark claimed the top three spots.
 
NEXT
Action resumes Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. with preliminary races in four events. Finals start at 6 p.m.