SALEM, Ore. --- Linfield men's and women's swimming dove into the start of the 2025-26 season on Saturday morning at Willamette, as both teams took down the Bearcats.
 
The women's team captured eight wins in 11 races, with senior Kirsti Keppo responsible for three on her own. The meet opened with the 50-yard freestyle, where Caley Haydu claimed first with a time of 25.69, edging out the next three swimmers from Willamette. Taila Patterson rounded out the point-scorers in fifth. 
 
Three events later, Keppo made her first appearance since last season's Northwest Conference Championships, where she earned Co-Swimmer of the Year alongside teammate Sarah Arpag. Keppo picked up where she left off, claiming the title in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:36.75, nearly 16-seconds faster than the next-best swimmer. 
 
Keppo went back-to-back, returning to the pool to win the 1650 freestyle by over 15-seconds. The Wildcats would win-out from there, with Kira Etheredge dominating the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:09.66, and a winning margin of seven seconds. Ruby Bentz took third, grabbing three points for the 'Cats. Etheredge also won the 100-yard butterfly, her 1:00.25 was three-seconds faster than the Bearcats best. Patterson and Bentz also placed in the event.
 
Senior Keppo's third win came in the 400-yard IM, earning a six-second margin with a 4:56.15, while Manda Reso earned fourth in the race as well. Both of the closing relays were won by the 'Cats, as Sarah Arpag, Caley Haydu, Chloe Lazaraton, and Taila Patterson won the 200-yard freestyle relay. 
 
Lastly, the team of Sarah Arpag, Kira Etheredge, Caley Haydu, and Chloe Lazaraton won by three-tenths of a second in the 20—yard medley relay. The women's team took down the Bearcats, 118-86, for their first win of the season.
 
On the men's side, six events were won by the Wildcats, claiming a narrow 104-98 win in the first meet of the season. Carson Washburn and Jack Sappington placed in the 100-yard freestyle, with the former winning by less than three-tenths of a second over a Bearcat swimmer. Washburn's time of 49.58 earned the 'Cats their first points of the season.
 
Rocco Veile led the way in the 200-yard freestyle, cruising to a time of 1:49.05. Elijah Ng placed fourth amongst the field with a time of 1:00.53. After Willamette responded with two more wins, just beating out Kai Laitinen of Linfield, the 'Cats earned the top-three spots in the 100-yard backstroke. Samuel Postlewait finished first at 55.83, while Andrew Seale took second with a 58.96. Ng rounded out the top-three swimmers with a 1:00.91.
 
Veile and Andrew Lee combined for the top-two finish in the 100-yard butterfly, with Veile earning a three-second margin over Lee for the title. In the closing relays, the team of Veile, Washburn, Sappington, and Lee worked together to beat the Bearcats team and win the 200-yard freestyle relay by over five-seconds. Postlewait, Ivan Tontchev, Lee, and Washburn just beat the Willamette team in the 200-yard medley relay, the win the Widlcats needed to just beat the Bearcats in their pool. 
 
The 104-98 win gave the men's team their first win of the season, and meant both squads swept the Bearcats in the first meet of the season.
 
Linfield swimming makes their home debut next Friday evening in the Linfield Pool, hosting the Pacific Boxers at 5 p.m. 
 
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