McMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Linfield Wildcats used their final dual meet of the 2024-25 swimming season to hone their timing and technique heading into the Northwest Conference Championships in two weeks.
 
Saturday's matchup with the Willamette Bearcats at the Linfield Aqautics Center was also an opportunity to salute the Wildcats' eight graduating seniors on the occasion of their final home meet. Honored beforehand were Lauren Bobo-Shisler, Levi Buker, Avery Campbell, Jack Gallo, Kalea Mullins, and Gavin Smith. Two other four-year letter winners – Stephany Castellanos-Welsh and Sasha Moore – were unable to be present due to study abroad obligations.

Linfield won both ends of the NWC dual meet. The Wildcat men took down the Bearcat men by a 121-70 count to finish the dual-meet portion of the season with a 6-2 record. The Linfield women earned a 115-87 decision over the Willamette ladies, ending their dual-meet season with a 5-2-1 record.
 
MEN
Linfield's foursome of Sam Postlewait, Ivan Tontchev, Rocco Velie and Carson Washburn outswam their Willamette counterparts to claim the 400-yard medley relay in 3:38.29.
 
Kai Laitinen and Jack Gallo took the top two places in the 1,650 freestyle. Laitinen clocked 17:16.11 to win by a full 17 seconds over Gallo's time of 17:35.24. Laitinen held off Willamette's Ka'olapa Masuko by fractions of a second for the victory in the 200 breaststroke, 2:14.21 to 2:14.69.
 
Washburn and Postlewait waged a tight battle in the 200 freestyle before Washburn held off his teammate at the wall, 1:54.09 to 1:54.25. Postlewait scored a win in the 200 backstroke, winning by more than two full seconds (2:09.54).
 
Fresh from a month away on a study abroad excursion, Velie scored a victory in the 200 individual medley, winning in 2:02.19, will in front of Willamette's Ethan Davis, who was second in 2:10.50. Velie also turned in an impressive effort in the 500 freestyle, leading a 1-2-3 Linfield finish in that event with Gavin Smith placing second (5:10.19) and Buker finishing third (5:10.77).
 
Gallo locked up first place in the 200 butterfly in 1:57.94, topping Levi Buker's effort of 2:00.66.
 
WOMEN
Kirsti Keppo and Chloe Lazaraton went 1-2 in the 1,650 freestyle. Keppo topped her teammate by nearly 11 seconds, 19:20.13 to 19:31.00.
 
Keppo went on to take top honors in the 200 freestyle (2:02.41) and the 500 freestyle (5:33.66), the latter by a full 22-second margin.
 
Lauren Bobo-Shisler timed 25.63 to win the 50 freestyle, just in front of fellow senior Avery Campbell, who finished in 25.98. Bobo-Shisler also prevailed in the 100 freestyle in 55.15.
 
Sarah Arpag was a three-second winner in the 200 individual medley (2:20.23) and won the 200 backstroke by nearly six seconds (2:16.61).
 
The Linfield women's 400 freestyle relay, comprised of Arpag, Bobo-Shilser, Campbell and Caley Haydu, blazed to a winning time of 3:45.07, easily outdistancing Willamette's quartet, which finished in 4:07.30.
 
NEXT
The Wildcats make their annual trip to Federal Way, Washington, to compete in the NWC Championships, Feb. 13-16, at Weyerhauser King County Aquatics Center. The men are aiming to improve on last season's fourth-place finish while the women look to at least equal last season's second-place result.