McMINNVILLE, Ore. --- Linfield men's and women's swimming hosted their first dual of the 2026 half of the season, as each team fell to the reigning Northwest Conference champion Whitworth Pirates. The Whitworth men's squad defeated the Wildcats, 123-81, while the Pirates won 135-70 in the women's races.
 
Although the Pirates claimed the fastest time in each of the 200 yard medley relay races, the women's squad comprised of Kirsti Keppo, Kira Etheredge, Sarah Arpag and Caley Haydu recorded a new personal best time for the team, just eight-hundredths of a second faster than their previous third-best in the NWC time. 
 
In the men's 1650 yard freestyle, Kai Laitinen battled as he was side-by-side his opponent the entire race, he edged out a six-second win over Whitworth's fastest swimmer to claim first in the race. Rocco Velie took second in the men's 20 yard freestyle, finishing less than a second behind the fastest Pirate in the race. Meanwhile, in the women's 200 freestyle, Chloe Lazaraton also finished second, narrowly missing out on first by a half-second margin.
 
Sarah Arpag won the first event for the 'Cats, with a time of 25.81 seconds, the senior claimed the top spot in the women's 50 yard freestyle. Laitinen returned to the pool for the men's 50 freestyle, also winning the race for Linfield, by a half-second margin.
 
Etheredge took home the fastest time in the 100 yard butterfly, cruising to a time of 1:00.26. Carson Washburn carded a 49.57 in the men's 100 yard freestyle, winning by nearly three seconds over the fastest Pirate.
 
In the women's 100 yard freestyle, Haydu narrowly missed out on the top time, but raced an impressive 56.48 on her way to second place in the event. The 100 yard backstroke saw a pair of great finishes from the Wildcats, with Sam Postlewait taking second with a time of 54.13, while Keppo came from behind to win the event with a 1:04.71; four-hundredths of a second faster than the Pirates.
 
Whitworth claimed multiple top times down the stretch, showing their depths in each event. Although, the Wildcats finished strong, each winning the final two races, the 200 yard freestyle relay. Andrew Lee, Sam Postlewait, Nathan Wilson and Carson Washburn won by over five seconds, with Washburn anchoring the fastest split. Arpag, Etheredge, Lazaraton and Haydu combined for a 1:42.90 to pass Whitworth by over two seconds.
 
The Pirate's depth and experience helped them upset Linfield's first meet of 2026, winning 123-81 on the men's side and 135-70 in the women's meet. 
 
The 'Cats are back in the pool tomorrow morning, set to host the Whitman Blues at 11 a.m. inside the Linfield Aquatic Center.
 
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