FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Whitworth University closed the 2023 Northwest Conference swimming championships with two Swimmer of the Year awards and a Rookie of the Year award, but the Pirate men came up just short in the effort to repeat as NWC champions.
Whitworth finished 14.5 points behind Whitman in one of the closest men's team finishes in NWC history. The Pirate women finished in fifth place.
Zachary Washburn picked up his third individual event win of the meet, while Brody Faser got his first career win. Both were award winners for Whitworth.
Washburn set a Northwest Conference record in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 44.06. That broke the previous NWC mark of 44.28 set by Whitman's Karl Mering in 2015. Ryan Burch finished seventh in the event for the Bucs with a time of 46.92.
Washburn won the 50 freestyle on Friday and 100 breaststroke on Saturday to claim three individual event victories and share the NWC Men's Swimmer of the Year award with Whitman's Tanner Filion. Filion won the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke on Saturday and the 200-yard backstroke on Sunday.
Faser won one of the closest finishes of the night in the 200-yard breaststroke. He out-touched Puget Sound's Lance Mielke 2:05.49 – 2:05.73. Faser earned the NWC's Rookie of the Year award thanks to his win in the 200 breaststroke and runner-up finishes in both the 200 I.M. and 400 I.M.
Connor Florey opened the night for the Pirate men with a second place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:28.02. Linfield's Gavin Smith won the race in 16:21.82. Noah Clarke took sixth in the race for the Pirates (16:47.54).
Filion followed with his win in the 200 back, breaking his own meet record with a time of 1:42.97. Carl McNabb finished fifth for Whitworth with a PR of 1:55.70. Jorgen Midboe took eighth in 1:57.68. Ty Patterson came from behind to win the consolation final for ninth place with a time of 1:57.17.
Isaiah Ross was the runner-up in the men's 200-yard butterfly in 1:52.46, his personal-best time. Linfield's Benjamin Simpson defended his title in the event with a provisional NCAA qualifying time of 1:49.66.
Washburn, Ross, Mason Groth and Burch finished second in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:05.09. Linfield touched first in 3:02.82.
The final men's team scores were: Whitman 625, Whitworth 610.5, Linfield 534, Puget Sound 342, Lewis & Clark 281.5, Willamette 256, Pacific Lutheran 237, George Fox 228, Pacific (Ore.) 113. Whitman's Jenn Blomme is the 2023 NWC men's coach of the year. The Blues earned their first championship since 2017.
Carly Hoff highlighted the entire weekend for the Pirate women and she won her third event of the meet after claiming the 100 freestyle in 52.48. She also won the 50 freestyle on Friday and the 200 freestyle on Saturday, earning NWC Women's Swimmer of the Year.
Jillian Larrabee finished 11th in the 100 free in 54.51.
Chamelle Abringe opened the night for the women with a ninth place finish in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 18:58.97. Kirsti Keppo of Linfield won the race in 17:49.10.
Abringe closed the night with a fourth place finish in the 200 butterfly in 2:19.32. Linfield's Sara Arpag won with a time of 2:05.07.
Sarah Doncevic was the eighth place finisher in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:13.34. Taylor Thorne was 10th in 2:14.12. Linfield's Kate Walkup won in 2:04.11.
Anna Hornbeck of Willamette took first in the 200 breaststroke with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:20.08. Grace Oster finished 13th for the Pirates in 2:34.72.
Hoff, Doncevic, Larrabee and Thorne finished fourth for Whitworth in the 400 freestyle relay with a season-best time of 3:37.66. Linfield won the relay in 3:33.98.
The final women's team scores were: Linfield 693, Whitman 638, Puget Sound 417, Pacific Lutheran 368, Whitworth 341, Willamette 277, Lewis & Clark 202, George Fox 180, Pacific (Ore.) 133.
Linfield claimed its first NWC title in women's swimming since 1993. Kyle Kimbal, the Wildcats' head coach, was the NWC women's coach of the year.
