BOISE, Idaho – The Whitworth University men and women took commanding leads on the first day of the 2026 Northwest Conference Swimming Championships on Friday at the Idaho Central Aquatic Center.
The Pirate men won four of the night's five events, broke two NWC records and hold a 115-point lead over second place Puget Sound. The women's team won three events and lead Puget Sound by 64 points.
Whitworth opened the men's meet in splendid fashion, winning the 200-yard freestyle relay with a new Northwest Conference record and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:21.26. Nathanael Van Liew, Blake Swenson, Alex Popov and Parker Dangleis broke the previous NWC mark of 1:22.44 established by Whitman in 2015.
The only event the Pirate men did not win on Friday was the 500-yard freestyle. However, the Bucs advanced four swimmers to the championship final to score 57 points. Sam Lyon of Puget Sound defended his title with a time of 4:35.18. Ben Butler took second in 4:37.40 with Jake Sachtjen third in 4:41.33. Preston Wolf (4:47.11) was sixth and Braiden Alexander (4:48.84) was eighth.
Austin Elwyn became a three-time champion of the men's 200-yard individual medley, winning with a time of 1:52.10. Popov finished third in 1:54.52 and Samuel Draeger was fourth in 1:54.92. Kai Jon Hayashida (1:58.93) took eighth place.
Van Liew just missed a Whitworth team record while winning the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.02. The school record of 20.00 was set by Zach Washburn in 2023. Van Liew knocked off defending champion Ezra Billings of Lewis & Clark (20.37) with Parker Dangleis taking third place for the Bucs (20.47). Swenson finished fifth in 21.14.
The Pirate men closed the night with another NWC relay record, winning the 400-yard medley relay in 3:19.47. Hayashida (backstroke), Popov (breaststroke), Henry Brewster (butterfly) and Dangleis (free) broke the previous conference mark of 3:20.84 set by Whitworth in 2016.
The men's team scores through Friday's events are: Whitworth 269, Puget Sound 154, Linfield 112.5, Whitman 103, Pacific Lutheran 86.5, Willamette 78, Lewis & Clark 73 and George Fox 61.
The Pirate women also opened their meet with a victory in the 200 freestyle relay. Paige Dangleis, Paige Orlando, Mya Granger and Grace Esteban went 1:37.70.
Dangleis went on to lead a 1-2-3 finish for Whitworth in the women's 200 I.M. She won with a time of 2:06.78, followed by Isabella Hoopes (2:07.60) in second and Megan Bonikowsky (2:07.67) in third.
Kallie Badry finished third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:08.76 and Makhaela Parrish was fourth in 5:17.81. Whitman's Avery Riley won in 5:07.12. Hailey Freeman (5:22.80) won the consolation final to take ninth place for the Bucs.
Esteban took third in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.53. Gabbie Patti became the first swimmer from George Fox to ever win an individual NWC title with a time of 23.33.
Like their male counterparts, the Pirate women finished the night with another relay victory. Dangleis (back), Molly Konop (breaststroke), Esteban (fly) and Bonikowsky posted a winning time of 3:52.91.
The women's team scores through Friday are: Whitworth 211, Puget Sound 147, Whitman 128, Linfield 112, George Fox 112, PLU 94, Willamette 76, Lewis & Clark 57, Pacific (Ore.) 36.
