BOISE, Idaho – The Whitworth men's swimming steam is flat out storming to its 22nd Northwest Conference swimming title, opening a nearly 250-point lead over the field after the second of three days of competition at the 2026 NWC Swimming Championships at the Idaho Central Aquatic Center.
The Pirate women have been nearly as dominant. They have a 169-point margin on the field after Saturday's events. The meet concludes on Sunday.
Whitworth's men won six of the seven events contested on Saturday and have stood atop the podium in 10 of the 12 events so far this meet.
The Pirates opened Saturday the same way they did on Friday, with a new Northwest Conference relay record and an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 200-yard medley relay. Austin Elwyn (backstroke), Alex Popov (breaststroke), Henry Brewster (butterfly) and Nathanael Van Liew (freestyle) went 1:29.26 to break the previous conference record of 1:30.73 set by a Whitworth relay in 2016.
The dominance followed into the next event as Whitworth finished with the top three places in the 400-yard individual medley. Jake Sachtjen won in 4:07.50, followed by Samuel Draeger (4:08.78) and Preston Wolf (4:11.22).
Brewster then won the men's 100-yard butterfly in 49.30 with Mason Groth taking fifth in 50.50.
Parker Dangleis gave the Pirates their fourth straight men's victory, winning the 200-yard freestyle in 1:40.01. Ben Butler was fifth (1:45.54) and Vincent McNabb was seventh (1:46.88).
The winning streak ended at the 100-yard breaststroke, but just barely. Puget Sound's Anderson Bennett edged Popov 55.49 – 55.56. Van Liew took third in 56.56.
Whitworth scored over 60 points in the 100-yard backstroke. Austin Elwyn won his second event of the meet with a winning time of 50.51. Kai Jon Hayashida was runner-up in 51.23, with Vladyslav Danylyuk sixth in 52.67. Kian Vae'Ena won the consolation final for ninth place in 53.84.
The Pirate men closed the night with a win in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Dangleis, Brewster, Elwyn and Hayashida swam a time of 6:53.74.
The team scores after Saturday's events are: Whitworth 594, Puget Sound 347.5, Whitman 270.5, Linfield 268.5, Pacific Lutheran 211.5, Lewis & Clark 188, Willamette 156, George Fox 148.
The Pirate women won five of Saturday's seven events, including both relays. The Bucs opened the night with a school record time of 1:45.21 in the 200 medley relay. Paige Dangleis, Molly Konop, Grace Esteban and Megan Bonikowsky beat the previous team record of 1:45.77 set in 2014.
Whitworth's women matched the men with a top-three sweep in the 400 I.M. Kallie Badry won in 4:36.87 with Isabella Hoopes second in 4:37.35. Hailey Freeman completed the clean sweep in 4:40.96. Alissa King took eighth (4:58.83), giving the Pirates 64 points in that event.
Dangleis and Konop followed up on the medley relay with victories in their individual events. Dangleis took first in the women's 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.52. Makhaela Parrish was third in 1:57.44. Konop won the women's 100 breaststroke in 1:04.17, just missing an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Bonikowsky was fourth in 1:06.20.
Grace Esteban was fifth in the women's 100 butterfly in 58.57. Whitman's Avery Riley won her second event of the meet in 56.38. In the women's 100 backstroke, George Fox's Gabbie Patti won in 54.74, one night after becoming the first Bruin swimmer to win an individual NWC title. Paige Orlando (1:02.23) was fifth and Mija Hood (1:02.61) was seventh.
The Pirates closed the night with a victory in the women's 800 freestyle relay. Badry, Parrish, Hoopes and Bonikowsky posted a time of 7:53.62. In a race comprised of four 200-yard distances, the Bucs were able to win it without needing the services of Paige Dangleis, the NWC 200 freestyle champion.
The women's team scores through Saturday are: Whitworth 488, Puget Sound 319, Pacific Lutheran 268, Whitman and George Fox 263, Linfield 253, Willamette 173, Lewis & Clark 151, Pacific 78.
