Whitman Swimmers in the Hunt After First Day of NWC Championships

Federal Way, Wash. – The Whitman Men stand in second-place, and the Women in third after the first night of finals at the Northwest Conference Championships at the King County Aquatics Center.

The Men tallied 174 points, behind Whitworth’s 216, courtesy of victories in the 400 medley relay that included a school record time by Sam Starr on the backstroke leg, and wins by Galen Sollom-Brotherton in the 500 free and Karl Mering in the 50 free, along with strong efforts from Nic Win, Nick Wechter, and Paul Chang.

The Women posted 122 points after the first day, as Claire Collins took first in the 200 IM and Helen Jenne, Ashley Jay and Elise Tinseth racked up big points with high finishes in their respective events. The Lady Whits also produced major points in the 400 medley relay finishing third, and the 200 free relay, coming in fifth, accounting for a combined 60 points.

Starr led off the Men’s IM relay with a 51.94 split – a new school record – giving the team the boost it needed to touch the wall first in a time of 3:23.76, setting a new meet record. Chang swam the breaststroke, Mering the fly, and Sollom-Brotherton the free.

Sollom-Bortherton’s winning time in the 500 free was 4:31.38. Mering touched the wall in the 50 free in 20.87 – just .08 seconds off the meet record. Starr finished fifth to add 14 point to the 20 garnered by Mering’s first, and Chang finished ninth to tally another 9 points.

In the 200 IM, Win finished third, producing 16 points, with a time of 1:55.44 which bested the previous school record of 1:56.04 he set in the prelims.

In the Women’s 200 IM, Collins’ winning time of 2:09.32 produced a critical 20 points. Tinseth followed her with a tenth place finish, good for 7 points.

Jenne garnered 11 points with an eighth place in the 50 free (25.31) and Jay took seventh in the 500 free (5:13.37), producing another 12 points.

The 400 medley relay team of Cameo Hlebasko, Genay Pilarowski, Mel Notari and Kendra Clinton touched the wall in 3:56.27, and the third place finish tallied 32 points. Whitman’s 200 free relay team’s fifth-place garnered 28 points.

Saturday brings another morning of prelims with finals in the evening.

For full results and standings you can visit the NWC Championship Meet website at http://livestats.willamette.edu/live/nwc/swimming/#

Contact:

Andrew Holt

Whitman Sports Information Director