As the winter sports season begins to gain its momentum on the Puget Sound campus, we turn our attention away from the field and look indoors. However, it is not only the court that we should be keeping a constant eye on, it is also the pool.
Logger swimming is one of the strongest athletics programs on campus, racking up countless wins in the Northwest Conference as well as setting records left and right.
Their season so far has been going strong, and this past weekend was no exception as the Loggers jumped into the Husky Invitational on Friday, Nov. 30 with solid performances.
The men’s 200 free relay team finished eighth out of the 49 relay teams participating in the day’s event, and this win was the highlight of the day.
Freshman Keven Henley (Evanston, Ill.), sophomore Clayton Jacobson (Newport, Ore.) junior Teale Kitson (Durango, Colo.), and senior Aleksander Jeremic (Skopje, Macedonia) turned in a time of 1:26.51 in the 200 free relay for the eighth place win. They were the first team to finish among the NWC teams at the meet.
In the 500 free, Kitson turned in a solid solo performance. He placed 15th in the preliminaries of the event with a time of 4:38.47.
In the 50 free during the morning prelims, Henley made a final after turning in a 21.33. He made the “D” final and placed 28th overall with a time of 21.46 in the finals.
On the women’s side, sophomore Melissa Norrish (Denver, Colo.) led the team with a time of 2:09.67. This was just one second shy of an NCAA Division III “B” Cut.
The Loggers returned to the water on Saturday, Dec. 1 where they were represented at two different venues. Junior Derek Frenzel (Moscow, Idaho) and senior Tracy Wormwood (Elk River, Minn.) competed at the USA Swimming Winter Championships while the Loggers continued to participate in the Husky Invitational.
Frenzel and Wormwood both recorded NCAA Division III “B” cuts in their events at the world class swim meet. Wormwood recorded a 2:21.81 in the 200 breast, while Fenzel swam a 1:51.21 in the 200 fly. Both swimmers set records in these events at the NWC Championships last year.
Back at the Husky Invitational, the Loggers continued to swim strong. Jeremikj made the “C” final of the 100 fly with a prelim time of 50.90.
Kitson made his second final of the three-day meet with a time of 53.39 in the 100 back. He improved his time in the “D” final with a 52.50 to finish 28th overall.
The men finished ninth in the 800 free relay. Kitson, Jeremikj, Jacobson and senior Max Cohen (Albuquerque, N.M.) teamed up for a time of 7:00.52. They again had the top relay of the NWC teams at the meet.
On Sunday, Dec. 2, Frenzel returned to become one of three Loggers to record a time for the competition. He finished 13th in the 1650 freestyle, with a provisional qualifying time of 16:50.20. Meanwhile, Norrish and senior Jessica Jaynes (Denver, Colo.) finished 19th and 21st, respectively, in their own events.
With winter break approaching, the Loggers swim team will go into hibernation until Jan. 12, when they will travel to Simon Fraizer University in British Columbia.
