The Logger swim team competed in the Husky Invitational Dec. 6, 7 and 8 in Federal Way, Wash. The invitational hosts swimmers from 10 states including DI schools and USS club teams. The team came out strong on the first day of competition, they finished the day with 142.5 points and placed fourth in the collegiate division.
Junior Melissa Norish (Denver, Colo.) competed in the 500 free and placed 19th, the best individual score a Puget Sound woman has placed at this event in 15 years. She finished the race in just 5:04.50 and earned six points for Puget Sound.
The 500 free was also a strong event for the men. Senior Teale Kitson (Durango, Colo.) placed 4th overall in the event when he finished the final heat with a time of 4:37.04. Senior Derek Frenzel (Moscow, Idaho) came in 9th overall after he took first in the consolation heat. Frenzel swam a 4:41.33 in the preliminary heat, securing him a seat in the consolation heat but with a final time of 4:37.25 he performed better than the five slowest swimmers in the final heat. Kitson earned 26 points for the Loggers and Frenzel scored 20.
Two other individuals scored points for the Loggers in Friday’s events. Freshman Mitch Kilgore (Conifer, Colo.) took 23rd in the 50 free with a time of 21.74. Sophomore Keven Henley (Evanston, Ill.) swam a 21.54 finishing 20th overall. The winner of the event swam a 20.16 which proves just how much every millisecond counts in such competitive events.
The women’s 400 medley relay swam their personal best time of the season when they swam 4:03.33 and placed 20th.
Sophomore Bailey Strom (Hillsboro, Ore.), freshman Anne Shirey (Edmonds, Wash.), Norrish and senior Caitlin Fuller (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) swam the 400 medley relay.
The highest scoring Logger relay team was the men’s 200 free relay. Kilgore and Henley swam with junior Clayton Jacobson (Newport, Ore.) and freshman Evan Hamamoto (Lihue, Hawaii) and finished the event with a time of 1:27.07
The second day of the weekend was a resounding success for the Loggers. They added 299 points to their team score achieving a two-day total of 441.5. These points moved the team to 10th overall in the event and to second amongst the collegiate teams.
Four Loggers placed in the top 12 in individual events on Saturday. Frenzel took 8th in the 400 individual medley and 8th in the 100 fly. Norrish placed 12th in the 100 fly. Henley took 12th in the 100 back. Kitson took 5th and 6th in the 200 free and 100 back respectively.
The meet ended Sunday with the Loggers in 9th overall with a team score of 694.5 points.
They beat other Northwest Conference teams and came in second in the collegiate division.
Some of the highlights of Sunday were the men’s 400 free relay when Henley, Kilgore, Jacobson and Frenzel took 3rd in the final heat. Frenzel also took second overall in the 200 butterfly, junior Jared Frisk (Elko, Nev.) finished 14th overall in the same event. Norrish had another strong day and finished the women’s 200 fly in 9th.
The Loggers are done with meets for the rest of the calendar year but will race Whitworth on Jan. 17. This weekend marked the middle of another strong year for Logger swimming and the team is expected to do well the rest of the season.
