The student news site of Linfield University

The Linfield Review

The student news site of Linfield University

The Linfield Review

The student news site of Linfield University

The Linfield Review

Swimmers suit up for national championship

Katrina Peavey

For the Review

Five Linfield swimmers will be attending the NCAA Division III Championships March 20 after qualifying at the Northwest Conference Championship Feb. 10.

At conference, the men and women earned a fourth place finish overall with a combined score of 738.

The men’s team placed third at the conference meet, behind Whitworth University and the University of Puget Sound. The women’s team placed sixth.

The four men representing Linfield at nationals placed first in the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay at conference. Senior Kevin Caple, junior Josh Parfitt and sophomores Dominic Rieniets and Yusuke Kobayashki led the way with a final time of 3:10.04.

Rieniets received the Outstanding Men’s Swimmer of the Meet award for setting a record in the 100-yard freestyle final with 46:08. Rieniets also placed first in the 100-yard butterfly with 49.57.

The women’s relay team from Whitworth placed first in the 400-yard freestyle.

Linfield placed fifth at 4:47.94, behind Puget Sound, Lewis & Clark College and Whitman College.

In the men’s 200-yard butterfly, Kobayashi placed second with a time of 1:57.99 after freshman Jay Jones from Pacific Lutheran University captured first with 1:56.61. 

Caple narrowly missed the first place finish in the 200-yard backstroke after UPS sophomore Jackson Kowalaski finished with 1:54.02. Parfitt placed second  in the 1650-yard freestyle with 16:22.38, and first in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:42.61.

Junior Rose Hollingsworth will represent the women at nationals. She placed fourth in the 200-yard backstroke with 2:13.15 at conference, followed by freshman Lauren Anderson with 2:14.04.

The team attended three dual meets in January before competing at conference. On Jan. 18, the swim teams hosted UPS, where the men won, 107-98, and the women lost, 137-63.

The next day, Linfield traveled to Salem to compete against Willamette University. The men won, 129-50, and the women lost, 112-79. The ‘Cats defeated Pacific University Jan. 28; the men won, 125-57, and the women won, 114-57.

National qualifiers will continue to practice until the meet.

“Last year at the national meet was my first time,” Hollingsworth said. “It was a lot of fun and an eye-opening experience.”

Hollingsworth said she is working to improve and drop some time in her 100-yard backstroke.

Rieniets also traveled to nationals last year, where he placed 10th in the 100-yard butterfly.

“My goal this year is to place in the top eight,” Rieniets said.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All The Linfield Review Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *