Westmont Swim claimed two victories over Alaska Fairbanks on successive days as the Warriors hosted their first events of the year. On Friday, Westmont won by a score of 110-94. Then on Saturday, the Warriors touched out the Nanooks 104-99.
“It was so fun to see the Warriors come together with a fierce race mentality. To see them succeed was really exciting,” said Westmont head coach Jill Jones Lin. “Despite illness and injury, the team saw the importance of each race and really fought for every place.”
Friday’s meet started with the 400 yard medley relay with the Warrior quartet of Rian Lewandowski, Ella Chaisson, Emma Diehl and Bailey Lemmon setting the tone for the rest of the meet. Westmont took first place in a time of 4:13.98, beating out Alaska’s relay team by more than four seconds.
Next up was the 1650 yard freestyle with Olivia Garrison posting an NAIA National Championship “B” qualification time of 19:01.87 while finishing in second place.
Emma Bustamonte added nine points to the Warrior tally when she won the 200 yard freestyle in a time of 2:02.58. Her time was 0.11 seconds faster than the “B” qualification time.
In the 50 yard free, Bailey Lemmon won by more than a second. Her time of 25.61 was just 0.03 seconds off of the “B” qualification standard.
Westmont had a one-two finish in the 200 yard individual medley with Ella Chaisson winning in a time of 2:13.86 and Daisy Marquardt taking second in a time of 2:25.17. Chaisson’s time beat the “B” qualification standard by more than three seconds.
Warrior swimmers also finished first and second in the 100 yard butterfly with Lemmon recording a time of 56.72 and Leighton Bell taking second in a time of 57.85.
Chaisson and Abby Rickard provided Westmont with another one-two finish, this time in the 100 yard breaststroke with times of 1:12.19 and 1:14.53 respectively.
Saturday’s meet began with the 200 yard medley relay in the same way that it did on Friday in the 400 yard medley relay. Lewandowski, Chaisson, Diehl and Lemmon won the event in a time of 1:56.56.
“We knew we had a shot at winning again today, but it was going to be close,” said Jones Lin of Saturday’s meet. “Everyone needed to score points.”
McKenzie Rion won the 200 yard freestyle for the Warriors in a time of 2:04.78 before Lemmon took first in the 50 yard freestyle. Lemmon’s time was 0.06 seconds faster than the day before, beating the “B” qualifying standard for the first time this season.
Chaisson won the 400 yard individual medley relay with a time of 4:46.26, more than 12 seconds faster than the “B” qualification standard.
In the 500 yard freestyle, Bustamante earned another “B” standard qualifying time, winning the event in a time of 5:26.40.
Going into the final two events, Westmont trailed 85-82. A one-two-three sweep in the 200 yard breaststroke, however, gave Westmont a 98-88 advantage. Chaisson’s first place time of 2:34.11 was another “B” qualifying standard. Rickard finished second in 2:41.77 and Marquardt took third, posting a time of 2:43.69.
“Leading into the last relay we needed our B relay to beat UAF’s B team, especially if our A relay couldn’t pull out the win,” explained Jones Lin. “The B relay pulled through and got the third place finish to clinch our victory!”
Rion, Marquardt, Bustamante and Bell claimed that third place finish with a time of 1:45.75, sealing the win for the Warriors.
Westmont will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 12 when they travel to Soka University in Aliso Viejo to compete in the Wyatt Balman Memorial Invitational. The first event is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
Ron Smith is the sports information director at Westmont College.
email: sports@newspress.com
