In the final day of the MPSF Swimming & Diving Championships, the Seattle University swim team set four more school records, bringing the total number of records broken at the Championships to 14, as well as setting multiple personal records.
“As a conference we had some incredible swimming, and we had 14 records broken, with a few that were re-broken, and it was excellent,” said interim head coach Kat Cuevas. “It was a great meet for us.”
Alexis Morehouse (Vancouver, Wash.) broke her own record in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:14.19 in the preliminaries, and then placed fifth in the finals with a time of 2:15.85. Kevlyn Richards (Gig Harbor, Wash.) came behind her in 2:20.34 for eighth place.
Marina Pomar-Enders (Mill Creek, Wash.) came in ninth in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 17:35.80, and Casey Hoffman (Burien, Wash.) was behind her with a time of 17:47.93. Rachel Leighter (Eugene, Ore.) finished the 200 backstroke in 2:04.24 for 12th place, and Hanna Basler (El Cajon, Calif.) improved her own personal record by nearly nine seconds with a time of 2:06.14. In the 200 butterfly, Megan Kelley (Las Vegas, Nev.) finished 12th with a time of 2:05.65.
In the 4x400 freestyle relay, Hayley Cobb (Irvine, Calif.), Basler, Tina Nguyen (Hillsboro, Ore.), and Kelsey Henan (Billings, Mont.) set a new school record of 3:30.10 for eighth place, beating the old record of 3:30.80.
“The women almost broke all their relay records,” said Cuevas. “And that’s hard to do as the times get faster and faster. Kelsey [Henan] had an awesome senior meet, and Hanna [Basler] had a stellar meet as well.”
On the men’s side, Jordan Anderson (Newberg, Ore.) set a new school record in the 100 freestyle in the preliminaries with a time of 44.56, and won the finals with a time of 44.77. Keith Andrews (Hillsboro, Ore.) was 11th in 46.95, and Jeff Tibbals (Moscow, Idaho) finished in 47.08 followed closely by Douglas Pizac (Salt Lake City, Utah) in 47.38.
Joe Wertz (Richlane, Wash.) also set a new Seattle U record with a second-place finish in the 200 backstroke in 1:47.68. Nicolas Morrell (Bend, Ore.) came in fourth in 1:49.21, followed by James Gilmore (Eugene, Ore.) in seventh with a time of 1:50.68 and Kyle Komlodi (Woodinville, Wash.) in tenth in 1:55.54. Andrew Martinez (Concord, Calif.) came in sixth in the 1650 freestyle in 16:39.43. In the 200 breaststroke, Erin Warren (Seattle, Wash.) came in fifth in 2:06.20, followed by Chris Lynch (Melbourne, Australia) in seventh in 2:06.31 and James White (El Cajon, Calif.) in eighth in 2:08.53.
Murray Longbotham (Mercer Island, Wash.) came in third in 1:50.95 in the 200 butterfly, and Tomas Mendez-Beck (Hillsboro, Ore.) was right behind him in fourth in 1:52.39, followed by Eric Pedack (Snohomish, Wash.) in fifth with a time of 1:53.29.
Gilmore, Tibbals, Anderson, Longbotham came in third in the 4x400 free relay with a time of 3:01.47 just .05 off of the school record and qualifying as an NCAA B-cut.
“Jordan [Anderson] and Murray [Longbotham] were racing a ton and they brought it every single time they were in the water,” said Cuevas.
“Overall, it was a great meet for us. We’ve got some work to do with the conference getting so much bigger on the men’s side next year,” said Cuevas. “It’s going to be really competitive and I’m excited to see what’s going to happen.”
Overall, the women overcame CS Bakersfield for eighth place with 201 points, just passing the Roadrunners who ended with 200 points. The men fell to third with 449 after Pacific made some key entries and surpassed the Redhawks with 499 points.
This was the first year the MPSF sponsored swimming and diving and the Championships served as the final meet for Redhawks Martinez, Henan, and Heather Nelson (Bremerton, Wash.). The rest of the Seattle University swim team will return next year for continued NCAA Division I competition.