Whitworth University’s swimming team dominated its season and crushed the competition at the Northwest Conference championship meet over the Feb. 13 weekend, as both men’s and women’s swimming teams got the Northwest Conference champion titles.
Both teams are now back-to-back conference champions. Head Coach Steven Schadt said, “[I’m] really grateful for the group that I have, and excited for them. You know, it was a goal of theirs all year to do that, and so it was really rewarding to see all their hard work pay off.”
The sweep was a culmination of months of hard work the team has put in preseason and in-season preparation, and now the team’s focus is on the swimmers fighting for a spot at nationals.
Coach Schadt attributed the conference sweep to the team’s culture. “They’re very committed, and they’re very united,” Schadt said. “It’s a very disciplined group. It’s very much like a family…they were able to train at a really high level and push themselves to some new heights.”
Those new heights were evident in the record book. The men’s 200 medley relay, made up of Kai Hayashida, Alex Popov, Henry Brewster and Parker Dangleis, set a new program time of 1 minute and 29 seconds.
For Schadt, watching the new records go up and the old go down was nostalgic. “I remember when they set those records and what meets they set them at, and… who they are and what they were like,” Schadt said, “As a coach, you remember really quickly as you start to see those records go down.”
The program’s continued progression has been steady. After setting six new school records last season, this year’s performances further showed the Pirates’ place near the top of the conference.
Freshman Paige Dangleis won all three of her individual events at conference and said, “It was my first conference… I was just excited to race with everyone.”
The meet’s atmosphere was electric, Dangleis said, “you can really tell how much everyone just really likes being around each other because of how much we’re jumping at every race and screaming for everyone.”
Looking ahead, Dangleis is working towards nationals. “I didn’t make any NCAA cuts this season,” Dangleis said, “but that’s the goal.”
Junior Austin Elwyn described the conference sweep as a mix of relief and reassurance. Defending his 200 Individual Medley title gave him a confidence boost, even on days when he didn’t feel his best. “Even if you feel like trash, you can still swim fast,” Elwyn said.
One of the best moments of the meet for Elwyn was during a relay with graduating senior Mason Groth, when everyone hit personal bests. “It felt good to see all of us do well together,” Elwyn said.
For Elwyn, this team stands out for its closeness. “This is the closest team I’ve been on ever. Usually, when I’m on a team… I have like, two friends, but this team I know everyone,” he said.
The NCAA Nationals for Division III Swimming is in Indianapolis, Mar. 18-21. Those who place around the top 20th in the nation in their event for men and 24th for women get to compete at Nationals.
The Pirates have three swimmers headed to Indianapolis this March, Megan Bonikowsky, Molly Konop and Nathanael Van Liew.
“They persevere, they’re friendly, they love to have fun… They work really hard,” Schadt said, “The best way I can explain it is, it really is sort of like having a family… And I think people see the performances, but they don’t realize necessarily how tight-knit it is.”
