2008 Woodie Awards
Men's swimming extends conference win streak to 53
Colin Zalewski, Staff WriterThe Pirates added two more to their win total with victories over Lewis & Clark College and Willamette University Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17.
Looking to stay undefeated in the Northwest Conference, Whitworth jumped ahead of L&C and did not look back with a resounding win 139-53.
"We're all feeling pretty good," senior Luke Stocker said. "Incoming freshmen are really stepping up, the team atmosphere this year is really good; everyone expects that we will do well and putting in the work in practice."
The L&C meet pushed off with the 200-yard medley relay event. Whitworth's 'A' team captured the winning time with 1:46.47, getting them off to a quick lead.
The relay success continued with the Pirates taking care of L&C in the 200-yard freestyle relay by over 15 seconds.
In a dominating performance, junior Tom Radke won the 1,000-yard freestyle by nearly two minutes with a time of 10:35.48, and in the 200, sophomore Kris Asleson won with a time of 1:53.69.
Whitworth topped off their freestyle success with senior David Dolphay just outreaching his teammate freshman Michael Woodward by about half of a second in the 500.
The 100-yard butterfly event was also dominated by Whitworth as the team finished with the top three times. Sophomore Daniel Bergman touched the wall first with a time of 0:56.77.
An especially strong event for the Pirates was the 100-yard breaststroke as they took the top four spots. Sophomore Quinton Darling finished first at 1:01.70.
The meet with Willamette took a similar tone as Whitworth marched through Salem with another convincing victory 132-45.
Whitworth opened up with another early lead when they took the 400-yard medley relay by over 10 seconds.
The Pirates captured the top three times in the 200-yard freestyle with Woodward's time of 1:44.60 placing first.
The situation was similar in the 200-yard IM with Whitworth finishing with the top three times. All the times were within a second of each other while Willamette's fourth place swimmer finished almost a full 14 seconds behind Whitworth's third place finisher.
The meet concluded with the 400-yard freestyle relay. Whitworth had a one-two finish, as its 'A' team touched the wall first followed closely by the 'B' group.
"We need to keep fighting like we're at the bottom and just keep respects for our competition and continue to keep our goals in sight and work harder," senior Bryan Clarke said regarding the team's attitude after the wins.
With both wins over the weekend the Pirates improve to 4-0 in the NWC on the season. Their wins not only keep them on top of the conference but also increase the team's in-conference winning streak to 53 meets.
"It feels good to be a part of it (the win streak) and be a senior," Clarke said. "It leaves a pride because you're part of a team and makes you want it that much more."
The team will take Thanksgiving weekend off and travel to Federal Way, Wash. on Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 for the Husky Invitational, where Whitworth will compete against Division I schools.
"There's a couple people who are really going to do well with the upper end competition," Stocker said. "Hopefully we'll pop off some good times and see how we line up with some of the other schools."
Contact Colin Zalewski at colin.zalewski@whitworthian.com.
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