MEET THE WILDCATS WOMEN
NAME EVENTS Charlotte Abramson Sprints Whitney Averill Breast/IM Maddie Broyhill Sprint Free Emma Campbell Mid-Distance Kaylee Elsom Mid-Distance Free Caitlin Evenson Mid Distance Free Anna Frazier Free/Fly Caroline Hall Distance Free Annelise Hed Sprint Free/Breast Daisy Hernandez Free Abbi Karsseboom Free/IM Maggie Kelley Sprint Free Mariana Kemp Fly/Free Alexis Matthiesen-Johnson Distance Free Fay Mitchell Free Genevieve O’Brien Back/Free Laina Reichelderfer IM Emily Samudio Fly/Sprint Free Heidi Schmitt Free/Breast Molly Shields Fly/Free Lottie Steward Mid-Distance Free Claudia Velie Free/Breast/IM Anne Walkup Fly/IM/Distance Free Kate Walkup Fly/IM/Distance Free Samantha Zurcher Sprint/Mid-Distance Free NAME Cam Butler Grant Cutler Gabe Dawson Shane Denison Edan Donaldson Colby Evenson Daisuke Fitial Omri Forte Jesse Genualdi Hugh Hammons Kahili Helm Nathan Herde Alex Landry Sasha Moore Daniel Olson David Reeves Cole Runion Zachary Sherlock Ian Shultz Ben Simpson Joseph Simpson Garrett Sutton Cam Wheeler Casey Wong
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MEN
EVENTS Mid-Distance/Free Breast/Distance Free Mid-Distance/Free Free Sprint Free/Fly/Back IM/Free/Back/Breast Back/Fly/IM Sprint Free Free/Back Fly/IM Fly/Free Mid-Distance/Free Mid-Distance/Free/Breast Breast/Free Sprint Free Sprint Free Sprint Free Breast/ IM Breast/Free Fly/Free Fly/IM/Mid-Distance Free Sprint Free Distance Free Back/Free
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HEAD COACH: Kyle Kimball (seventh year) ASSISTANT COACHES: Alec Webster, Hannah Sutter
HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL Newberg, Ore. / Newberg Tillamook, Ore. / Tillamook Silverton, Ore. / Silverton Ketchikan, Alaska / Ketchikan Bend, Ore. / Summit Salem, Ore. / Sprague Juneau, Alaska / Thunder Mountain Portland, Ore. / St. Mary’s Covington, Wash. / Kent Mountain View Lafayette, Ore. / McMinnville Tualatin, Ore. / Tualatin Silverton, Ore. / Silverton Bellingham, Wash. / Sehome Eugene, Ore. / North Eugene Vashon, Wash. / Meadowdale Moraga, Calif. / Campolindo Corvallis, Ore. / Corvallis Medford, Ore. / Phoenix Port Angeles, Wash. / Sequim Tigard, Ore. / Jesuit Eugene, Ore. / Churchill Kingston, Wash. / Kingston Eugene, Ore. / South Eugene Eugene, Ore. / South Eugene Silverton, Ore./ Silverton HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL Port Angles, Wash. / Port Angeles McMinnville, Ore. / McMinnville Eugene, Ore. / North Eugene Sacramento, Calif. / CSU-Sacramento Colton, Ore. / Colton Salem, Ore. / Seattle U. Salem, Ore. / South Salem Seattle, Wash. / Seattle Prep Dallas, Ore. / Chemeketa C.C. Portland, Ore. / Central Catholic Walla Walla, Wash. / Walla Walla Parkland, Wash. / Washington Olympia, Wash. / Capital Portland, Ore. / Grant Medford, Ore. / North Medford Silverton, Ore. / Silverton Silverton, Ore. / Silverton Happy Valley, Ore. / Clackamas Salem, Ore. / University of Denver Sacramento, Calif. / Jesuit Sacramento, Calif. / Rio Americano McMinnville, Ore. / University of Utah Wenatchee, Wash. / Wenatchee Honolulu, Hawaii / William McKinley
MEET THE WILDCATS Whitney Averill
Maddie Broyhill
Emma Campbell
Kaylee Elsom
Caitlin Evenson
Anna Frazier
Caroline Hall
Annelise Hed
Daisy Hernandez
Abbi Karsseboom
Maggie Kelley
Mariana Kemp
Alexis MatthiesenJohnson
Fay Mitchell
Genevieve O’Brien
Laina Reichelderfer
Emily Samudio
Heidi Schmitt
Molly Shields
Lottie Stewart
Claudia Velie
Anne Walkup
Kate Walkup
Samantha Zurcher
Cam Butler
Grant Cutler
Gabe Dawson
Shane Denison
Edan Donaldson
Colby Evenson
Daisuke Fital
Omri Forte
Jesse Genualdi
Hugh Hammons
Kahili Helm
Nathan Herde
Alex Landry
Sasha Moore
Daniel Olson
David Reeves
Ian Shultz
Ben Simpson
Joseph Simpson
Garrett Suton
Cam Wheeler
Casey Wong
Cole Runion
Zachary Sherlock
MEET PREVIEW ORDER OF EVENTS
WOMEN 1. 200 Med Relay 2. 200 Free 3. 100 Back 4. 100 Breast 5. 200 Fly 6. 50 Free 7. 100 Free 8. 200 Back 9. 200 Breast 10. 500 Free 11. 100 Fly 12. 400 IM 13. 200 Free Relay MEN 1. 200 Med Relay 2. 200 Free 3. 100 Back 4. 100 Breast 5. 200 Fly 6. 50 Free 7. 100 Free 8. 200 Back 9. 200 Breast 10. 500 Free 11. 100 Fly 12. 400 IM 13. 200 Free Relay
The Linfield swimming team squares off with Willamette in the only home dual meet of the season on Saturday at the Linfield Aquatics Center. The women’s meet is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. The men’s meet will start no earlier than 1:30 p.m. SENIORS’ LAST HOME MEET Today’s meet is the final home event for eight seniors: Caroline Hall, Hugh Hammons, Genevieve O’Brien, Emily Samudio, Zachary Sherlock, Joseph Simpson, Lottie Steward and Anne Walkup. COVERAGE Fans are not allowed at any Northwest Conference events. The Linfield Sports Network will provide a video webcast of the meet. THE WILDCATS WOMEN In the first meet of the 2020 season, the women defeated Lewis & Clark, 103-83, winning four of the six events. The 200 medley relay team of Annelise Hed, Claudia Velie, Molly Shields and Maggie Kelley, Molly Shields (100 butterfly), Kate Walkup (100 backstroke), and Whitney Averill (100 breaststroke) were event winners for the Wildcats. THE LINFIELD MEN The Wildcats doubled the Lewis & Clark Pioneers’ team score in the first meet of 2021, winning 122-60. Linfield won nine of the 10 events.
The Wildcats were victorious in the 200 medley relay. Daisuke Fitial, Ian Shultz, Edan Donaldson and Garrett Sutton raced to a combined time of 1:38.33. Ben Simpson (200 freestyle & 100 freestyle), Daniel Olson (50 freestyle), Fitial (200 IM & 100 backstroke), Donaldson (100 butterfly) and Colby Evenson (500 freestyle) won individual events. THE BEARCATS WOMEN The Willamette women fell to George Fox, 150-40 last weekend. Britney Muralt was victorious in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:11.89, she also won the 50 breaststroke, clocking 33.36. The Wildcats women won 118-86 in last season’s meeting in McMinnville. THE WILLAMETTE MEN The Bearcats men were victorious over the George Fox Bruins last Saturday in the season opening meet by a score of 90-68. Will Compton (50 butterfly), Julius Wilhelmi (100 freestyle, 50 backstroke and 50 freestyle), Logan Copeland (100 breaststroke), Will Mathews (100 backstroke) claimed individual race wins. UP NEXT Linfield closes out the season on the road at George Fox on March 20 and at Pacific on March 27. The 2021 NWC and NCAA national meets have been canceled due to the pandemic.
WILDCAT SPOTLIGHT MADE TO ORDER
Lottie Steward’s passion for science is opening doors for her to one day complete a Ph.D in disease control by Avi mehta
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enior Lottie Steward is quickly nearing completion of her undergraduate studies as part of the Linfield University science department and is on course to further her education in her favorite field of study. Growing up in Eugene, Oregon, Steward came to Linfield for the competitive scholarship day. Immediately upon her arrival, she was mesmerized by the beauty of Linfield’s McMinnville campus. “I really wanted to stay in Oregon, especially in the western part of the state. A big motivating factor for me was that I got to meet some of the faculty in the chemistry department and also coach Kyle Kimball. I instantly fell in love with the STEM programs here and coach Kyle,” says Steward. She returned to Linfield for a more official campus tour and attended a Wildcats swim meet. Immediately, she felt as though she was a part of the swim team and was eager to join the family atmosphere. “When I took a tour, my tour guide was a swimmer and she had a lot positive things to say about the program. I also went to a swim meet and everybody remembered me and came up and talked to me. I felt like I was already a part of the team before I even came to Linfield,” she says. Kimball relies on Steward, a two-time all-Northwest Conference honoree, to be the leader for the Wildcats in the pool. “Lottie has shown amazing growth as an athlete over the past three years,” says the veteran coach. “As a senior, she’s someone who I can count on to perform to her maximum potential when it matters the most. She’s going to be a huge part of our women’s team success this season.” Steward participated in multiple sports in middle school, including competitive gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, tennis, equestrian and swimming, which she started doing when she was as young as an infant. Entering high school, Steward was attracted by the close-knit nature of the swim team and focused exclusively on swimming in high school. “I didn’t join an organized swim team until my freshman year of high school. I really enjoyed swimming so I joined a club team and then pursued that. Ever since, I’ve stuck with it, because it is not repetitive with just one part of the body,” says Steward. “Unlike just using your arm or just your legs, you are using your full body to swim, I enjoyed the full body fitness.” Being in the water is an activity that the Churchill High School graduate has always enjoyed and now has the chance to do competitively.
Steward is a biochemistry and molecular biology major at Linfield and is considering attending a handful of graduate schools in California, Oregon and Washington to obtain a Ph.D. “Ultimately, my goal is to learn more about different diseases and different ways in which they can either be treated or cured. Understanding more about the defenses within our body to mitigate those reactions.” Another program that she is looking at is the University of Colorado in the picturesque college town of Boulder. Steward has conducted research on campus with chemistry professor Dr. Meghan Bestwick. The two examined different fluorescent techniques for looking at oxygen species within the mitochondria. And together with biology professor Dr. Catherine Reinke, they researched genetics and silencing techniques and studied how they affect molecular cells. “These research experiences have been key to me because they’ve led me to pursue a Ph.D. I am interested in applying my research findings that I learned at Linfield when I go elsewhere,” says Steward. She was accepted into the Murdock Scholar program at Oregon Health Sciences University for the 2020-21 academic year, but due to COVID-19, the program was suspended. Steward was still able to do some preliminary work with the professors and looks forward to possibly going there for graduate school, if she’s accepted. “I met with a lot of the staff, faculty and mentors and they said my acceptance into the scholar program will likely give me a leg up during the application process of the graduate program at OHSU,” says Steward. “I am still in contact with two of the mentors there, and they have said that I can come back as a laboratory assistant or lab tech even if I am not accepted into the grad school program. It is nice to know that even if I don’t go there for grad school, I can work with individually with the professors.” Steward is an active member of the chemistry club at Linfield and also worked as a teacher’s assistant in classes of General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, doing some lab prep work. Other academic pursuits she has worked on campus include iFocus and Math PLUS, a program that helps seventh- and eighth-graders complete their science project requirements. “I am looking to be more competitive with myself and among our team members rather than looking elsewhere. We don’t know what it is going to happen, but we are optimistic,” says Steward. The pandemic made it difficult for pool availability over the summer, but Steward was able to do some open water swimming at a lake twice a week. The Wildcats have faced some practice restrictions in the pool, but Steward has been impressed so far. “Coming back here was definitely a transition with all the changes, but I’m still hitting good times in practice and team has been doing good overall. I’ve been happy with what I’ve seen from the team overall,” says Steward. Seeking out new hiking trails with her dog and visits to the Oregon Coast are few of the activities that Steward enjoys during her free time. She also enjoys cooking. “My dad is a chef so he has passed those skills to me. I enjoy cooking and baking in my apartment.”