FEDERAL WAY – The Pacific Lutheran women's swimming team repeated their dominant 2015 performance, claiming the 2016 Northwest Conference Championship by more than 300 points as the Lutes capped a record-setting weekend for both the men's and women's teams Sunday night at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
PLU claimed its third straight NWC Women's Swimming Team Championship with a final score of 796, edging its 2015 total of 779 by 17 points. The PLU women capped yet another historic performance with four event titles Sunday night to add to their three championships on Friday and their five titles on Saturday. That gave the Lutes a total of 12 titles out of 18 events, including a sweep of all five relays for the second straight year.
On the men's side, the Lutes finished third in the team standings with 548 points, behind only champion Whitworth (700) and second-place Whitman (565). Linfield placed fourth (408), followed by Puget Sound (341), Willamette (219), Pacific (203) and Lewis & Clark (145). Whitman took second in the women's standings, 318 points behind PLU with 478 points. Whitworth placed third (475), followed by Puget Sound (371), Linfield (363), Willamette (300), Lewis & Clark (234) and Pacific (155).
"It was just an exceptional weekend," PLU head coach Matt Sellman said. "Both teams swam lights out. We showed a little fatigue on Day Three, but we'd already done what we needed to do to put ourselves where we wanted to be tonight, so it was all gravy."
Sellman was named NWC Women's Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive year. He is the first coach in conference history to claim the honor four years in a row.
Erica Muller began the final evening session with a program record and conference title in the women's 1650 freestyle. Muller's time of 17:26.22 was an NCAA 'B' qualifier and surpassed her own program record of 17:34.67 set last year by more than eight seconds. Taylor Bingea finished sixth in the event (17:59.68), while Jessica Stenberg finished seventh (18:15.49).
Hunter Cosgrove followed that performance with a record-breaking showing of his own in the men's 1650 freestyle. Cosgrove set two program records during the men's race, finishing with an NCAA 'B' qualifying time of 15:56.89 while also setting a team record with his 1000-yard split time of 9:39.25. He battled Whitworth's Brandon Smith through every stroke, as Smith held out for the event title by 0.48 seconds over Cosgrove. Bradley Jerome finished third for the Lutes, also posting a 'B' qualifying time of 16:03.78.
Alex Weeks broke teammate Melissa Dean's 100 freestyle record, as Weeks hit a 'B' qualifier and won the conference crown with a time of 52.1. Hanna Armstrong finished second with a time of 52.85, while Dean placed fourth for the Lutes (53.21). The Lutes had three of the top four finishers in the women's 200 breaststroke as well, with Shanell Sullenberger following her program record-setting prelims time of 2:24.12 with a first-place finish in 2:25.1. Kylie Webb placed third (2:26.07), with Kiana Sullenberger placing fourth (2:26.11).
Both Matt Wehr and Seth Villeda achieved 'B' standards in the men's 200 butterfly Sunday. Villeda achived the mark in the prelims session with a time of 1:52.9, and he finished the night sixth overall (1:54.4), while Wehr peaked in the evening session with a fourth-place time of 1:53.42. Sarah Ameny finished second in the women's 200 butterfly with a time of 2:10.19, while Bingea placed sixth (2:14.04).
"Our women put up one of the most impressive meets and seasons that I think the conference has ever seen," Sellman said. "It was a lot of fun to be a part of it and watch them excel and exceed our expectations all year long with their toughness, talent, attitude and confidence. It was just phenomenal."
The Lute men battled Whitman all weekend for second place behind team champion Whitworth, and PLU fell just 17 points shy of its first top-two team finish since 1996. The men's 200 backstroke featured two Lute placers, as Cody Hartman finished fourth (1:53.91) and Bryson Baligad took fifth (1:56.38). The men's 200 breaststroke also had two PLU placers, with Bennon VanHoof in fifth place (2:08.76) and Dennis Liu in sixth (2:10.01).
"With the men, we weren't sure what we'd be able to accomplish and how good we were going to be, but the mindset of this time and the cohesiveness and the love that we have for each other put us all on the same path," Sellman said. "And when you have a lot of people going in the same direction with the same goals, good things happen. And the men really outperformed our expectations throughout the season, and this weekend was just the icing on the cake."
PLU closed out the meet with one final relay victory for the women and one final program title for the men. The women's 400 freestyle relay team of Weeks, Armstrong, Shanell Sullenberger and Dean posted a championship time of 3:32.11, while the men's relay team of Baligad, Paul Jett, Joseph Bowley and Wehr broke the 2015 record with a time of 3:08.2.
Sunday totaled six program records, while the weekend tally for the two programs was 16 new program marks. That includes Friday's Northwest Conference record in the women's 200 freestyle relay. The Lutes also picked up six NCAA 'B' qualifiers on Sunday and finished with 12 overall on one of the most successful weekends in PLU Swimming history.
"It was fun watching them perform and be a great team and do the things we were hoping they'd be able to do," Sellman said. "It was just a really special weekend."
PLU Sunday Top-8 Finals Performances
Women 1650 Freestyle
1. Erica Muller, 17:26.22^B
6. Taylor Bingea, 17:59.68
7. Jessica Stenberg, 18:15.49
Men 1650 Freestyle
2. Hunter Cosgrove, 15:56.89^B (9:39.25^ 1000 split)
3. Bradley Jerome, 16:03.78B
Men 200 Backstroke
4. Cody Hartman, 1:53.91
5. Bryson Baligad, 1:56.38
Women 100 Freestyle
1. Alex Weeks, 52.1^B
2. Hanna Armstrong, 52.85
4. Melissa Dean, 53.21
Women 200 Breaststroke
1. Shanell Sullenberger, 2:25.1 (2:24.12 prelims^)
3. Kylie Webb, 2:26.07
4. Kiana Sulleberger, 2:26.11
Men 200 Breaststroke
5. Bennon VanHoof, 2:08.76
6. Dennis Liu, 2:10.01
Women 200 Butterfly
2. Sarah Ameny, 2:10.19
6. Taylor Bingea, 2:14.04
Men 200 Butterfly
4. Matt Wehr, 1:53.42B
6. Seth Villeda, 1:54.4 (1:52.9 prelimsB)
Women 400 Freestyle Relay
1. Pacific Lutheran (Weeks, Armstrong, S. Sullenberger, Dean), 3:32.11
Men 400 Freestyle Relay
4. Pacific Lutheran (Baligad, Jett, Bowley, Wehr), 3:08.2^
B NCAA 'B' Qualifier
^ PLU record
