In competitive swimming, preliminary seeding isn’t important — meet performance is what matters.
From Feb. 13 to Feb. 16 at the 2025 Northwest Conference Swimming Championship in Federal Way, Washington, the Whitman men’s and women’s swim teams showed just that, finishing third and second, respectively, out of nine teams.
It was a weekend packed with highlight reel moments for Whitman, including down-to-the-wire relay finishes and broken school records. However, earlier this year, team seedings predicted a story not nearly as triumphant.
Exceeding expectations
College swimming places schools in certain seeds, or numbered and ranked positions (in the case of the Northwest Conference, one through nine). This placement is based on teams’ performances during the regular season, including the results of head-to-head meets between schools, as well as the fastest times of individual swimmers in each event.
In light of the seeding results, which predicted a falloff for both the women’s and men’s teams from their 2024 first and second place finishes, respectively, Whitman Head Swimming Coach Jenn Blomme explained her high praise for the team’s performance at the championship.
“[It was] [j]ust incredible,” Blomme said in an email to The Wire. “If you look at our season best times going into the meet, both women’s and men’s teams dramatically outperformed expectations. Going into the meet, our women were projected to be second, but by a dramatically larger margin [nearly 100 points more than they lost by]. And our men were projected to finish fifth and fought hard… to finish third.”
Senior swimmer and women’s team Co-Captain Frances Lenz emphasized the effort the women’s team made to finish the way they did.
“… we fought so hard for that second place,” Lenz said. “… even though we might not have won, it was one of the most incredible performances I’ve seen [from] our team.”
On the men’s side, senior swimmer and team Co-Captain John Leeds said that the team’s finish was similarly hard-fought.
“The conference landscape… has changed a lot recently,” Leeds said, referencing the athletic ascension of other Northwest conference schools in recent years.
“… our closest competitors’ rosters [Lewis & Clark College and Linfield University in particular] had gotten deeper than last year,” Blomme said.
Despite the heightened competition, Whitman made multiple headlines. A couple of close relay finishes saw the women’s team triumph in the 200 medley relay by just one one-hundredth of a second, and the men’s team place second in the 400 medley relay.
One Whitman swimmer reached uncharted waters with her performance.
A breakout star
First-year Avery Riley was named the NWC Women’s Rookie of the Year after a dominant stretch of swims. She swam a top 200 fly time and second-place 500 free time, both of which were school records, and was part of the winning relay team in the 200 medley.
Riley has yet to fully internalize the award.
“It’s still not real. I actually didn’t know it was an award until it was announced, so I was shocked,” Riley said.
Lenz spoke highly of the explosive first-year.
“… you just know she’s going to keep getting faster… She’s incredible,” Lenz said.
In the 2025-2026 season, Riley says she hopes to qualify for nationals.
As Riley and her teammates turn to the future, Whitman’s senior swimmers reflect on their time with the team as it comes to a close.
Going out with a splash
Although they had personal goals going into the championship, senior swimmers were predominantly focused on being in the moment for their final swim meet at Whitman.
“… there’s a lot of stress going into [the conference championship] because our whole season culminates at one singular weekend… I was trying… to have as much fun and really enjoy every moment,” Lenz said.
Senior swimmer and women’s team Co-Captain Shaye Agnew echoed this sentiment.
“I tried to go into this meet with not too high of expectations since it was the last one. … I enjoyed every minute,” Agnew said.
Reflecting on the legacies they leave behind for their teams, seniors hoped their teammates would continue to experience the joy and fun of swimming.
“… the upperclassmen when I was a freshman and sophomore played such a big role in creating the fun environment and supportive team dynamics… I would hope that I’ve done the same,” Lenz said.
“It can get pretty brutal sometimes; it’s hard having to balance your school schedule with your swim and social life… but I hope they realize how much fun and how lucky they are to have an automatic family,” Agnew said.
Leeds highlighted the diverse leadership contributed to the team by seniors.
“… if you look across the senior class, a lot of us brought different things to the table,” Leeds said.
With their last championship meet behind them upon return to campus, all that remained for seniors to do was celebrate the season with their teammates — and celebrate they did.
Team traditions
Championship weekend is followed by a team dinner complete with drinks and a rowdy celebration.
Though it’s unclear how the end-of-season celebration started, it has a considerable history.
“It’s been going on a long time. I think parts of it may have changed, like… celebration in the dining hall… but it’s an awesome way to celebrate the season and be together,” Agnew said.
Besides the big one, the swim team has cultivated other traditions. From “Secret Swimmer” (a riff on Secret Santa) to poster-making to shaving their heads before conference events, these traditions foster a tight-knit team community that proves invaluable during meets.
Looking ahead
The future looks bright for Whitman swimming, and Coach Blomme is eager to see where next season takes the team.
“We have some great vision and heart among our returning swimmers. I can’t wait to see them continue to grow as individuals and see what they bring to the leadership of the team next year,” Blomme said.
