FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks swim team came up just short in their first of two meets against Azusa Pacific. The Cougars got the best of the Nanooks, 91-114, claiming victories in six of the 11 events held on day one.
The first event of the day was victorious for the 'Nooks as a 400-yard medley relay team made up of;
Oda Bygdnes,
Sydney Gulon,
Kaia Norbye and Kayla Suominen claiming first place with a time of 4:02.14. This time was the best by over six seconds as the other three teams, all APU squads, wrapped up places second through fourth.
Camille Dayton took second in the 1000-yard freestyle, the best finish by a Nanook swimmer. She was followed in third and fourth by
Tori Shoemaker and
Rachel Beal. Dayton and Shoemaker were neck and neck the entire race with Dayton finishing just over one second ahead of Shoemaker.
Caroline McCormick grabbed third in the 200-yard freestyle with a flat two minute race.
Oda Bygdnes and
Kaia Norbye grabbed the next two Alaska victories in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard breaststroke. Bygdnes took the victory in the backstroke race with a time of 1:01.05 and Norbye grabbed first place in the breaststroke with a time of 1:06.23.
The last wins on the night for the Nanooks swimming team came in the 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle relay. Suominen and
Whitney McArthur took first and second in the 50-yard race with times of 24.34 and 25.91. In the final race of the meet, a team made up of Norbye, Bygdnes, Gulon and Suominen took first with a time of 1:38.09.
Head coach
Becca Weiland had this to say on her team's performance, "I thought we swam great tonight. For us to be within 25 points of them and only have 12 swimmers while they have 18 means we placed well for such small numbers. I'm excited to see how our girls come back tomorrow, and I'm excited to see our continued progress through the season."
The Nanooks and Cougars compete again on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. in the Patty Center Pool as the 'Nooks look for their first victory on the 2019-20 season.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks swim team, follow @NanooksSwim on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks Swimming page on Facebook.
