SPOKANE, Wash. -- The 2005-06 swimming season kicks into high gear this weekend as Whitworth hosts the Northwest Conference Relay Invitational on Friday evening and the NWC Sprint Pentathlon on Saturday afternoon. All seven Northwest Conference schools will be participating in both meets.

Eight months ago the same teams were in the same location as Whitworth hosted the 2005 Northwest Conference Championships to conclude the 2004-05 season. Whitworth's men and Puget Sound's women won conference titles, and both figure to be heavy favorites to repeat again this season.

Head coach Steve Schadt is now in his third season leading the Pirates. He has directed the Whitworth men to back to back NWC titles and the Pirate women to a pair of NWC runner-up finishes. Schadt is a Whitworth swimming alum of the class of 1996. He was part of the 1995-96 men's NAIA runner-up team that was just inducted into the Whitworth Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame.

Loren Killgore

NCAA All-American Loren Killgore (Sr., Corbett, Ore.) will lead the Pirate men this winter. A distance specialist, he figures to score highly at conference and nationals in the 1,650 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle and 400 Individual Medley. Other key returnees on the men's side include Bryan Clarke (So., Seattle, Wash.), defending conference champion in the 100 Breaststroke, and David Lillard (Sr., Ellensburg, Wash.), a former NWC champion who battled illness all last season but still made the championship finals in three different conference events. David Dolphay (So., Great Falls, Mont.) looked ready to challenge for high finishes at the NWC Championships, but an eye injury ended his season prematurely. Kyle Bisch (So., Sammamish, Wash.), Josh McDowell (So., Shelton, Wash.) and Nathan Newberg (Jr., McMinnville, Ore.) were all NWC Championship finalists last season as well.

Several newcomers could make an impact this season for the Pirate men. They include Steve Garka (Fr., Marysville, Wash.) and Justin Brandler (Fr., Tacoma, Wash.) in the sprint freestyle events, Jason Hunter (So., Oak Harbor, Wash.) in the butterfly, and Tom Radtke (Fr., Dinuba, Calif.) in the backstroke.

Samantha Kephart

Samantha Kephart (So., Santa Maria, Calif.) had an amazing freshman year for Whitworth's women, setting numerous conference and team records while going on to finish as national runner-up at the NCAA Championships in the 200 Butterfly. She will lead the team again in 2005-06. Katelyn Erickson (So., Austin, Texas) is another Pirate who had a strong freshman season. She was conference champion in the 200 Backstroke and just missed making the NCAA Championships.

Other key returnees for the women include Annie Grayson (Sr., Kalispell, Mont.), who is a three year conference finalist in the 500 and 1,650 Freestyles. Lindsey Gresset (Jr., Seattle, Wash.) was a conference finalist in the 50 Free and 100 Back last fall.

Two newcomers could make immediate impacts for the women as well. Brittany Gresset (Fr., Seattle, Wash.) is an immediate threat to win sprint freestyle events in any conference meet. Whitney Barr (Fr., Tacoma, Wash.) gives the Pirates a legitimate conference threat in the distance freestyles.

The NWC Relay Meet is a fun way to kick off the season. No championships relays will be swum, but teams will have an opportunity to compete in several mixed (men and women) races, distance freestyle relays, and relays of 300 yards in each stroke.

The NWC Sprint Pentathlon will give every swimmer a chance to compete in the same five events. Each swimmer will race in the 100 Individual Medley, along with 50 yards of each stroke. A single winner for men and women will be crowned at the conclusion of the meet, based on cumulative time in each of the five events.

Whitworth's season will continue the following weekend with Northwest Conference dual meets at Linfield (Friday) and Lewis & Clark (Saturday).