FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- On a night when records were broken in eight of the ten events, Whitworth University’s men and women grabbed leads on the first night of competition at the 2009 Northwest Conference swimming championships on Friday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington.

Brittany Gresset

Natalie Turner

Click here for Friday's results.

The Whitworth women won three of the five women’s events to score 245 points, ahead of Puget Sound (215.5). The Whitworth men earned a victory in only the 500-yard freestyle, but the Pirates outscored UPS 206-191.

Brittany Gresset and Natalie Turner of Whitworth each won her event for the third straight season. Gresset became a three-time champion of the 50-yard freestyle with a winning time of 23.96. She set a new NWC meet record in the morning preliminaries with a time of 23.94. Turner earned her third straight title in the 500-yard freestyle with a new all-time Northwest Conference record of 4:57.57. Gresset broke her own meet record and Turner broke her own all-time record, both set last season.

Turner led a 1-2 Pirate finish in the 500 as Christine DeHaven finished second with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 5:03.94. Likewise in the 50 free, Gresset was followed by Ashley Lecoq, who touched second in 24.41.

Lindsay Nixon of Lewis & Clark returned to the top of the award stand in the 200-yard individual medley, an event she won in 2007. Her time of 2:10.03 was an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and she finished just ahead of Yasmeen Kheshgi of Whitworth (2:10.52). Brenda Foster (2:12.27) and Amy Gray (2:13.69) were fourth and fifth.

Gresset, Turner, Lecoq and Jennifer Benson led the Whitworth women to a meet-opening victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay in a new meet record time of 1:36.84. The previous meet record of 1:37.67 was set by Whitworth in 2007.

The University of Puget Sound’s women’s 400-yard medley relay broke the all-time NWC record in that event with a time of 3:56.67, beating the time of 3:57.17 set by the Loggers at the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships. Whitworth climbed hard at the end, but had to settle for second and a new school record time of 3:57.45.

UPS was victorious in both men’s relays on Friday night. The Loggers’ winning time of 1:22.63 in the 200 free relay broke the all-time NWC record of 1:23.88 set by UPS at the 1999 NAIA Championships. Whitworth set a school record by finishing second with a time of 1:23.90.

UPS closed the night by winning the 400 medley relay in 3:24.63, more than eight seconds ahead of runner-up Whitworth (3:32.97) and breaking the previous all-time record of 3:25.73 set by Whitworth at the 2003 NCAA Division III Championships.

Michael Woodward

Michael Woodward of Whitworth won the men’s 500 freestyle with a new meet record time of 4:33.08, breaking the previous meet record time of 4:33.77 set by the Pirates’ Loren Kilgore in 2004. Tom Radtke was third with a time of 4:43.90.

Jay Jones of Pacific Lutheran posted an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 200 I.M., winning going away with a time of 1:55.01. Quinton Darling took third for Whitworth in 1:58.53.

The men’s 50 freestyle final was the fastest in NWC history. After Bret Schuederberg of UPS broke a 26-year old meet record in the morning preliminaries with a time of 20.89, Dominic Rieniets of Linfield came back in the championship final to defend his title with an even faster meet record time of 20.79. Steve Koga of Willamette had held the meet record of 20.90 since 1983. Whitworth’s Rory Buck had the second fastest Pirate time ever, finishing third in 21.17, while Justin Brandler was fifth in 21.69.

The complete women’s team scores through the first day of competition are: Whitworth 245, Puget Sound 215.5, Lewis & Clark 120, Whitman 84.5, Pacific 81, Linfield 76, Pacific Lutheran 68, Willamette 47. The men’s scores through Friday’s events are: Whitworth 206, Puget Sound 191, Whitman 148, Linfield 111, Pacific Lutheran 100, Pacific 72, Lewis & Clark 64, Willamette 45.

The three day event continues on Saturday and concludes on Sunday. Whitworth’s men are aiming for a seventh straight NWC title, while the Pirate women are shooting for their second in a row..

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