Swimming and Diving tops Arizona Christian and Ottawa for First Competitive Meet of Season

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz (October 16, 2021) - The Lumberjacks took their first wins of the season, beating Arizona Christian University (191-21) and Ottawa University (188-52).

NAU started the meet off strong with a big win in the 200 yard medley relay, with a final time of 1.47.33 for Team A. Team A consisted of Jamie Dellwardt, Delaney Phillips, Caylah Jago, and Ashley Lawrence. Team B came in just two second later finishing with a time of 1:49.93. Relay Team B for NAU consisted of Abigail Tashlein, Jane Shroufe, Kendall Carlson, and Abigail Nelson. ACU came in second with a time of 1:56.76.

The Lumberjacks dominated throughout the meet, highlighting the distance swims was Freshman Casey Craffey coming in first in the 1000 yard free with a time of 10:36.36, and another first place finish in the 500 yard freestyle with a final time of 5:07.54. Craffey impressed all in her first competitive meet as a Lumberjack.

"She's training at a really high level, she's consistent, she's really coachable and she's executed what we've talked about, and that takes a lot to be able to do that," Head Coach Andy Johns said.

The Lumberjack freshmen all came ready to compete, taking a total of nine first place wins in their respective heats. Bena Koehn added two of NAU's fourteen total event wins in the 50 yard free (:24.75) and in the 100 yard free (:54.31).

"They are super talented and last year we did a great job recruiting through COVID, our team did a great job and we identified these girls and they chose to come here, they're hard workers and they are talented, we're seeing that pay off. We're just scratching the surface on this season so it's exciting," Johns said.

The Lumberjacks will prepare for their next meet on Nov. 6th, where they host the University of New Mexico Lobos in swimming and diving events. The meet will start at 11:00 a.m. MST, and is open to the public in the Wall Aquatic Center.

"It's great to have people in the stands again and great to see it full, it's exciting and having our first meet under our belt is always a good thing, there's a lot to look forward to," Johns said.