TUCSON, Arizona. (October 10, 2025) – The Northern Arizona women's swimming and diving team wrapped up a strong early-season showing at the All-Arizona Quad Meet on Friday at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. Facing nationally ranked Arizona and Arizona State alongside a deep Grand Canyon roster, the Lumberjacks showcased competitive depth across the board, highlighted by standout swims, relays, and diving performances.
In the team standings, NAU fell to Grand Canyon, 131–111, while also dropping decisions to Arizona (189–53) and Arizona State (179–64).
Freshman Meropi Eggink led the Jacks in the distance events, finishing in 10:52.69 in the 1000 freestyle and 5:16.35 in the 500 free. Veteran Cydnie Perkins turned in one of NAU's top individual performances of the day with a 1:02.23 in the 100 breaststroke, followed closely by Trelise Dance (1:02.90) and Beezer Geer (1:04.64). In the sprint freestyles, Kokona Watanabe clocked 23.46 in the 50 free, while Perkins (51.50), Evalotta Aabrams (51.84), and Rosie Keith (52.30) packed the 100 free standings.
The Lumberjacks' relay groups showed early-season chemistry, as the A-medley relay of Gracie Munk, Perkins, Elsa Musselman, and Watanabe finished in 1:43.71, narrowly ahead of the B-squad of Kathleen Richter, Dance, Isahbel Krasht, and Kaci Kelaher at 1:43.92. Munk (56.51) and Richter (57.64) led the backstroke events, while Kelaher topped the NAU contingent in the 200 IM with a 2:06.77.
Head Coach Andy Johns praised the team's effort and early-season progress. "We're super pleased with the results," Johns said. "We had some people swim lifetime bests, which is extremely rare for early October, but it's a great sign of what's to come. I'm really excited about how they raced and the effort they showed today."
On the boards, the Jacks delivered a strong diving performance led by Mackenna Stocker, Grace Wesche, and Margaret Wesche. Stocker and Margaret Wesche earned second- and third-place finishes, respectively, in the 3-meter event, with Grace Wesche placing sixth. The trio carried that momentum into the 1-meter, where Margaret Wesche finished second, Grace Wesche fourth, and Stocker sixth—adding valuable consistency and poise to NAU's overall effort.
Diving coach Nikki Kelsey highlighted the strong start for the divers. "Today went really well for our first real meet," Kelsey said. "We had a 1-2-3 finish against GCU on both boards, then a 2-3-4 on the 1-meter and 2-meter. We're feeling really good about where we're at and it was a great way to start the season."
Northern Arizona will travel to Idaho for its next meet on Friday, Oct. 31, beginning at 5 p.m. (MST) in Moscow.
Swimming Results:Â Meet Mobile
Diving Results: DiveMeets.com
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