Northern Arizona Swimming Opens Season With NAU Pentathlon

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona, September 17. THE Northern Arizona swimming & diving team takes the first small step on their road to defending their Western Athletic Conference championship on Friday, with the 19th annual Pentathlon at 2 p.m. Fans are encouraged to attend the free intrasquad meet at the Wall Aquatic Center in the public’s first look at the 2014-15 Lumberjacks.

“We’re just getting started and we’ve been doing a lot of things both in and out of the pool to get acclimated and adjusted,” said head coach Andy Johns. “Friday is a great opportunity to see our freshmen race for the first time and to see where everybody is. For our returners, we have their history in this event, so it’s a nice comparison. It’s a good way to start getting focused on racing as we move towards New Mexico, which will be here before we know it.”

Friday’s Pentathlon will be a swimming-only event with the NAU divers making their debut at the team’s Blue vs. Gold meet in three weeks. The Pentathlon will consist of five events including the 200 Individual Medley and 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 10 freestyle.

Junior Kendall Brown is the team’s top-returning finisher from last year’s Pentathlon as she recorded a fifth-place overall finish, highlighted by a third-place finish in the 200 IM, with 3,240 points. Senior Alexis Juergens came away with the fastest time in winning the 100 butterfly.

Brown, the two-time defending WAC Champion in the mile freestyle, and Juergens are two of many talented NAU returners, a group which also includes senior Caitlin Wright and a host of sophomores who starred in their first collegiate season in 2013-14. The Lumberjacks also introduce a fresh crop of 10 freshmen, eight of whom who are swimmers who will be making their NAU debuts on Friday.

The Pentathlon will be the first of two Lumberjack intrasquad meets prior to the team’s season opener at New Mexico on Oct. 25. The annual Blue vs. Gold meet will be held in the Wall Aquatic Center on Oct. 10.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com.

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