LINFIELD UNIVERSITY WILDCATS SWIMMING vs. PUGET SOUND • JANUARY 15, 2022

MEET THE WILDCATS Whitney Averill

Lauren Bobo-Shisler

Avery Campbell

Emma Campbell

Kaylee Elsom

Caitlin Evenson

Caroline Hall

Madison Haines

Annelise Hed

Abbi Karsseboom

Maggie Kelley

Alexis MatthiesenJohnson

Kalea Mullins

Laina Reichelderfer

Abigail Salnas

Rylee Schneider

Molly Shields

Claudia Velie

Lauren Waining

Kate Walkup

Samantha Zurcher

Levi Buker

Cam Butler

Grant Cutler

Gabe Dawson

Edan Donaldson

Colby Evenson

Daisuke Fitial

Omri Forte

Jack Gallo

Jesse Genualdi

Nathan Herde

Alex Landry

Jake Maher

Sasha Moore

Daniel Olson

David Reeves

Cole Runion

Ben Simpson

Gavin Smith

Garrett Sutton

Cam Wheeler

Casey Wong

Bram Zlotowski

LINFIELD WILDCATS WOMEN

NAME EVENTS Whitney Averill Breast/IM Lauren Bobo-Shisler Sprints Avery Campbell Back, Sprint free Emma Campbell Mid-Distance Kaylee Elsom Mid-Distance Free Caitlin Evenson Mid Distance Free Caroline Hall Distance Free Madison Haines Breast/Free Annelise Hed Sprint Free/Breast Abbi Karsseboom Free/IM Maggie Kelley Sprint Free Alexis Matthiesen-Johnson Distance Free Kalea Mullins IM/Free Laina Reichelderfer IM Abigail Salnas Free Rylee Schneider Free Molly Shields Fly/Free Claudia Velie Free/Breast/IM Lauren Waining Back/Free Kate Walkup Fly/IM/Distance Free Samantha Zurcher Sprint/Mid-Distance Free NAME Levi Buker Cam Butler Grant Cutler Gabe Dawson Edan Donaldson Colby Evenson Daisuke Fitial Omri Forte Jack Gallo Jesse Genualdi Nathan Herde Alex Landry Jake Maher Sasha Moore Daniel Olson David Reeves Cole Runion Ben Simpson Gavin Smith Garrett Sutton Cam Wheeler Casey Wong Bram Zlotowski

YR./EL. So./So. Fr./Fr. Fr./Fr. So./So. So./So. So./So. Sr./5th Yr. Fr./Fr. Jr./Jr. So./So. So./So. Jr./Jr. Jr./Jr. Sr./Sr. Fr./Fr. So./So. Sr./Sr. Jr./Jr. Fr./Fr. Jr./Jr. So./So.

MEN

EVENTS YR./EL. Fly/ Free Fr./Fr. Mid-Distance/Free Jr./Jr. Breast/Distance Free Sr./Sr. Mid-Distance/Free So./So. Sprint Free/Fly/Back Jr./Jr. IM/Free/Back/Breast Sr./Sr. Back/Fly/IM Sr./5th Yr. Sprint Free Sr./Sr. Distance Free/Fly Fr./Fr. Free/Back Sr./Sr. Mid-Distance/Free Jr./Jr. Mid-Distance/Free/Breast So./So. Breast/Sprint Free Fr./Fr. Breast/Free So./So. Sprint Free So./So. Sprint Free Jr./Jr. Sprint Free So./So. Fly/Free Jr./Jr. Mid-Distance Free Fr./Fr. Sprint Free Sr./Sr. Distance Free So./So. Back/Free Jr./Jr. IM/Fly/Free Fr./Fr.

HEAD COACH: Kyle Kimball (eighth year) ASSISTANT COACHES: Alec Webster, Hannah Sutter

HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL Tillamook, Ore. / Tillamook Newport, Ore. / Newport Olympia, Wash. / North Thurston Ketchikan, Alaska / Ketchikan Bend, Ore. / Summit Salem, Ore. / Sprague Portland, Ore. / St. Mary Academy Salem, Ore. / McKay Covington, Wash. / Kent Mt. View Tualatin, Ore. / Tualatin Silverton, Ore. / Silverton Eugene, Ore. / North Eugene Gresham, Ore. / Mt. Hood C.C. Corvallis, Ore. / Corvallis Eugene, Ore. / Marist Medford, Ore. / Ashland Tigard, Ore. / Jesuit Kingston, Wash. / Kingston Portland, Ore. / Westview Eugene, Ore. / South Eugene Silverton, Ore. / Silverton HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL Medford, Ore. / North Medford Port Angles, Wash. / Port Angeles McMinnville, Ore. / McMinnville Eugene, Ore. / North Eugene Colton, Ore. / Colton Salem, Ore. / Seattle U. Salem, Ore. / South Salem Seattle, Wash. / Seattle Prep Vancouver, Wash. / Union Dallas, Ore. / Chemeketa C.C. Parkland, Wash. / Washington Olympia, Wash. / Capital St. Helens, Ore. / St. Helens Portland, Ore. / Grant Medford, Ore. / North Medford Silverton, Ore. / Silverton Silverton, Ore. / Silverton Sacramento, Calif. / Jesuit Bremerton, Wash. / Klahowya Secondary McMinnville, Ore. / University of Utah Wenatchee, Wash. / Wenatchee Honolulu, Hawaii / William McKinley Redding, Calif. / Shasta

WILDCAT SPOTLIGHT ENJOYING THE JOURNEY

Claudia Velie has learned to shrug off adversity to instead focus on personal growth and creating positive opportunities by riley omonaka ’24

“T

aking in every moment” is the mantra that Linfield University’s Claudia Velie lives by.

The Kingston, Washington, native appreciates how hard life can be at times, so she is determined to make the most of every little moment she can.

Velie, a member of the Wildcat women’s swim team, is known for her upbeat nature. She brightens every room she walks into and carries herself with the kind of confidence that puts teammates at ease.

“Most of the time when you see Claudia, she is laughing and it brings your mood up. She is so caring and she isn’t afraid to hide her emotions or thoughts,” friend and teammate Annelise Hed says.

Velie didn’t just swagger into life self-assured and her positivity isn’t borne out of a life free from adversity. She has overcome huge hurdles to reach where she is now, and from her difficulties grew a funny and empathetic person.

“The biggest adversity I’ve overcome was fighting mental illness throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” Velie says. “I struggled a lot with depression throughout all last year and it got to the point where I could barely get out of bed every day.”

Velie was lucky. She had already established a strong support system during her time at Linfield and had amazing friends and teammates to pull her up. Velie hopes to do the same for others in her remaining time at Linfield.

As the resident jokester, she takes her job seriously. Always the first to crack a joke and the last to stop laughing, Velie tries her best to make swimming a fun experience for everyone.

Don’t be fooled by her quick wit. Velie is also a serious competitor with a drive to do her best. She pours every ounce of effort into swimming she can. Treating every practice and meet like it might be her last one is the best way to describe her work ethic.

“Claudia is an amazing friend and teammate.

She is funny and lighthearted and joking around, but she also takes swimming seriously and she’s always wanting to improve,” Hed says. “What makes Claudia unique as a person is her pride in who she is and how passionate she is about what she loves.”

Even on her bad days, Velie keeps her head up and tries her best to enjoy the moment. Swimming season may feel slow in the middle, but four years pass in the blink of an eye. At the end of a long difficult practice Velie remembers why she puts in the work.

“My biggest goal for this season is to continue to love my sport,” Velie says. “Swimming is such a long season and we put so much time and effort into the season that it can get frustrating and emotionally draining at some points so my biggest goal this season and every season is to continue to love what I do.”

The emotional highs and lows that come with competition can be difficult manage. Velie does a stellar job of picking herself and teammates up. She doesn’t pretend that she doesn’t experience hardship, but she manages adversity by defaulting to her mood boosters. When she’s not in the pool Velie has fun by watching British comedies shows, Marvel movies, or having album listening parties with her roommate.

When Velie or a teammate is having a hard day she’s honest and reliable. While she maintains a good attitude always, she’s honest and authentic.

“My first impression of Claudia was that she was a confident and relatable person,” Hed says. “She tries to keep her head up and stay positive and encourage others. She jokes around at practice with everyone and it helps keep the mood up even when it’s a tough practice or meet day.”

Velie, a junior exercise science major, manages a lot between the demands of school and swimming.

Her busy schedule doesn’t end there, however.

She’s also a member of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Student Safety Committee, and works as a pool life guard. Despite her difficult schedule, she does her best to manage stress and pressure.

Early in her college career, she learned to avoid being too hard on herself.

“If I could go back and give myself one piece of advice, it would be to go a little easier on myself,” Velie says. “Given the circumstances of last year and everything that is happening in the world, I wish I would have put less pressure on myself and taken better care of myself.”

Learning to enjoy the journey instead of focusing on the end result has been a process for Velie. She continues to work on her personal growth and continues to create her own opportunities and good memories. One day, when it’s time for Velie to hang up her goggles, there will be no doubt that she gave every day her best effort.

ORDER OF EVENTS Events 1 and 2: 200 Medley Relay Events 3 and 4: 1,650 Freestyle --5 minute break-Events 5 and 6: 200 Freestyle Events 7 and 8: 50 Freestyle Events 9 and 10: 400 Individual Medley --5 minute break-Events 11 and 12: 100 Butterfly

Events 13 and 14: 100 Freestyle Events 15 and 16: 100 Backstroke Events 17 and 18: 500 Freestyle --5 minute break-Events 19 and 20: 100 Breaststroke --5 minute break-Events 21 and 22: 200 Freestyle Relay