By Ron Smith
November 24, 2025
 
(MONTEREY PARK, Calif.) Westmont Swim participated in its largest meet of the fall season by competing in 125 races at the La Verne Collegiate Invitational. The event was held at the East Los Angeles College Swim Stadium.
 
"One of our themes for the year is operating out of a mindset of abundance as opposed to scarcity," said Westmont's head coach Jill Lin. "It's focusing on all we have and who we are and feeling grateful as opposed to thinking about what we need. Instead of saying, "I needed to have more taper, I needed more rest, or I needed a comfier bed, or I needed to eat more," we want to reframe everything to see it as abundance and not as scarcity and to have that be our motivation to continue to move forward."
 
With that mindset, the Warriors moved forward through the three-day meet producing three school records, 32 lifetime best marks and 99 season bests.
 
The meet began with the 500 yard freestyle that included 11 swimmers from Westmont – four of whom earned berths in the finals. Kate Spraul posted a time of 5:06.31 in the prelims and Grace McAnear touched the wall in 5:15.43 as both swimmers qualified for the "B" final. Willow Pezone and Kimberly Greene qualified for the "C" final with times of 5:16.94 and 5:14.71 respectively.
 
"The 500 is always exciting for us," expressed Lin. "I think what's really cool is that Tiffany Bell usually is our first swimmer, and she always does such a great job of setting the tone for the meet. She is such a workhorse and she has been improving dramatically each and every season. So, it's always fun to start with her, especially seeing her drop three seconds and go a lifetime best (5:37.52).
 
"In the prelims, Grace went a lifetime best and Kate was just a few seconds off of hers. Willow dropped her time from last year by six seconds and had an incredible race.
 
In the finals on Friday evening, Spraul placed 12th with a time of 5:06.31 and McAnear finished 15th with a time of 5:15.43.
 
"In the 200 yard individual medley, Meliana Calica (2:17.32) went a lifetime best and Madi Edwards (2:13.72) had a really good swim, just off her lifetime best," reported Lin.
 
Westmont sent 13 swimmers to the starting blocks for the 50 yard freestyle. Noelle Landon earned a spot in the "C" finals by posting a prelim time of 24.39 to tie for 16th. In the "C" final, Landon finished 24th with a time of 25.08.
 
In the finals of the 200 yard freestyle relay, Landon, Pezone, Spraul and Lauren Healy posted a time of 1:39.00 to finish 14th. McKenzie Rion, Emma Bustamante, Katlyn McCurtain and Daisy Marquardt posted a time of 1:40.64.
 
"That was really fun to see," said Lin of the relay. "So many of our swimmers had very similar times. Actually two of our best splits were on the B relay with Daisy having the fastest split of anyone at 24.4. Katlyn went 24.9 nine, which was a really good swim for her."
 
 
The final event on Friday was the 400 yard medley relay that saw three sets of Westmont swimmers compete. Landon, Abby Rickard, Bustamante and Spraul finished in seventh place with a time of 4:00.50 while the team of Megan Traina, Edwards, Marquardt and Healy finished in ninth with a time of 4:02.43.
 
"Our swimmers had not swam the 100 of strokes yet, so it was hard to know who to put on what relay," acknowledged Lin. "Both teams had similar times. Daisy and Boost (Bustamante) had great butterfly legs. Katlyn, swimming on the C-relay team, had a best time in the 100 yard backstroke."
 
Saturday's prelims began with the 400 yard individual medley which, as Lin says, "is a very challenging race. Tiffany led off again with another lifetime best time. She went from 5:11 to 5:04, which is a great swim.
 
"Madi (4:45.64) had a great swim, beat her lifetime best time by two seconds, and made it into finals. So did Kelly Neill (4:54.46) and Brogan Braaten (4:56.86).
 
"Kelly ended up going a lifetime best time in the finals (4:53.21), which was great to see for her. She is a workhorse in the pool and it was so rewarding to see her shave off some time. Brogan ,again ,had another great race in the finals (4:57.93). It was awesome that she had a second opportunity to swim in the evening. Madi came back and dropped another second off her time (4:44.04)."
 
Edwards moved up two places in the finals, finishing in 13th place.
 
In the 200 yard butterfly, Bustamante finished fastest among the Warriors, posting a time of 59.47.
 
Next up was the 200 yard freestyle, which produced perhaps the best results of the meet for the Warriors.
 
"We had quite a few swimmers in that race," noted Lin. Leighton (2:01.74) and Willow (1:55.19) had best times. Willow had just an incredible race, especially coming off of two 500s the day before. She dropped over a second off her lifetime best time to go 1:55 and make it back into finals.
 
"Willow is someone who has been all-in to our program from day one," said Lin. "Every day, she shows up ready to give all she has, learn and grow as a person and athlete, and she is so grateful to be here. She is a positive light on our team and has set such an amazing example of what it means to be all-in and how success isn't immediate, but it is a result of all the moments she committed to being all-in over the last two years.
 
"Kate was our last 200 freestyle swimmer of the day. She came out guns blazing, had a great first hundred and was able to maintain. She went a lifetime best time (1:52.61), broke the school record and the Division II "B" standard, finishing in third in the prelims and making it into the "A" finals
 
"Willow and Katlyn and Kate all came back for finals. Katlyn had a great race and did a really good job coming home strong. Willow was so fatigued from her other races, but you could tell she was really pushing and just was able to stay strong throughout. Willow is someone who absolutely loves swimming and loves racing and gives 110% every single day. It's really fun to watch her and she brings so much joy to our team.
 
"Kate wrapped us up with the "A" final by improving her time. She ended up going a 1:52:45 for another lifetime best and lowering the record she just set."
 
In the 100 yard breaststroke, Abby Rickard led the Warriors with a time of 1:08.11.
 
"Tiffany (1:20.00) and Meliana (1:11.88) both had lifetime best races in the 100 yard breaststroke," pointed out Lin.
 
"Noelle was our only finalist to come back in the evening in the 100 yard backstroke," recalled Lin. "It was just great to see her do that and so fun to have some good strong backstrokers with Katlyn (1:00.27) and Megan (1:00.93) both going low."
 
Landon posted a time of 58.81 in the prelims to finish 14th and earn a berth in the "B" finals. Then, she swam a 59.08, finishing 10th in finals.
 
The 200 yard medley relay, which was another close race between Westmont's A and B relay teams.
 
"It's really fun to have such a challenging time selecting who's going to be on what relay," said Lin.
"It turned out that our B team actually beat our A team. It is exciting to see the depth and the versatility that we have and the opportunities we have to have two really solid medley relays."
 
McCurtain, Edwards, Marquardt and Bell posted a time of 1:50.58 to edge out teammates Landon, Richard, Bustamante and Healy by 0.19 seconds.
 
Saturday night ended with three Warrior teams in the 800 yard freestyle relay with Spraul, Pezone, McCurtain and Marquardt posting a time of 7:45.99 to take seventh place.
 
At the end of the second day, Lin reflected, "Overall, this was a really good day for us. It was fun to see lifetime best times. I think one of the things that they're doing really well is just keeping the excitement and the energy up.
 
"We've talked a lot about being unshakable as that is our theme for the year. We can go from one race that maybe wasn't our best or our favorite, or we did like how it went. Then, we can move on and go on to the next."
 
That spirit helped the team move on to day three.
 
"We had a great last day," attested Lin. "The last day is always a battle. The 200s of stroke are grueling and by this time everyone is exhausted. In true warrior fashion, however, the women rose above and were unshakable today.
 
"We started out with an amazing 100 yard individual medley relay from Meliana (1:04.00) and Kate (1:00.31). Kate broke the school record and both made it back to the finals."
 
Spraul finished fifth in the finals with a time of 1:00.68 while Calica claimed 21st with a time of 1:04.10.
 
"Our 200 yard backstrokers didn't hold back at all," reported Lin about the next event. "Katlyn swam an insane race for a lifetime best (2:06.07) and new school record. It was an incredibly gutsy swim. Megan (2:07.52) executed what I called a perfect race. Putting together all the details she'd been working on in practice, she swam a lifetime best. Madi (2:12.76) had a great swim and a season best to make it back to finals. They all had really impressive finals swims with Madi dropping a couple more seconds."
 
McCurtain finished seventh in the finals with a time of 2:06.13. Traina placed eighth in a time of 2:07.73. Edwards took 18th place with a time of 2:10.81.
 
"Next was the 100 yard freestyle and Willow (52.88) dropped over a second to go a lifetime best, going under 53 for the first time ever," said Lin. "Kate also had a great 100 going a season best and making it back to finals.
 
"Both Warriors had a strenuous weekend with two 500 yard races, three 200 yard races, and three 100 yard freestyles, but they seemed to get so much stronger by the end. They both raced so hard this weekend and I'm so proud of the effort they put forward."
 
Both Spraul and Pezone swam a 52.98 in the finals.
 
In the 200 yard breaststroke, Rickard and Edwards earned spots in the "C" final by posting times of 2:30.77 and 2:34.56 respectively. Edwards finished in 19th place in the finals with a time of 2:31.20 and Rickard finished 21st with a time of 2:32.98.
 
"Meliana (2:36.79) went a lifetime best time in the 200 yard breaststroke, she swam such a solid race and it was great to see her put that event together," said Lin. "Kelly also went a lifetime best (2:34.71).
 
Following the morning prelims and before the evening finals, five Warriors competed in the 1650 yard freestyle – the longest race of the meet. Kimberly Greene notched a ninth-place finish with a time of 18:01.24 to lead the Warriors. Grace McAnear swam a time of 18:25.93 to finish 16th.
 
"The 200 yard butterfly was our final individual event and the swimmer did great! It's so tough, especially being the last race of the meet," said Lin. "All our fliers did a great job of being incredibly tough and gritty."
 
Bustamante, Marquardt and Garcia posted finals qualifying times of 2:13.77, 2:14.98 and 2:20:49, respectively. Bustamante finished in 13th place by taking over a second of her qualifying time and hitting the wall in 2:12.21. Garcia also dropped her time, finishing in 2:20.01.
 
The final event was the traditional 400 yard freestyle relay. Spraul, Pezone, McCurtain and Marquardt finished off the meet with a ninth-place finish in a time of 3:33.67.
 
"I could highlight so many swimmers at this meet," said Lin. "Grace for her leadership and grit. Kate for her positivity and encouragement. Abby, McKenzie and Allison for their impeccable leadership as captains. Noelle for her resilience. Leighton for her determination and positively. Emma Bustamante for her grit and excitement. Emma Robinson for her infectious positive attitude. Kimberly for her joy and energy. Lauren for her determination and mental toughness. Brogan for her dedication and grit. Kelly for her kindness and encouragement. Madi for her positivity and "Let's Go" attitude. Meliana for her love for her teammates and contagious joy. Katlyn for her leadership and amazing cheering. Izzy for her grit and mental toughness. Daisy for her encouragement and resilience. Allison for being so positive and her monster relay split. Megan for her grit and determination."
 
The Warriors will head to their respective homes to celebrate Thanksgiving before resuming their season when they return. On Saturday, December 6, Westmont will host its only home meet of the year, welcoming Azusa Pacific to Tom and Megs Names Aquatic Center. The Warriors will take the opportunity to honor nine graduating seniors during the meet. First race is at 10:30 a.m.