By Ron Smith
January 2, 2026
 
(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.) Westmont Swim dove into the new year by competing at the Chris Knorr Invitational at California Lutheran on Friday morning. The Warriors won the tri-meet, posting 802 points to the Regals 751. The Golden Eagles of Concordia tallied 215.
 
Westmont had not competed in this meet since January 3, 2020, in the program's inaugural year.
 
"The meet is hosted to honor Chris Knorr, a Cal Lutheran Swimmer who passed away of brain cancer his senior year," noted Westmont head coach Jill Lin. "He was a musician and outdoor enthusiast, and was described as 'Sunshine' who brought light and levity to everything."
 
Annually at this event, a student-athlete from each team is selected to receive the Chris Knorr Leadership Award.
 
"(Assistant Coach) Bailey Lemmon and I nominated senior captain McKenzie Rion," noted Lin. "McKenzie is a dedicated leader, someone who always improves our team's mentality, and someone who works so incredibly hard. It was so special that McKenzie won this award because our last Warrior to win it was Allison Gonzalez."
 
Gonzalez was the only senior from the original Westmont Swim Team in the 2019-20 season.
 
"We spent this last week of winter training diving into our team's legacy," reported Lin. "Our seniors gave an amazing team meeting about their experiences here and yesterday we read all our previous seniors' (2020-2025) letters to the team. During that meeting we got to highlight all the past Warriors and their impact on our team culture today. We highlighted Allison's peaceful spirit and dedication to this team."
 
"McKenzie and Allison had so much in common and it was really special to honor McKenzie in the same way we honored Allison six years ago," said Lin.
 
Of the team's performance in the pool, Lin reflected, "The Warriors did great. We had a showing of depth in each event. Our 200 yard freestylers went one through four, which was a huge confidence boost."
 
Kate Spraul won the event with a time of 1:59.97, Katlyn McCurtain placed second in 2:02.73 and Grace McAnear took third in 2:03.18. Rion completed the top-four sweep, touching the wall in a time of 2:05.07.
 
In the 100 yard backstroke, Noelle Landon swam a 1:01.12 to claim first place for the Warriors. Then in the 100 yard breaststroke, Abigail Rickard led a quartet of Warriors who finished second through fifth. Rickard posted a time of 1:12.83.
 
"Noelle had a solid 100 back to win that event and Abby, as always, led the team in the breaststroke events," expressed Lin.
 
Later in the day, Rickard placed second in the 200 yard breaststroke with a time of 2:37.75, just 0.30 seconds off the winner.
 
"Lauren Healy had a great day getting second in the 50 yard freestyle and third in the 100 yard freestyle," pointed out Lin.
 
Healy posted times of 25.58 and 56.17 in the two events. Spraul was second in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 55.66 and finished second in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:17.45.
 
"Following the individual medley, Kate had about two minutes to recover and then step up on the blocks and anchor the 4 x 100 yard freestyle relay," recalled Lin.
 
Healy, Willow Pezone, McCurtain and Spraul finished second in the relay with a time of 3:46.93.
 
In the 200 yard backstroke, Madi Edwards recorded a time of 2:18.50 to finish second.
 
"Our 500 yard freestylers fought hard to go two-three-four and were really tough through the entire race," added Lin.
 
Greene placed second in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:21.26 with Greene swimming a 5:28.15 to take third. Pezone's time of 5:30.92 earned her fourth place.
 
"It was a great way to start the new year and refocus before we just put our heads down and push until the finish," assessed Lin. "Chris's legacy is a great reminder that the impact you have on those around you really matters. At the end of the day, it's your character that people remember most."
 
Next week, the Warriors will sneak in another meet before classes begin for Westmont's spring semester. On Wednesday, the Warriors will travel to La Mirada for a tri-meet with Biola and The Master's.