Magazine Spring 2024 Spring Sports Update

By Jacob Norling ’20

Men’s Basketball

The Warriors finished their first year in the PacWest on a high note, winning four of their last five games, including an overtime thriller against Concordia on Senior Night. The spectacular play of senior Anthony McIntyre led the way all season, and he became the first player to be named First Team All-PacWest. McIntyre averaged 17.9 points per game, and his brother, Adrian, averaged 13.6.

Women’s Basketball 

In this year of transition, Kirsten Moore’s team began PacWest play on a high note in Hawaii, winning two out of three against a trio of conference rivals on the islands. Bailey Fong proved to be an offensive force, averaging 13.5 points per game and becoming a top-five scorer in the conference. She was named Third Team All-PacWest. In her finest game, the sophomore dropped a career-high 39 points en route to defeating the Academy of Art.

Golf

The season peaked on February 28 in Ventura, where Westmont’s women took home top honors from the Sea Beggars Invitational. Freshman Noelle Thompson won the event individually for her first collegiate victory, finishing atop the leaderboard with a two-round score of 146 (+4). The women won the event with a combined score of 610. At the same
tournament, Cooper Allen of the men’s team finished in fourth overall with a two-round score of 143 (+1).

Swimming

Ella Chaisson cemented herself as one of swimming’s first all-time greats during the PCSC Championships, the final meet of her career. On day two, she earned All- PCSC honors with a time of 2:06.42 in the 200-yard individual medley, placing fourth. The final day, she swam 2:24.33 in the 200-yard breaststroke, finished fifth and earned All-PCSC honors again. Grace McAnear joined Chaisson on the all-conference team, finishing eighth in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 17:58.95.

Track and Field

Narindra Rafidimalala quickly became the main focus of the Warriors’ track and field season when the Madagascar native broke a 60-year-old record in the men’s long jump. He finished with 7.42 meters during the first meet of the year, the Sunshine Indoor Open. Paul Herman ’63 had held the top spot at 7.41 meters since the early 1960s.

Tennis

The men won their first match of the season and then took three of the next five. Westmont saw strong early-season showings from captains Ethan Ha and Logan Thompson as well as newcomer Austin Stone. The women picked up their first win in Whittier, where Francesca Aguirre and Olivia Madarang led the way with victories in both doubles and singles.

Baseball

After receiving their NAIA World Series rings, the Warriors quickly turned the page and announced their presence in the PacWest with a bang. In the club’s first conference series, Westmont took two out of three in San Diego against Point Loma, who was then ranked fourth in the nation. The Warriors followed with a perfect 8-0 road trip in Hawaii, becoming the first Westmont team to pull off an undefeated road trip to the islands. Before ever playing a PacWest game in Santa Barbara, the Warriors compiled a record of 10-1-1 in conference play. The baseball team celebrated their NAIA National Championship win with a ring ceremony on February 5.