Bearcats Surge on Day 2 of NWC Championships

BOISE, Idaho – The Willamette University men's swimming team delivered a series of powerhouse performances on Saturday at the Northwest Conference Championships, led by a dominant showing in the 100-yard breaststroke that saw two Bearcats cement their names in the program's all-time Top 10 list.

Breaststroke Duo Makes History

The highlight of the night came in the A-Final of the 100-yard breaststroke, where sophomore Trai Xiong and junior Ka'olapa Masuko went head-to-head with the conference's best.

Xiong surged to a 4th-place finish with a blistering time of 56.39. This mark officially overtakes Kjell Moline's 1997 record (57.58) to become the new #1 fastest time in Willamette history.

Masuko, who already held the #3 spot on the Top 10 list entering the meet, improved his personal best to 56.99 to finish 5th overall. His time now stands as the #2 mark all-time for the Bearcats, moving him ahead of his previous best of 57.97 set in 2024.

Relay Excellence

The Bearcats opened the evening session with a strong 7th-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet of Ethan Barker, Ka'olapa Masuko, Trai Xiong, and Kevin Olmedo clocked in at 1:36.52. Their performance was less than a second off the school record (1:35.65) set in 1992, proving the current squad is among the fastest in program history.

Individual Standouts

• 200-Yard Freestyle: Sophomore Paul Keith battled in the B-Final, securing 15th place overall with a time of 1:52.02, adding valuable points to the Bearcats' team total.

• 100-Yard Butterfly: Freshman Ethan Barker posted a competitive 55.22 in the morning preliminaries.

• 400-Yard IM: Sophomore Lucas Cardenas represented Willamette in the grueling individual medley, finishing with a time of 4:49.51.