Willamette Concludes Northwest Invitational

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

McMINNVILLE, ORE. -- Willamette University swimmers competed at the second day of the Northwest Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Linfield College. The day featured both a morning session and an evening session, as the two-day event came to a close. Whitworth University won the men's team title and the Pirates also claimed the women's team title.

Highlights for the WU women's team during the morning session on Saturday:

Kayla Kosaki (Jr., Hilo, HI/Waiakea HS) took 16th place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:06.97. She missed 11th place by less than a second and was only 0.35 out of 14th.

Hope Nelson (Fr., Providence, RI/South Kingstown HS) finished 10th in the 200-yard freestyle, as she completed the race in 2:11.49.

Erin Parkinson (So., Everson, WA/Ferndale HS) placed 10th in the 100-yard breaststroke. She earned a time of 1:14.72 and missed eighth place by just 0.25 seconds.

In the 100-yard backstroke, Kosaki took 13th place and Coddington earned 15th place. Kosaki's time was 1:08.11, while Coddington finished in 1:10.14.

Top performances for the Willamette men's team in the morning session:

Zander Le Bel (Fr., Dallas, TX/Richardson HS) claimed 10th place in the 400-yard individual medley. Le Bel registered a time of 4:38.86.

Marshall Balderson (Fr., Eugene, OR/Marist Catholic HS) was 12th in the 200-yard freestyle. His time was 1:58.81.

Sophomore Chris Whitehead (Sherwood, OR/Sherwood HS) placed 11th in the 100-yard breaststroke, as he achieved a time of 1:07.91. He missed ninth place by just 0.34.

In the 100-yard backstroke, Sean Piper (Fr., Normandy Park, WA/John F. Kennedy HS) took 13th place by completing the race in 58.25 seconds.

Willamette's top results for the women's team during the evening session:

Parkinson achieved fourth place in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Her time for the 66 lengths of the 25-yard pool was 19:23.25. Nelson of Willamette took 11th place in the race, as she earned a time of 20:18.35. Amanda Clark from Pacific University won the 1,650 with a time of 17:57.72.

Laura Coddington (Jr., Backstroke, Seaside, OR/Seaside HS) placed 12th in the 200-yard backstroke at 2:32.09. She missed the top 10 by just 0.23 seconds.

Parkinson was 12th in the women's 200-yard breaststroke despite also competing in the 1,650 freestyle. her time in the 200 breaststroke was 2:46.90.

Kosaki was sixth in the 200-yard butterfly, as she clocked in at 2:28.64. She registered the second-fastest time over the first 25 yards, as she trailed only the the eventual winner, Katie Chapman from Whitman College.

Highlighting the efforts of the Willamette men's team in the evening session:

Le Bel attained a seventh place in the 1,650-yard freestyle by completing the race in 17:58.11.

Piper took seventh place during the 200-yard backstroke. His time was 2:02.47, only 0.10 short of sixth place and 0.62 out of fifth.

Whitehead claimed 11th place in the 200-yard breaststroke, as he equaled his finish in the 100-yard breaststroke. In the 200, his time was 2:31.63.

Ian McGahan (Jr., Tacoma, WA/Stadium HS) placed 13th in the 200-yard butterfly. He reached the finish in 2:25.92.

Overall Team Results

Whitworth won the team title in the women's competition, as the Pirates earned 687.5 points.

Pacific Lutheran University was second in the women's standings with 607 points, while Whitman was third at 496. Pacific held 493.5 points in fourth place, Linfield College had 380 points in fifth place. Willamette finished in sixth place with 200 points, and the College of Idaho was seventh with 106 points.

In the race for the men's team title, Whitworth gained first place with 846.5 points. Pacific Lutheran took second place with a score of 614, Whitman finished third at 539.5 and Pacific claimed fourth place at 324.5 points.

Fifth place in the men's standings was achieved by Linfield with a score of 285, while the College of Idaho was sixth at 269.5. Willamette finished in seventh place with 193 points.