Guffey Finishes 5th in Men's 200-yard Freestyle at NWC Championships

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

FEDERAL WAY, WASH. -- Alex Guffey (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) and Annette Marinello (Fr., Corvallis, OR/Philomath HS) competed for Willamette University during the championship finals of individual events on the second day of the 2013 Northwest Conference Swimming Championships, Saturday, Feb. 9 at the King County Aquatic Center.

Guffey earned fifth place in the men's 200-yard freestyle. He posted a time of 1:43.88. He finished just 0.38 out of fourth place and was 0.66 out of third. Derek Frenzel from the University of Puget Sound won the event in 1:41.94.

Marinello placed sixth in the women's 400-yard individual medley and took eighth place in the 100-yard breaststroke. She achieved a time of 4:41.50 in the 400 I.M. and was timed at 1:07.66 in the 100 breaststroke.

Earlier in the day, during the preliminary heats, Marinello set a new Willamette record in the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.27. The previous school record was 1:07.76 by Kate Miller in 2004.

The Willamette men placed seventh in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Swimming for the Bearcats were Zander Le Bel (So., Dallas, TX/Richardson HS), Aran Johnson (So., Seattle, WA/Garfield HS), Alex Burkhart (So., Los Gatos, CA/Los Gatos HS) and Guffey. Willamette's time was 7:23.23.

In the men's 200-yard medley relay, the Bearcats took eighth place. The Willamette women's team finished eighth in the 200-yard medley relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay.

Le Bel took fourth place in the consolation finals and was 12th overall in the men's 400-yard individual medley. He produced a strong finish and recorded a time of 4:29.76 to past Cameron Webber of Pacific Lutheran University. Webber took fifth in the race at 4:30.49.

Willamette's Hope Nelson (So., Providence, RI/South Kingstown HS) placed fourth in the women's 200-yard freestyle consolation finals. She took 12th place overall after achieving a time of 1:59.92.

Andrew Lum (Fr., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) finished 15th overall in the men's 100-yard butterfly. He was seventh in the consolation finals at 54.20 seconds.

In the consolation finals of the men's 100-yard breaststroke, Kulananalu Tarnas (Fr., Kamuela, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy) finished seventh with a time of 1:03.15. He placed 15th overall.

Erin Parkinson (Jr., Everson, WA/Ferendale HS) was 15th in the women's 100-yard breaststroke, as she claimed seventh place in the consolation finals in 1:11.73.

The Whitworth University swimming teams held first place in the overall standings at the end of the second day of the 2013 Northwest Conference Swimming Championships on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the King County Aquatic Center.

The women's team from Whitworth accumulated 431 points to gain a 117-point lead on Whitman College. The Whitworth men owned 500.5 points for an 86-point lead over Whitman.

Additional information regarding Willamette's performances during the evening session on Saturday will be added soon.

Women's Competition Highlights on Saturday

Whitworth began the evening session by winning the women's 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:48.62. Kate Duvall swam the first leg for the Pirates, and was followed by Melissa Barringer, Alisa Stang and Marit Borth.

Bridget Louis from Whitworth gained a victory in the women's 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:33.69. Her time met the NCAA Division III "B" qualifying standard. Kina Ackerman of Pacific Lutheran University also registered a "B" qualifying time in the 400 I.M., while taking second place in 4:36.40.

Katie Porter, swimming for Pacific University, won the women's 100-yard butterfly. Her time was 57.11 seconds and was an NCAA "B" qualifying result. Toni Castillo of Pacific Lutheran, who won the 100 butterfly in 2012, placed second in 58.33 seconds.

In the women's 200-yard freestyle, Kori Carpenter of Whitworth earned the championship with a time of 1:54.53.

Four NCAA "B" qualifying times were gained in the finals of the women's 100-yard breaststroke. The winner, Tracy Wormwood from the University of Puget Sound, recorded her fourth consecutive NWC championship in the event with a time of 1:04.43.

Wormwood touched out Claire Collins of Whitman by just 0.02, as Collins placed second in 1:04.45.

Also earning "B" qualifying times in the 100 breaststroke were Jessica Jaynes from Puget Sound in third at 1:05.87 and Genay Pilarowski from Whitman in fourth at 1:05.91.

Duvall of Whitworth was victorious in the women's 100-yard backstroke, as she registered a time of 58.43 seconds. Natasha Sioda from Pacific Lutheran finished second and was close to Duvall at 58.70 seconds. Rachael Cazden from Lewis & Clark College was third in 58.74 seconds.

Whitworth's women won the 800-yard freestyle relay by recording a time of 7:44.51, as they took first place by just over nine seconds. Swimming for the Pirates in the 800 free relay were Nicole Lecoq, Carpenter, Duvall and Stang.

The women's team scores after the second day of competition were: Whitworth 431, Whitman 314, Pacific Lutheran 303.5, Puget Sound 303, Pacific 267.5, Lewis & Clark 223, Linfield 210, Willamette 121.

Men's Competition Highlights on Saturday

Whitworth took first place in the men's 200-yard medley relay in 1:33.90. The relay team for the Pirates included Aaron Vaccaro, Kyle Wicks, Welsey Tatum and Andrew Sumnich.

Galen Sollem-Brotherton of Whitman achieved his second consecutive NWC championship in the men's 400-yard individual medley. He earned an NCAA "B" qualifying time of 4:01.47 to win by 5.40 seconds. Michael Hargitt of Pacific finished second in the event with a "B" qualifying time of 4:06.87.

Karl Mering from Whitman provided a strong swim in the 100-yard butterfly, as he set the all-time NWC record at 48.59 seconds, breaking the mark he set earlier in the day at 49.04 in the prelims. His time in the finals also met the NCAA "A" qualifying standard.

It was Mering's second consecutive NWC title in the 100 butterfly. The winning time in Saturday's championship race made him the first NWC swimmer to break the 49-second mark in the event.

The men's 200-yard freestyle was won by Derek Frenzel from Puget Sound in 1:41.94, as he passed Chase Mesford of PLU in the final 15 yards for a time of 1:41.94. Mesford, who achieved the top time in the prelims, took second place in the finals at 1:42.88.

Paul Chang of Whitman prevailed in the men's 100-yard breaststroke in 57.53 seconds, as earned an NCAA "B" qualifying time.

In the men's 100-yard backstroke, a close championship race was won by Corban Elliott from Pacific Lutheran in 52.15 seconds. He won by 0.12 over Nic Win from Whitman, who placed second in 52.27 seconds. The race featured a tie for third place between Sam Starr of Whitman and Vaccaro of Whitworth at 52.47 seconds.

The Whitman men's team ended the night by setting the NWC Championships meet record in the 800-yard freestyle relay at 6:50.15. Swimming for the Missionaries were Sollom-Brotherton, Starr, Kevin O'Leary and Mering.

Puget Sound placed second in the men's 800 freestyle relay in 6:51.50. The times in the event for Whitman and UPS met the NCAA "B" standard.

Team standings in the men's competition at the end of the second day were: Whitworth 500.5, Whitman 414.5, Pacific Lutheran 344, Puget Sound 274, Pacific 183, Linfield 158, Lewis & Clark 129, Willamette 123.

Up Next for the Bearcats

Action in the NWC Championships will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 10 with preliminary heats starting at 10 a.m. (PST) and finals beginning at 5 p.m.

Sunday's morning session will include the men's and women's prelims in the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard butterfly. The session will be followed by heats in the women's 1,650-yard freestyle and the men's 1,650 freestyle.

Finals in the events with prelims will be held during Saturday's evening session, along with the fastest heats in 1,650 freestyle, as well as the men's and women's 400-yard freestyle relay.