Marinello Qualifies for Championship Finals in 400 I.M. and 100 Breaststroke

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

FEDERAL WAY, WASH. -- Annette Marinello (Fr., Corvallis, OR/Philomath HS) of Willamette University qualified for the championship finals in the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke during preliminary heats at the 2013 Northwest Conference Swimming Championships on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the King County Aquatic Center.

Marinello will compete in the finals of both events during Saturday's evening session.

In the 400-yard individual medley, Marinello placed eighth in the prelims with a time of 4:46.94. Her time was just 0.10 faster than Megan Sandall, who complete the race in 4:07.04. Bridge Louis from Whitworth University registered the top preliminary time at 4:38.86, also just 0.10 better than Allison Clark of Pacific at 4:38.96.

Marinello was eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke prelims, as she clocked in at 1:07.27. The fastest time of the preliminary heats was recorded by Tracy Wormwood from University of Puget Sound with an NCAA "B" standard time of 1:04.93. Claire Collins of Whitman also met the "B" standard while placing second in 1:05.93.

Alex Guffey (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette achieved the third fastest time of the prelims in the men's 200-yard freestyle. He was timed at 1:43.56.

The best time in the prelims of the men's 200 free was attained by Chase Mesford from Pacific Lutheran University at 1:42.98. Nathan Ranno of Whitworth edged out Guffey for the second fastest time, as he earned a time of 1:43.53. All of the top five times were under 1:44.0.

Several Bearcats advanced to the consolation finals by placing between ninth and 16th place during Saturday's preliminary heats:

Zander Le Bel (So., Dallas, TX/Richardson HS) placed 14th in the prelims of the men's 400-yard individual medley in 4:33.32.

Andrew Lum (Fr., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) was 16th in the men's 100-yard butterfly heats with a time of 54.24 seconds.

Hope Nelson (So., Providence, RI/South Kingstown HS) earned a time of 2:01.26 and achieved 14th place in the prelims of the women's 200-yard freestyle.

Erin Parkinson (Jr., Everson, WA/Ferndale HS) placed 15th during heats of the women's 100-yard breaststroke in 1:11.60.

Kulananalu Tarnas (Fr., Kamuela, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy) registered a time of 1:03.93 for 15th place in the men's 100-yard breaststroke prelims.

Two Bearcats just barely missed the consolation finals. Malia Santos (Fr., Kailua-Kona, HI/Kealakehe HS) placed 17th in the women's 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:01.19, only 0.08 away from advancing. Michaela Zuber (Fr., Sacramento, CA/Sheldon HS) finished 18th in the women's 100-yard backstroke in 1:03.57.

The night session on Saturday will include championship and consolation finals in the men's and women's 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, and 100-yard backstroke.

In addition, night session will feature the men's and women's 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay. Action gets underway at 6 p.m. (PST).