WU Sets School Record in Women's 200-yard Medley Relay at NWC Meet

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

CORVALLIS, ORE. -- Two more Willamette University swimming records fell on the second day of the 2015 Northwest Conference Swimming Championships at the Osborn Aquatic Center on Saturday, Feb. 14. The Bearcat women's team set the records in the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard medley relay. WU also set two records on Friday.

Malia Santos (Jr., Kailua-Kona, HI/Kealakehe HS) set the first record of the day during the preliminary heats of the 100-yard butterfly. She recorded a time of 59.03 seconds to break the record of 59.30 set by Gerianne Mikasa in 1997.

Santos went on to place seventh Saturday night in the championship finals at 59.37 seconds. The previous top time for Santos was 1:00.21 in 2014. She entered the day tied for third on WU's all-time list.

Willamette's second record to fall was recorded by the 200-yard medley relay team of Michaela Zuber (Jr., Sacramento, CA/Sheldon HS), Ashlyn Witherwax (Fr., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School), Santos and Cassie Tallman (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS). They registered a time of 1:51.28 to break the record of 1:52.42 set by the Bearcats in 1997.

Zuber, Witherwax, Santos and Tallman achieved their second relay record in as many days, after establishing a new mark of 4:02.39 in the 400-yard medley relay during the first day of the NWC Championships on Friday.

Overall, Saturday's evening session featured 14 individual swims by the Bearcats in the championship finals and consolation finals, plus two women's relays and two men's relays. Six Bearcats competed in the championship finals, as all six earned Second Team All-NWC honors.

Championship Finals

In addition to Santos in the 100-yard butterfly, other championship finalists for the WU women's team were Tallman and Witherwax, who both placed in the 100-yard breaststroke. Tallman took fourth with a time of 1:08.38. Witherwax placed sixth and achieved a time of 1:08.75.

Tallman earned her top time of the season in the prelims, when she was clocked at 1:07.98.

Shanell Sullenberger of Pacific Lutheran University won the 100 breaststroke final with an NCAA "B" qualifying time of 1:05.23.

Qualifying for the men's championship finals were Mark Yuvienco (Fr., San Jose, CA/Bellarmine College Prep), Alika Masei (So., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) and Reuben White (Fr., Portland, OR/Westview HS).

Yuvienco reached the finals in the 100-yard butterfly. He placed sixth in 52.04 improving by .02 under his time in the prelims. He moved into second on Willamette's all-time list. Karl Mering of Whitman College won the 100 fly in 48.73 seconds, an NCAA "B" qualifying time.

Masei placed eighth in the 100-yard backstroke, as he registered a time of 54.20 in the finals. He recorded a season-best time of 53.63 during the prelims.

White took eighth in the 200-yard freestyle. He gained the final berth into the finals by earning his top time of the season at 1:45.76 in the prelims, as he edged out Cody Hartman of Pacific Lutheran by .01. In the finals, White was timed at 1:57.82.

Consolation Finals

Several Bearcats competed in the consolation finals on Saturday.

For the WU women's team, Zuber placed 10th overall and was second in the consolations final of the 100-yard backstroke. Her time was a season-best 1:00.34.

Consolation finalists for the Bearcat men's team in the 400-yard individual medley were Josh Bumgarner (So., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS), Dan Aki (So., Union City, CA/James Logan HS) and Zander Le Bel (Sr., Dallas, TX/Richardson HS). Bumgarner placed 12th overall in 4:20.32, while Aki was 15th at 4:25.19 and Le Bel was 16th in 4:30.66.

Bumgarner cut 17.69 seconds off his seed time in the prelims and dropped another 3.47 seconds on Saturday night. Aki lowered his top time by over five seconds in the prelims, while Le Bel took off 21.09 seconds in the prelims.

Aki and Andrew Lum (Jr., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) qualified for the consolation finals in the 100-yard butterfly. Aki was third in the consolation race and 11th overall with a time of 53.22 seconds. Lum finished 13th in 53.95.

Kulananalu Tarnas (So., Kamuela, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy) swam for WU in the 100-yard breaststroke consolation final. He placed 15th overall in 1:01.27. Jason Bayang (So., Wahiawa, HI/Hoala School) took 15th place in the 100-yard backstroke, as he earned a time of 55.90 seconds.

The Bearcat men placed fifth in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 7:14.52. Swimming for Willamette were White, Shelby Merrill (So., Thousand Oaks, CA/Westlake HS), Lum and Yuvienco.

Team Standings

Pacific Lutheran led the women's team standings at the end of Saturday with 531 points. Whitman was second at 344 and Whitworth University was third at 334. University of Puget Sound held fourth place at 280 points, with Pacific University in fifth at 228. Linfield College followed in sixth at 183, just eight points in front of Willamette in seventh at 175. Lewis & Clark College was eighth with 109 points.

The men's team standings were topped by Whitman with 477 points. Whitworth owned second place at 438. Pacific Lutheran was third at 341, Puget Sound was fourth at 297 and Linfield was fifth at 187. Willamette was in sixth place and trailed Linfield by six points at 181. Pacific followed in seventh at 129 and Lewis & Clark was eighth at 112.

Action at the NWC Championships will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 15. Preliminary heats will begin at 10 a.m. (PST), with finals set to start at 5 p.m.