Bearcats Swim against Pioneers, with WU Women and L&C Men Earning Wins

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Willamette University swimming teams competed at Lewis & Clark College in a Northwest Conference dual meet on Friday, Jan. 21. The Bearcats won the women's competition, 115-89. The Pioneers won the men's competition, 100-86.

For the season, Willamette is 2-3 overall and 2-3 in the NWC in women's swimming, and 1-4 overall and 1-4 in the NWC in men's swimming. Lewis & Clark's women's team is 0-3-1 on the season and 0-3-1 in the NWC. The L&C men's team is 2-1-1 on the season, 2-1-1 in the NWC.

Alayna Kisiday (Fy., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) and Tatum Good (Fy., Scottsdale, AZ/Scottsdale Prep Academy) led Willamette as each won two individual women's events and contributed to a victory in the women's 200-yard medley relay. Kisiday recorded her individual wins in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle. Good claimed first place in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke.

Kisiday won the 50 freestyle in 26.42 seconds. Ella Stephan of Lewis & Clark took second place in 26.59 seconds. Kisiday earned a time of 57.37 seconds while winning the 100 freestyle by just under three seconds. Annabelle Rousseau from L&C was second in 1:00.19.

Good was the winner of the 200 freestyle after she was timed at 2:09.38. Sarah Jenner (Fy., Normandy Park, WA/Stanford Online HS) followed in second place at 2:10.18, as she edged out Alys Chang of the Pioneers, who was third at 2:10.70. Good placed first in the 100 backstroke in 1:04.04. She led a 1-2 finish that included Jacqueline Hall (Fy., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) in second at 1:09.50.

The victory by the WU women's 200-yard medley relay team featured Good, Anna Hornbeck (Fy., Bend, OR/Bend HS), and Katherina Cory (So., Dublin, CA/Dublin HS), plus Kisiday on the anchor leg. The Bearcats won in 1:58.71, followed by L&C in second at 2:02.88.

In addition to the combined four individual wins by Kisiday and Good, the Bearcats also received one win each from Jenner and Min Wei (Sr., Fushun, China/Cascade HS) in women's events, and from Cole Lindberg (Fy., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake Christian Academy) and Ben Nickell (Jr., Boulder, CO/Fairview HS) in men's events.

Jenner won the women's 500-yard freestyle in 5:51.71, while Chang of L&C placed second in 5:54.49. Wei prevailed for WU in the women's 100-yard breaststroke in 1:11.36. Hornbeck took second place for the Bearcats in 1:13.25.

Lindberg was victorious in the men's 100-yard butterfly in 53.33 seconds. Teammate Will Compton (Jr., Portage, MI/Portage Northern HS) was second in 55.62 seconds. Nickell placed first in the men's 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:04.17.

The Bearcats earned first place in the men's 200-yard medley relay as Compton, Nickell, Lindberg, and Logan Copeland (So., Sparks, NV/Spanish Springs HS) combined for a time of 1:44.28. Lewis & Clark took second in 1:51.69.

Willamette will take on George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, on Saturday, Jan. 22. The meet is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. (PST).