Bearcat Men Win Three Events on Sunday at Bruin Invite to Place Second
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
NEWBERG, Ore. -- The Willamette University men's swimming team won three events on the second day of the Bruin Invitational, as the Bearcats earned second place in the final standings at the Chehalem Parks/Recreation Aquatic Center on Sunday, Dec. 3. Julius Wilhelmi (Sr., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS), Cole Lindberg (Jr., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake Christian Academy), and Nicholas Moore (Fy., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake HS) provided the victories, with Wilhelmi taking first place in the 50-yard freestyle, Lindberg winning the 100-yard backstroke, and Moore placing first in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Host George Fox University claimed the men's team title with 809 points. Willamette was second with 632.5 points and Lewis & Clark College finished third with 588.5 points. The Pioneers narrowly edged out Pacific Lutheran University, which placed fourth with 586 points. Pacific University did not compete on the second day and took fifth place with 17 points.
Wilhelmi's winning time in the "A" final of the 50-yard freestyle was 21.48 seconds. Levi Gibson of George Fox placed second in 21.67 seconds. Lindberg grabbed third place for the Bearcats with a time of 22.51 seconds. Kevin Olmedo (So., La Canada, CA/St. Francis HS) of WU was sixth at 22.51 seconds.
Moore completed the 1,650-yard freestyle with a margin of victory of 14.45 seconds as he achieved a time of 17:42.49. Aidan Ringel of L&C was second in 17:56.94, and Ethan Davies (So., Hong Kong/Discovery College) from Willamette was third in 128:23.22.
Lindberg bested the field in the 100-yard backstroke, as he took first in 53.60 seconds. Aries Valenzuela from GFU placed second in 54.02 seconds. Ash Kiel (So., Carson City, NV/Carson City HS) of Willamette was eighth in 1:02.13.
Wilhelmi placed second in the 200-yard freestyle as he touched out in 1:45.37. Also for Willamette, William LaDuca (So., Salem, OR/South Salem HS) placed seventh in 1:51.51. Zachary Martin from L&C won the 200 free in 1:42.74.
In the 400-yard individual medley, Davis of Willamette grabbed fifth place with a time of 4:39.70. Teammate Logan Copeland (Sr., Sparks, NV/Spanish Springs HS) was sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:03.41.
The Willamette men earned third place in both of the relays on Sunday. In the 200-yard medley relay, WU's team of LaDuca, Copeland, Lindberg, and Wilhelmi were timed at 1:39.39. PLU won in 1:36.42 and George Fox was second in 1:38.38. The Bearcats were represented by Lindberg, Copeland, Olmedo, and Wilhelmi in the 400-yard freestyle relay and they recorded a time of 3:16.90. PLU took first place in 3:13.94 and L&C was second at 3:15.59.
Several Bearcats registered quality results in the "B" finals on Sunday. LaDuca placed 10th overall and second in the "B" final of the 50-yard freestyle in 23.01 seconds. Moore was ninth overall and Olmedo finished 10th in the 200-yard freestyle, with Moore winning the "B" final in 1:49.49 and Olmedo taking second in 1:52.77. Ka'Olapa Masuko (Fy., Volcano, HI/Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii) of WU was 11th overall and third in the "B" final of the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:05.21.
Willamette will return to action on Friday, Jan. 12 when the Bearcats are set to return to Newberg to take on George Fox in an NWC dual meet. The action is set to begin at 6 p.m. PST.