By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Willamette University swimmers Cassie Tallman (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) and Malia Santos (Sr., Kailua-Kona, HI/Kealakehe HS) each set a school record and combined to help the Bearcats set a new school relay record, during the finals session on Saturday, Feb. 13 at the 2016 Northwest Conference Swimming Championships.
Tallman broke the previous record in the women's 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.02 in the championship finals. She placed fourth in the event. The record prior to Saturday was 1:07.27 by Annette Marinello during the preliminary heats of the NWC Championships in 2013.
Santos set the record in the women's 100-yard butterfly. She achieved a time of 58.91 seconds to break her own school record of 59.03, set at the 2015 NWC Championships. Santos placed fifth in the 100 butterfly on Saturday.
The other record broken by the Bearcats was in the women's 200-yard medley relay. Kiley Lin (Fr., Palo Alto, CA/Henry M. Gunn HS) started the relay, while Tallman swam second and Santos was third. Michaela Zuber (Sr., Sacramento, CA/Sheldon HS) swam the freestyle leg to complete the race.
Willamette's time of 1:49.35 in the 200 medley relay was good for fourth place and broke the existing WU record by nearly two seconds. The old mark was 1:15.28 by Zuber, Ashlyn Witherwax (So., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School), Santos and Tallman at the 2015 NWC Championships.
The relay record was earned in a tight finish for third through sixth place. Whitman College finished third in 1:49.01. Willamette was next, as the Bearcats edged out Whitworth University in fifth at 1:49.65 and University of Puget Sound in sixth at 1:49.70. Pacific Lutheran University won the event in 1:46.13.
Also competing for the Bearcats in championship finals in individual events on Saturday were Lin in two women's events and Alika Masei (Jr., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) in the men's 100-yard backstroke.
Lin took fourth place in the women's 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.74. Her time ranks third in WU history, trailing only the mark she set last night (57.88) as the first swimmer in the 400-yard medley relay and her time during Saturday's 100 backstroke prelims (58.11).
In addition, Lin placed eighth in the 100-yard butterfly, as she joined Santos in the championship final. Lin's time was 1:00.82.
Masei earned eighth place in the men's 100-yard backstroke with a time of 53.87 seconds. It was his third 100 backstroke of the day after competing in the prelims, plus a swim-off to determine the last berth in the championship final. Masei recorded a time of 53.42 in the prelims and 52.83 in the swim-off.
Consolation Finals
Witherwax won the consolation final in the women's 100-yard breaststroke to finish ninth overall. She touched out with a time of 1:07.79 to rank sixth all-time at Willamette.
Zuber took third place in the women's consolation final in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:00.43. She placed 11th overall. Her time is eighth on Willamette's all-time list. She also is ranked seventh all-time with a mark of 1:00.34 at the 2015 NWC Championships.
Leah Freeborn (Sr., Federal Way, WA/Todd Beamer HS) placed seventh in the consolation final and 15th overall in the women's 100-yard breaststroke. Her time on Saturday night was 1:10.42.
Josh Bumgarner (Jr., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) registered second place in the consolation final of the men's 400-yard individual medley in 4:19.20 to place 10th overall. Dan Aki (Jr., Union City, CA/James Logan HS) was eighth in the consolation final and 16th overall in the 400 I.M. with a time of 4:31.04.
In the men's 100-yard butterfly, Mark Yuvienco (So., San Jose, CA/Bellarmine College Prep) placed third in the consolation final at 52.37 seconds, while earning the sixth-fastest time in WU history. he finished in 11th place in the event. Andrew Lum (Sr., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) was eighth in the consolation race and 16th overall. Lum's time during the evening session was 54.07 seconds.
Jason Bayang (Jr., Wahiawa, HI/Hoala School) swam in back-to back consolation finals. He was eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke consolation final in 1:01.99, as he placed 16th overall. He then returned for the 100-yard breaststroke, and finished fifth in the consolation final in 54.85 seconds to earn 13th place overall.
Reuben White (So., Portland, OR/Westview HS) placed eighth in the consolation final of the men's 200-yard freestyle and took 16th place in the event. His time on Saturday night was 1:48.96.
Team Standings
After two days at the NWC Championships, Pacific Lutheran led the women's team standings by a large margin with 547 points. Whitman was second with 321 points and Whitworth was third at 296. Puget Sound held fourth place with 258 points, while Linfield College was fifth at 245, with Willamette in sixth at 212. Lewis & Clark College was seventh at 164 and Pacific University was eighth with 118 points.
In the men's team standings, Whitworth led by nearly 100 points with a score of 475. Pacific Lutheran followed in second with 378 points. Whitman was third at 374, with Linfield in fourth at 278, Puget Sound in fifth at 225, Willamette in sixth at 149, Pacific in seventh at 137, and Lewis & Clark in eighth with 102 points.
The final day of the NWC Championships will be held on Sunday (Feb. 14). Preliminary heats will begin at 10 am. (PST). The evening session will start at 5 p.m.
