By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Five Willamette University swimmers each took second place in an individual event during the Bearcats' double-dual with the College of Idaho and Southwestern Oregon Community College on Saturday, Jan. 11 at the WU Natatorium. Willamette's swimmers who grabbed second place were Ben Fritz (Jr., Los Gatos, CA/Leigh HS) in the men's 1,000-yard freestyle, Surya Lee (So., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) in the women's 100-yard freestyle, Jensine Rasmussen (Sr., Tacoma, WA/Stadium HS) in the women's 400-yard individual medley, Britt Shunn-Mitchell (Jr., Logan UT/Logan HS) in the women's 1,000-yard freestyle, and Min Wei (So., Fushun, China/Cascade HS) in the women's 100-yard breaststroke.
Dual meet results between Willamette and College of Idaho counted for the Bearcats and the Yotes. Both of Willamette's teams fell to 0-4 on the season, while the College of Idaho men's team moved to 1-0 and the women's team from C of I evened its record at 1-1. Willamette and College of Idaho were competing in exhibition matches with SW Oregon CC, so those scores did not count on the win-loss records of the Bearcats or the Yotes.
Fritz took second place in the men's 1,000 freestyle with a time of 10:38.37. The event was won by Arthur Marques of SW Oregon in 10:00.30. In the women's 1,000 freestyle, Shunn-Mitchell placed second in 12:46.64.
Lee finished second in the women's 100 freestyle by completing the race in 1:01.40. First place went to Maya Murphy from College of Idaho with a time of 55.42 seconds. Rasmussen was second in the women's 400 I.M., as she registered a time of 5:15.55. Aunika Torres from C of I won the 400 I.M. in 5:04.31.
In the women's 100-yard breaststroke, Wei finished second in 1:12.13. She was 0.93 out of first place, which went to Caroline Yannelli from C of I, who prevailed in 1:11.20. Wei held off Torres from C of I by 0.35. Torres placed third with a time of 1:12.48.
Willamette earned second place in the women's 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:52.92. Swimming for the Bearcats were Lee, Jordan Edner (Fy., Colorado Springs, CO/Doherty HS), Wei and Gwynneth Fritz (Fy., Los Gatos, CA/Leigh HS). SW Oregon CC won the women's 200 free relay at 1:44.28. College of Idaho placed third in 1:53.96, as the Yotes completed the race just over one second after the Bearcats.
Will Compton (Fy., Portage, MI/Portage Northern HS), Derek Ludwig (Sr., Moraga, CA/Campolindo HS), and Greg Wells (So., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS) each placed third in an individual event for the Bearcats.
Compton was third in the men's 200-yard freestyle, as he registered a time of 1:52.07. Andrew Clifford from College of Idaho won the event in 1:43.69, and Alejandro Robles Ruiz of Southwestern Oregon CC was second in 1:48.26.
Ludwig claimed third place in the men's 100-yard butterfly with a time of 54.99 seconds. The top three swimmers in the men's 100 fly finished within a span of 1.85 seconds, with Jacob Klassen winning the race for College of Idaho in 53.14 seconds and James Camp of SWOCC placing second in 53.78 seconds.
In the men's 100-yard freestyle, Wells took third in 52.97 seconds. Nathan James from Southwestern Oregon won the event in 51.07 seconds, while Landon Stalnaker, also from SWOCC, was second in 52.17 seconds. The top three results were separated by 1.90 seconds.
The Willamette men's team earned third place in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:34.97 seconds, just 0.01 out of second place, which went to Southwestern Oregon in 1:34.96. The winning relay unit also was from SWOCC with a time of 1:30.75. Swimming for WU in the 200 free relay were Alex Hougan (Sr., Olympia, WA/Olympia HS), Wells, Jacob Hulti (Sr., Astoria, OR/Astoria HS), and Fritz.
Next on the Bearcats' schedule is a Northwest Conference dual meet against George Fox University on Friday, Jan. 17 at the WU Natatorium. Meet time is set for 6 p.m. (PST). The Bearcats also will compete at home on Saturday, Jan. 18 against Lewis & Clark College at 1 p.m. (PST).