By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Ben Fritz (Jr., Los Gatos, CA/Leigh HS) of Willamette University set a two school records during the 1,650-yard freestyle as part of the final session at the 2019 Northwest Conference Swimming Championships on Sunday, Feb. 16 at the King County Aquatic Center. Fritz's time in the 1,650 freestyle met the NCAA Championships "B" cut.  Also on Sunday, Bearcat swimmers Will Compton (Fy., Portage, MI/Portage Northern HS), Ben Hedman (Sr., Davis, CA/Davis HS), Niki Kates (Sr., Truckee, CA/Forest Charter School), and Derek Ludwig (Sr., Moraga, CA/Campolindo HS) earned times on Willamette's top 10 lists in their respective events.

Fritz took fourth place in the men's 1,650-yard freestyle, while setting the Willamette record for the third year in a row with a new top time of 16:15.75. He broke his own prevous records of 16:22.00 at the 2019 NWC Championships and 16:30.34 at the 2018 NWC Championships. On Sunday, Fritz also set a new record in the 1,000-yard freestyle during the race, as he swam through the first 1,000 yards in 9:47.78. Last year, Fritz set the previous 1,000-yard record with a time of 9:54.46. Prior to last season the Willamette record for 1,000-yards was 9:59.84 by Brady Childs in 2000.

Compton registered sixth place in the men's 1,650 freestyle, as he finished just two places behind Fritz. Compton moved onto Willamette's top 10 lists in the 1,650 freestyle and the 1,000 freestyle during the race, as he achieved times of 16:38.05 in the 1,650 and 10:02.62 in the 1,000. Including Fritz's new records, Compton is fourth all-time at Willamette (trailing only Fritz) in the 1,650. Compton is listed sixth in the 1,000.

Willamette's Robbie Daugherty (So., Reno, NV/Damonte Ranch HS) joined Fritz and Compton as scorers for the Bearcats in the 1,650 freestyle. Daughtery placed 16th with a time of 17:35.03.

Kates placed sixth in the women's 200-yard backstroke, while adding a pair of times onto Willamette's top 10 list. Her time of 2:08.54 in the preliminary heats placed her sixth all-time for the Bearcats. In the championship final, she earned a time of 2:09.50 for 10th all-time at Willamette. In the consolation final of the women's 200 backstroke, Corinne Pierson (So., Port Townsend, WA/Port Townsend HS) placed third in 2:11.94 to finish 11th overall, while Jensine Rasmussen (Sr., Tacoma, WA/Stadium HS) took 16th in 2:17.21.

Hedman and Ludwig attained their top 10 times in the championship final of the men's 200-yard butterfly, which was a strong event for the Bearcats. Compton and Daniel Fang (Jr., Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Catholic HS) swam in the consolation final.

Ludwig took fifth place in the championship race with a time of 1:54.48 that moved him into seventh on WU's all-time list. Ludwig was timed at 1:54.98 in the prelims, a time that is now 10th all-time for the Bearcats. Hedman placed seventh in the championship final in 1:58.09, after recording a time of 1:55.13 in the prelims that ranked him 10th all-time. Ludwig's time in the final dropped Hedman to 11th on Willamette's list.

Compton placed 12th overall in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:59.68 in the consolation final. Fang completed the consolation race in 2:03.58, as he took 16th place.

Other swimmers competing for Willamette in the consolation finals on Sunday were Will Reeves (Fy., Kirkland, WA/Home Schooled) and Colin Hakeman (Sr., Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS) in the men's 200-yard backstroke, Olivia Frenkel (Fy, Fairfield, CA/Angelo Rodriguez HS) in the women's 100-yard freestyle, Alex Hougan (Sr., Olympia, WA/Olympia HS) in the men's 100-yard freestyle. Cameron Taggesell (Jr., Sonoma, CA/Sonoma Valley HS) in the women's 200-yard breaststroke, and Ben Nickell (Fy., Boulder, CO/Fairview HS) in the men's 200-yard breastroke.

Reeves placed 14th and Hakeman was 15th in the men's 200 backstroke. During the consolation final, Reeves registered a time of 2:02.83, while Hakeman touched out at 2:03.24. In the women's 100 freestyle, Frenkel moved up from 16th in the prelims to 13th in the finals on the strength of a consolation race time of 55:09. Hougan was 16th in the men's 100 freestyle with a time of 48.42 in the consolation final.

Taggesell's time in the consolation final of the 200 breaststroke was 2:33.36, as she placed 13th overall. In the men's 200 breaststroke, Nickell was clocked at 2:14.80 in the consolation finla, as he claimed 13th place.

"This weekend was a great end to the 2019-20 season. Both the women's team and the men's team swam incredibly all four days. I was very proud of how well the teams performed each day and to see all the hard work of the season pay off. I want to congratulate and thank our seniors. They have been invaluable to our program and they all had a great final conference meet."
— Willamette Head Coach Brent Summers

Whitworth earned the NWC men's team championship with 680.5 points. Linfield placed second with 544 points, with Whitman in third at 388, and Puget Sound in fourth at 368. Lewis & Clark held fifth place at 348.5, Pacific Lutheran was sixth at 332, Willamette was seventh at 281, George Fox was eighth at 191 and Pacific was ninth with 112 points.

The NWC women's team title was won by Whitman College with 718 points. Whitworth University was second with 549 points, and Pacific Lutheran University was third with 502 points. The University of Puget Sound followed in fourth place at 401, while Linfield College was fifth at 345 and George Fox University was sixth at 256. Lewis & Clark College was seventh at 220, Willamette was eighth at 174, and Pacific University was ninth with 102 points.