By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Min Wei (Sr., Fushun, China/Cascade HS) took first place in the women's 100-yard breaststroke and Julius Wilhelmi (So., Roseville, Ca/Woodcreek HS) won the men's 50-yard freestyle, as Willamette University's swimming teams competed against the College of Idaho and Southwestern Oregon Community College in a double-dual meet during Senior Day on Saturday, Jan. 29 at the WU Natatorium. WU, C of I, and SWOCC competed head-to-head in each event, but team scores were registered as three separate duals.
Dual results between Willamette and College of Idaho counted for both teams. The WU men's team defeated C of I, 110-64, and the Bearcat women's team outscored the Yotes, 126-60. The Willamette men improved to 2-5, while the Bearcat women's squad advanced its record to 3-4. Both of the C of I teams moved to 1-1.
Willamette and C of I participated in exhibition dual matches with SW Oregon CC, so those scores did not count on the win-loss records of the Bearcats and the Yotes. The SW Oregon men's team downed Willamette, 147-55, and defeated the Yotes, 152-33. SWOCC's women gained a 117-87 margin over WU and recorded a 152-33 rout against the College of Idaho.
Prior to the start of the match, Willamette honored the five seniors on this year's Bearcat swimming teams. Seniors for the Bearcats are Keaton Adams (Colorado Springs, CO/Doherty HS) and Robbie Daugherty (Reno, NV/Damonte Ranch HS) on the men's team, and Anna Jones (Silverdale, WA/North Kitsap HS), Maddie Khoury (Northridge, CA/Chaminade College Prep), and Wei on the women's team.
Wei won the women's 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:11.63. She grabbed first place by 1.73 seconds over Kim Zwinkels of SW Oregon, who placed second in 1:13.46. In the men's 50-yard freestyle, the winning time for Wilhelmi was 22.25 seconds. he on by one-half of a second, with Max Matthai from SWOCC in second place at 22.75 seconds.
Willamette earned second place in seven women's events and four men's events, including a tie for second in the men's 200-yard medley relay.
The WU women's team began the meet by taking second place in the women's 200-yard medley relay, as the Bearcats missed first place by just 0.06 behind SW Oregon. The Lakers won the race in 1:58.22, while the Bearcats attained a time of 1:58.28. Swimming on the medley relay team for Willamette were Tatum Good (Fy., Scottsdale, AZ/Scottsdale Prep Academy), Anna Hornbeck (Fy., Bend, OR/Bend HS), Wei, and Alayna Kisiday (Fy., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS).
SWOCC won the men's 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:37.35. Willamette and College of Idaho tied for second place at 1:42.46. The relay unit for the Bearcats featured Will Compton (Jr., Portage, MI/Portage Northern HS), Ben Nickell (Jr., Boulder, CO/Fairview HS), Cole Lindberg (Fy., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake Christian Academy), and Keaton Adams (Sr., Colorado Springs, CO/Doherty HS).
Finishing in second place in two women's individual events for the Bearcats were Kisiday and Good. Placing second in one women's individual event were Veronica Castille (Fy., Round Rock, TX/Cedar Ridge HS) and Sarah Jenner (Fy., Normandy Park, WA/Stanford Online HS).
Kisiday was second in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle. In the 50 free, Kisiday registered a time of 26.77 seconds, as she finished 0.33 behind the winner, Avalon Jones from College of Idaho. In the 100 free, Kisiday completed the race in 58.27 seconds. Good earned second place in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:24.43. LynDea Turner from SWOCC won the 200 I.M. in 2:22.70. Good attained a time of 1:05.16 in the 100-yard backstroke, trailing only Turner, who took first in 1:04.42.
Castille was second in the 1,000-yard freestyle in 12:25.71. Jenner took second place in the 200-yard freestyle at 2:08.97, as she missed first place by 1.90 seconds behind Isabel Carrillo from C of I, who won in 2:07.07.
For the Willamette men's team, second place individual finishes were claimed by Daugherty, Wilhelmi, and Compton. Daugherty was second in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:03.96. Wilhelmi almost won the 100-yard freestyle, missing by just 0.03, as he completed the race in 50.51 seconds. Abdulla Jamal of SWOCC won the 100 free in 50.48 seconds. Compton finished second in the 500-yard freestyle at 5:11.65.
The Bearcats will now prepare for the 2022 Northwest Conference Swimming Championships, which will be hosted by Willamette in Federal Way, Washington, from Feb. 10 through Feb. 13. All events will be held at the King County Aquatic Center.
