By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Alayna Kisiday (Jr., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) and Tessa Ciatti (Fy., Bellingham, WA/Squalicum HS) each competed on Willamette University's winning 200-yard medley relay team, and both won two individual events, as the Bearcats defeated Southwestern Oregon Community College in women's swimming at the WU Natatorium on Saturday, Oct. 21.
Willamette won the women's competition 133-106 against the Lakers, as SWOCC fell to 0-1. Southwestern Oregon won the men's competition 146-74 to got to 1-0 on the season. It was an exciting meet with many close finishes for first place, second place, or third place.
The meet was an exhibition for Willamette, which will open its regular season with the NWC Relays at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, on Friday, Oct. 27. Action will get underway at 5 p.m. PDT.
Kisiday and Ciatti helped the Bearcats start the meet with a victory, as Willamette took first place in the 200-yard medley relay in 1:54.16. The Bearcats edged out SWOCC's top team, which finished second in 1:55.15. After Tatum Good (Jr., Scottsdale, AZ/Scottsdale Prep Academy) swam the first leg and Anna Hornbeck (Jr., Bend, OR/Bend HS) completed the second leg, Ciatti kept things going in the third leg and Kisiday swam the anchor leg.
In the individual events, Kisiday was the winner in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard individual medley. Kisiday finished first in the 200 freestyle in 2:05.04. Claire Eilers of SW Oregon was second at 2:06.57. In the 100-yard I.M., Kisiday registered a time of 1:05:34, as she won by a slim margin of 0.02. Taylor Hagedorn from SWOCC placed second in 1:05.36. WU took third and fourth in the 100 I.M. with Ciatto placing third in 1:06.26 and Good finishing fourth at 1:06.70.
Ciatti grabbed victories in the 50-yard butterfly and the 100-yard butterfly. Her time in the 50 butterfly was 27.90 seconds. Kisiday followed in second place at 28.39 seconds. Ciatti prevailed in the 100-yard freestyle in 1:03.05, as she forced Taylor Hagedorn of SWOCC to take second place in 1:04.73.
Also winning an individual event for the Bearcats were Good and Ana Kaldy (Fy., South Beach, OR/Newport HS). Good earned first place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:04.41. She was followed by teammate Leah Howell (Fy., Bremerton, WA/Central Kitsap HS) in second place at 1:04.77.
Kaldy won the 500-yard freestyle in 5:49.30. Suzanne Vesseur of SWOCC was second in 5:57.15.
