By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Willamette University earned second place in the men's 300-yard backstroke relay during the Northwest Conference Relays hosted by Lewis & Clark College on Friday, October 27. The Bearcats took third place in the men's 500-yard freestyle relay and were third in the men's 300-yard medley relay.

In addition, the Willamette men's and women's swimming teams combined to grab second place in the mixed 200-yard freestyle relay and third place in the mixed 400-yard freestyle relay.

The Willamette men's team swam without key members Julius Wilhelmi (Sr., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS) and Kevin Olmedo (So., La Canada, CA/St. Francis HS). Both missed the NWC Relays due to an injury.

"We swam a very competitive meet today. With two of our men's team out, we were limited in our ability to field a full event lineup," Willamette Director of Swimming Brent Summers said. "Regardless, the men's team competed very well. I'm excited about how hard they competed and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's NWC Spring meet and beyond."

Bearcats who competed on the men's 300-yard backstroke team were Nicholas Moore (Fy., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake HS), Ash Kiel (So., Carson City, NV/Carson City HS), and Cole Lindberg (Jr., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake Christian Academy). Each swam 100 yards for a combined time of 2:59.42. The University of Puget Sound won the event in 2:42.55. George Fox University was third at 3:03.36.

In the men's 500-yard freestyle relay, which included four legs of 125 yards, the Bearcats placed third in 4:32.15. Swimming for Willamette were William LaDuca (So., Salem, OR/South Salem HS), Lindberg, Ethan Davies (So., Hong Kong/Discovery College), and Moore. Puget Sound took first place in the 500 free relay in 4:23.84.

Swimming for WU in the men's 300-yard medley relay were Lindberg, LaDuca, and Logan Copeland (Sr., Sparks, NV/Spanish Springs HS). Their combined time was 2:57.81, as they finished roughly two seconds out of second place. Puget Sound won the race in 2:51.93 and Lewis & Clark was second at 2:55.767.

The mixed 200-yard freestyle relay team for Willamette included Copeland and Ka'Olapa Masuko (Fy., Volcano, HI/Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii) from the men's team and Jacqueline Hall (Jr., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) and Tessa Ciatti (Fy., Bellingham, WA/Squalicum HS) from the women's team. They combined to finish the race in 1:40.39 for second place. Puget Sound won the event with a time of 1:36.20.

Willamette was third in the mixed 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:44.16. Swimming on the relay team were Moore and Davies from the men's team along with Lydia Schmitt (Fy., Olympia, WA/North Thurston HS) and Hall from the women's team. The Loggers from PS won the mixed 400 free relay at 3:38.97.

Puget Sound topped the men's team standings with a score of 200 points. Lewis & Clark was second at 154, with George Fox University in third place at 158. Willamette was fourth with 128 points, and Pacific University finished fifth with 28 points.

The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 28 at the NWC Sprints in McMinnville, Oregon. The meet, which will be hosted by Linfield University, is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. PDT.