By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
NEWBERG, Ore. -- Anna Hornbeck (Jr., Bend, OR/Bend HS) of Willamette University won the women's 200-yard breaststroke on the first day of the Bruin Invitational, hosted by George Fox University, on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the Chehalem Parks/Recreation Aquatic Center. Hornbeck's individual win helped the Bearcats end the day in second place in the women's team standings.
Pacific Lutheran University topped the standings with 384 points for a 30-point margin. Willamette followed in second at 354 and George Fox was third at 312. Lewis & Clark College was fourth with 238 points. Pacific University held fifth place with 175 points. The Bruin Invitational will conclude on Sunday, Dec. 3, with preliminary heats at 10 a.m. PST and finals at 4 p.m.
Hornbeck grabbed first place in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:26.81. Makenzie Chan-Orcutt from Pacific Lutheran took second place in 2:29.27, and Sarah Jenner (Jr., Normandy Park, WA/Stanford Online HS) of Willamette was third at 2:30.67.
Alayna Kisiday (Jr., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) of WU finished second in the 100-yard freestyle and teammate Tessa Ciatti (Fy., Bellingham, WA/Squalicum HS) was second in the 200-yard individual medley. Kisiday's time in the 100 freestyle was 54.77 seconds. She was 0.42 behind Kate Milne of L&C, who won the event in 54.35 seconds. Ciatti was timed at 2:16.35 in the 200 I.M., as she held off Riley Maher from PLU, who placed third in 2:16.59. Riley Parker of George Fox won the 200 I.M. in 2:12.78.
Ciatto also provided the Bearcats with third place in the 100-yard butterfly, as she completed the race in 1:00.18. Tatum Good (Jr., Scottsdale, AZ/Scottsdale Prep Academy) of Willamette was third in the 200-yard backstroke at 2:12.42.
The Bearcats qualified for a total of 11 berths in the "A" finals of Saturday's six individual events. In addition, several Bearcats competed in the "B" finals. Lydia Schmitt (Fy., Olympia, WA/North Thurston HS) placed ninth overall in the 100-yard freestyle by winning the "B" final in 55.72 seconds. Her time would have been fourth in the "A" final.
Willamette teams placed second and fourth in the 400-yard medley relay. The team of Leah Howell (Fy., Bremerton, WA/Central Kitsap HS), Hornbeck, Ciatti, and Kisiday was second out of 10 teams with a time of 4:04.35. Willamette's group of Good, Jenner, Schmitt, and Jacqueline Hall (Jr., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) finished fourth in 4:13.55. Pacific Lutheran's team of Annika Eisele, Makenzie Chan-Orcutt, Jessica Ordaz, and Emma Gassman won the 400 medley relay in 4:00.14.
WU placed third out of 11 teams in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The time registered by the Bearcats was 1:41.71. The relay unit included Howell, Schmitt, Ciatti, and Kisiday. PLU's squad for Makenzie Chan-Orcutt, Sidney Chan-Orcutt, Eisele, and Ordaz took first place with a time of 1:40.11. L&C was second in 1:41.44. just 0.31 in front of Willamette.
