By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University men's swimming team will compete at the 2024 Northwest Conference Swimming Championships from Thursday, Feb. 8 through Sunday, Feb. 11 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. Swimmers on the Willamette men's team will participate in individual events in all four strokes as well as freestyle relays and medley relays. All nine NWC member institutions will be represented.

The NWC Swimming Championships will begin with the 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay events on Thursday evening at 5 p.m. PST. On Friday, individual events will be the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, and 50-yard freestyle, with preliminary heats starting at 9:30 a.m. Consolation (A) finals and championship (B) finals will begin at 5 p.m. The 400-yard medley relays will be held on Friday evening.

Saturday's schedule of individual events features the 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, and 100-yard backstroke, with prelims at 9:30 a.m. (PST) and finals set for 5 p.m. The 200-yard freestyle relay will begin the evening session. On Sunday, individual events include the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, and 200-yard butterfly, with prelims at 9:30 a.m. and finals starting at 4 p.m. The 1,650-yard freestyle events will be held between Sunday's main sessions. The 400-yard freestyle relay will be the final event on Sunday evening.

Willamette enters the championships with several men's swimmers who will likely battle for spots in the championship finals or consolations finals. The leaders for the Bearcats are Logan Copeland (Sr., Sparks, NV/Spanish Springs HS), Cole Lindberg (Jr., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake Christian Academy), Nicholas Moore (Fy., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake HS), and Julius Wilhelmi (Sr., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS).

Copeland is ranked 13th in the NWC in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:08.80), is 18th in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.51), and is 23rd in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.80).

Lindberg holds the top time in the conference this season in the 100-yard butterfly at 51.01 seconds. He is ranked fifth in the 100-yard backstroke (53.60) and is 14th in the 200-yard individual medley (2:01.71).

In distance events, Moore owns the seventh-best time in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:42.49) and is ninth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:46.86). Moore also is ranked ninth in the 200-yard backstroke (2:07.01).

Wilhelmi holds rankings in the top six in the NWC for all three sprint events. He is fourth in the 50-yard freestyle (21.48) and is sixth in both the 100-yard freestyle (47.38) and the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.37).

The Willamette 200-yard freestyle relay team is ranked fifth in the conference (1:27.97) and will swim in the faster heat on Saturday evening.