Lindberg Places 2nd in 100 Back, Masuko 4th in 100 Breast at NWC Champs
Federal Way, Wash. - Cole Lindberg took second place in the 100-yard Backstroke and seventh in the 100-yard Butterfly, while Ka'olapa Masuko raced to fourth place in the 100-yard Breaststroke on Day 3 of the NWC Championships. Paul Keith was the other individual swimmer to score points for Willamette, taking 14th in the 200-yard Freestyle, as the Bearcats finished the day in seventh place overall.
Lindberg cut over a second off his prelim time to move up four spots and take 2nd place in the 100 Back with his time of 51.53. He also improved on his morning time in the 100 Fly, finishing in 50.21 to earn seventh place.
Masuko was able to hold his seed in the 100 Breast, swimming just off his morning time in the finals, but racing to fourth in the event. Keith jumped up two spots from his seeding after prelims to finish in 14th in 1:48.24, more than a half-second better than his prelim time.
The relay team of Lindberg, Keith, Ethan Davies, and Masuko took sixth place in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay, moving up two spots from their seeded position. The other relay on the day was the 200-yard Medley that finished up in the morning with the three teams competing who were not able to swim the event on Thursday. The Willamette team of Nicholas Moore, Masuko, Lindberg, and Kevin Olmedo took fifth in that event with a time of 1:37.53.
Willamette currently sits in seventh place with 152 points, behind Pacific Lutheran University's 178, and ahead of George Fox University's 134. The final day of competition is scheduled for Sunday, February 16th, with prelims starting at 9:30 am and finals set for 4:00 pm.