Linfield Downs Bearcats in Men's and Women's Swimming

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

McMINNVILLE, ORE. -- Linfield College defeated Willamette University in Northwest Conference men's and women's swimming on Friday, Feb. 4 on the Linfield campus. The Wildcats won the women's competition, 132-63, and also took the win in the men's events, 123-32.

Willamette's women took first place in three individual events, plus the 200-yard freestyle relay. The first win was earned by Erin Parkinson (Fr., Everson, WA/Ferndale HS) when she prevailed in the 1,000-yard freestyle at 11:35.32. Lauren Ballinger (So., Wenatchee, WA/Wenatche HS) provided the next two wins for the Bearcats by taking first place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.66 seconds and finishing first in the 100-yard freestyle in 57.22 seconds.

The Bearcats' victory in the 200 free relay was started by Kayla Kosaki (So., Hilo, HI/Waiakea HS). Chelsea Ibarra (Sr., Santa Cruz, CA/Georgiana Bruce Kirby Prep) swam the second leg and was followed by Parkinson. Ballinger supplied the anchor leg, as WU registered a time of 1:50.10.

Linfield's women claimed first place in the 200-yard medley relay in 2:00.23 to open the meet. The Wildcats also triumphed in six individual events, with Megan Sandall winning two races. She registered a victory in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:21.38 and was first in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:13.52.

Sandall's win in the 100-yard breaststroke was earned in a close race, with the top four swimmers clocking in less than two seconds apart. Sandall was followed by Parkinson, who took second for WU in 1:14.39. Rachel Codd of LC was third with a time of 1:14.97 and Susan Barnes (Fr., Santa Fe, NM/Desert Academy) of Willamette was fourth at 1:15.28.

Koetje placed second for WU in the 100-yard butterfly. Her time was 1:04.46, as she edged out Natalie Groat of Linfield, who placed third in 1:04.57. Cat Nakamura won the event with a time of 1:02.97. Kayla Kosaki (Jr., Arlington, WA/Stanwood HS) swam the 100-yard backstroke in 1:10.71, finishing behind only Kim Smith, who took first place at 1:07.54.

Chris Whitehead (Fr., Sherwood, OR/Sherwood HS) achieved a win for the Willamette men's team in the 100-yard freestyle. He completed the race in 54.19 seconds for a narrow margin in front of Linfield's Conor Colahan, who finished next in 54.21 seconds. Thomas Gilmore of Linfield was third at 54.88 seconds.

Whitehead earned second place in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:08.48. Tyler Huynh won the event for Linfield, as he claimed a time of 1:06.69.

Other second place finishes for the Bearcat men's team were achieved by Ian McGahan (So., Tacoma, WA/Stadium HS) in the 500-yard freestyle and by Austin Williams (Fr., University Place, WA/Curtis HS) in the 1,000-yard freestyle.

Three Wildcats won two events apiece in the men's competition. Marc Pereira took first place in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:45.11. He was first in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:05.14 while swimming unopposed. Sean Iwamasa swam to victories in the 50-yard freestyle (24.09 seconds) and the 100-yard butterfly (56.03 seconds). Lee Rivers attained wins in the 200-yard individual medley (2:07.08) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:11.25).

It was the final dual match of the season for Linfield and Willamette. Linfield's women improved to 3-5, 2-5 in the NWC, while the Wildcat men's team went to 3-7 overall, 1-6 in the NWC. The Willamette women's team moved to 1-8 overall, 0-7 in the NWC, while the WU men's squad fell to 0-8 overall, 0-7 in the conference.

Up next for the Bearcats will be the Northwest Conference Championships on Feb. 25-27. The meet will be take palce at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Ore.