Bearcats Compete at NWC Sprint Pentathlon

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

PARKLAND, WASH. -- The Willamette University swimming teams opened the 2013-14 season at the Northwest Conference Sprint Pentathlon on Friday, Nov. 1 at Pacific Lutheran University. Swimmers from throughout the NWC competed in 50-yard races in all four strokes, plus a 100-yard individual medley.

Malia Santos (So., (Kailua-Kona, HI/Kealakehe HS) placed in the top 13 in three events for the WU women's team. She finished 10th in the 50-yard butterfly in 28.02 seconds, took 11th in the 50-yard backstroke and was 13th in the 50-yard freestyle.

Erin Parkinson (Sr., Everson, WA/Ferndale HS) placed 12th for the Bearcats in the 50-yard breaststroke. Her time was 34.23 seconds. She also claimed 33rd place in the 50-yard freestyle in 26.89 seconds.

Also earning a top 20 result was Michaela Zuber (So., Sacramento, CA/Sheldon HS), who completed the 50-yard backstroke in 19th place with a time of 30.65 seconds.

Hope Nelson (Sr., Providence, RI/South Kingstown HS) of WU took 24th place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.67 seconds.

In addition, Jessica Beach (So., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) gained 28th place in the 50-yard breaststroke at 35.68 seconds. Nelson added a 35th place finish in the breaststroke in 36.21 seconds, while Lindsay Clark (So., Juneau, AK/Juneau_Douglas HS) was 36th in the breaststroke in 36.26.

The women's races featured between 115 and 124 swimmers. In the men's races, the field ranged from 91 to 96 athletes.

Alex Guffey (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) and Alika Masei (Fr., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) each registered two top 15 finishes for the Willamette men's team.

Guffey earned 10th place in the 50-yard butterfly in 24.86 seconds and was 14th in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.09. Masei took 12th place in the 50-yard backstroke at 26.68 seconds and garnered 15th place in the 50-yard breaststroke by finishing in 29.85 seconds.

Masei also placed 20th in the 100-yard individual medley with an overall time of 57.56 seconds. He was 29th in the 50-yard butterfly in 25.70 seconds and placed 39th in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.99. Guffey added 32nd place in the individual medley at 58.96 seconds and was credited with 36th place in the 50-yard backstroke in 28.08 seconds.

Chris Whitehead (Sr., Sherwood, OR/Sherwood HS) registered 27th place in the 50-yard breaststroke. He was timed at 30.47 seconds.

Joshua Bumgarner (Fr., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) placed 32nd in the 50-yard breaststroke at 30.79 seconds. Dan Aki (Fr., Union City, CA/James Logan HS) was 35th in the 50-yard butterfly at 25.89 and Zander Le Bel (Jr., Dallas, TX/Richardson HS) was 35th in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.85.

In the women's team standings, Pacific Lutheran earned first place with 296 points. Whitworth University was second at 288, with Whitman College in third at 225.5. Pacific University achieved fourth place with 135.5 points, while the University of Puget Sound was fifth at 106, Willamette was sixth at 37 and Linfield College was seventh with 7 points.

Whitman won the men's team title with 340.5 points. Whitworth finished second at 305 and Pacific Lutheran was third at 233.5. Puget Sound garnered fourth place with 115.5 points, Pacific was fifth at 47.5, Willamette was sixth at 29 and Linfield was seventh at 24.

The Bearcats will compete at the NWC Relays on Saturday (Nov. 2) at Puget Sound. Action is set to begin at 11 a.m. (PDT).