Hedman, Fritz and Kates Lead Bearcats on 2nd Day of Bruin Invitational

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

NEWBERG, Ore. -- Willamette University swimmers won three events, as a strong group of Bearcats competed in the "A" finals during the second day of the 2019 Bruin Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 24. Ben Hedman (Sr., Davis, CA/Davis HS) won two events, as he took first place in the men's 400-yard individual medley and the men's 200-yard butterfly. Ben Fritz (Jr., Los Gatos, CA/Leigh HS) earned first place in the men's 1,650-yard freestyle. Niki Kates (Sr., Truckee, CA/Forest Charter School) placed second in the women's 100-yard backstroke.

In the final team standings, the Willamette men claimed second place out of five teams, while the Willamette women placed fourth out of six teams.

Pacific Lutheran University took first place in the men's standings with 815 points points. Willamette was second with 654 points. Lewis & Clark College followed in third place at 605. George Fox University, which hosted the meet, placed fourth with 460 points. Pacific University was fifth with 116 points.

The women's standings were topped by Pacific Lutheran with 1,062.5 points. George Fox held second place at 575, while Lewis & Clark was four points behind the Bruins in third at 571. Willamette was fourth at 472, while Pacific was fifth at 130.5 and Mills College (Calif.) was sixth with 73 points.

During the individual events, the top eight swimmers from the prelims on Sunday morning competed in the "A" finals on Sunday evening, while swimmers who placed ninth through 16th in the prelims swam in the "B" finals. In addition, the 1,650-yard freestyle final was held without prelims during the morning session. In all other events on Sunday, the "A" finals determined the top eight places, while the "B" finals determined who placed 9th through 16th.

Hedman won the men's 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:18.57, as he led a 1-3-4 finish by the Bearcats in a relatively small field of six swimmers. Colin Hakeman (Sr., Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS) was third in 4:29.75 and Will Compton (Fy., Portage, MI/Portage Northern HS) placed fourth at 4:30.58. Hedman achieved first place in the men's 200-yard butterfly in 1:58.80.

Fritz prevailed in the men's 1,650-yard freestyle by completing 66 lengths of the pool in 16:59.70. He won by 5.79 seconds over Jared Toschi from PLU, who placed second in 17:05.49. Compton took third place in the 1,650 with a time of 17:17.33.

Kates was second in the women's 100-yard backstroke in 1:00.60. Kiyomi Kishaba of Pacific Lutheran won the "A" final in 100:08. Corinne Pierson (So., Port Townsend, WA/Port Townsend HS) of WU claimed fourth place in the 100 back in 1:01.30.

Other Top Women's Results for the Bearcats

Min Wei (So., Fushun, China/Cascade HS) placed third in the "A" final of the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:01.12. Cameron Taggesell (Jr., Sonoma, CA/Sonoma Valley HS) was fifth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:11.83.

Olivia Frenkel (Fy., Fairfield, CA/Angelo Rodriguez HS) attained fourth place in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:01.53 in the "A" final. Frenkel was seventh in the "A" final of the 50-yard freestyle, an event that began with 39 competitors during the prelims.

In the 200-yard butterfly, Grace Sheehan (Fy., St. Paul, MN/Highland Park HS) was fifth. She completed the "A" final in 2:28.16.

Jensine Rasmussen (Sr., Tacoma, WA/Stadium HS) took seventh place in the "A" final of the 400-yard individual medley. Rasmussen finished eighth in the 100-yard backstroke, as she joined Kates and Pierson in the "A" final.

Other Top Men's Results for the Bearcats

Fritz, in addition to winning the 1,650-yard freestyle, took third place in the 200-yard freestyle. His time in the "A" final was 1:48.70. Fritz of one of our Bearcats who competed in the "A" final of the 200, as Daniel Fang (Jr., Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Catholic HS) placed fifth in 1:51.08, Greg Wells (So., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS) was seventh in 1:53.03, and Alexander Hougan (Sr., Olympia, WA/Olympia HS) was eighth in 1:55.54. In addition, Robbie Daugherty (So., Reno, NV/Damonte Ranch HS) of Willamette won the "B" final in the 200 free in 1:51.68 for ninth place overall.

Derek Ludwig (Sr., Moraga, CA/Campolindo HS) was fourth and Fang was fifth in the "A" final of the 200-yard butterfly behind Hedman's winning finish. Ludwig was timed at 2:01.98, while Fang registered a time of 2:03.91.

Will Reeves registered sixth place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.04 seconds. Ben Nickell (Fy., Boulder, CO/Fairview HS) was eighth in the "A" final of the 100-yard breaststroke. His time in the final was 1:06.48. Hakeman achieved eighth place in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 18:14.54.