Kates Breaks Willamette Record in 200-yard I.M. at NWC Championships

By Timothy Walsh, Athletics Communications Writer

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Niki Kates (Sr., Truckee, CA/Forest Charter School) set a new Willamette University record in the 200-yard individual medley, while Ben Fritz (Jr., Los Gatos, CA/Leigh HS) posted the second-fastest time in Bearcat history in the 500-yard freestyle, as the 2020 Northwest Conference Swimming Championships continued on Friday, February 14 at the King County Aquatic Center.

Kates' time of 2:09.26 in a 200 I.M. preliminary heat broke the previous Willamette record of 2:10.25, set by Cassie Tallman in February 2017. In addition to setting a new school record on Friday, Kates also earned a fourth place finish in the 200 I.M. championship final with a time of 2:10.77, which is good for seventh in the Bearcat records. Kelli Callahan of the University of Puget Sound won the race with a time of 2:05.69. Claire Cranch from Pacific Lutheran University was second at 2:09.96, and Whitman College's Bella White placed third at 2:09.11.

In the 500-yard freestyle preliminary heats, Fritz nearly set a Willamette record of his own with a time of 4:37.53. In the championship final, Fritz placed eighth at 4:43.95. Dylan Reimers of UPS won the race in 4:32.73.

Willamette also recorded strong times in the 400-yard medley races. The men's 400-yard medley team, including Will Compton (Fy., Portage, MI/Portage Northern HS), Ben Nickell (Fy., Boulder, CO/Fairview HS), Derek Ludwig (Sr., Moraga, CA/Campolindo HS), and Fritz, posted the second-fastest time in Bearcat history, at 3:31.44. Willamette's time was good for seventh in the race, which was won by Whitworth University in 3:24.15.

Meanwhile, the Willamette women's 400-yard medley team achieved its fourth-fastest time ever, at 4:02.23. Swimming on the relay for the Bearcats were Corinne Pierson (So., Port Townsend, WA/Port Townsend HS), Min Wei (So., Fushun, China/Cascade HS), Kates, and Olivia Frenkel (Fy., Fairfield, CA/Angelo Rodriguez HS). Whitworth placed first in 3:51.62.

Frenkel, Ludwig, and Ben Hedman (Sr., Davis, CA/Davis HS) each earned points for the Bearcats in the consolation finals. Frenkel finished fifth in the consolation final of the women's 500-yard freestyle, while Ludwig and Hedman placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the consolation final of the 200-yard individual medley.

Willamette finished the day in seventh place in the men's team standings with 102 points. Whitworth owned first place with 245.5 points, while Linfield College was second with 162 points. Whitman was third at 138, followed by Pacific Lutheran at 134, Puget Sound at 125, and Lewis & Clark College at 109.5. George Fox University was eighth with 83 points, and Pacific University was ninth at 58.

In the women's team standings, Whitman held first place with 248 points, and Whitworth was second with 186 points. Pacific Lutheran was third at 184, with Puget Sound fourth at 168, George Fox in fifth at 107, Linfield in sixth at 99, and Lewis & Clark in seventh at 92. Willamette was eighth at 67 points, with Pacific in ninth at 64.

The NWC Championships will continue through Sunday, February 16. On Saturday, preliminary heats will be held at 9 a.m. (PST), with the championship and consolation finals starting at 6 p.m. On Sunday, prelims will begin at 9 a.m., while the championship and consolation finals will start at 5 p.m.