Wilhelmi Finishes Third in 50-yard Freestyle to Lead Bearcats at NWC Sprints

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

TACOMA, Wash. -- Julius Wilhelmi (Jr., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS) earned third place in the men's 50-yard freestyle, to go along with ninth place in the 50-yard butterfly, 19th in the 50-yard breaststroke, 21st in the 50-yard backstroke, and 22nd in the 100-yard individual medley to lead the Willamette University swimming teams at the 2022 Northwest Conference Sprints on Friday, Oct. 28 at Pacific Lutheran University. The Willamette men's and women's swimmers combined for a total of five top 10 finishes.

Events during the NWC Sprints included 50-yard races in all four strokes, plus the 100-yard individual medley. The number of entries varied between 76 and 82.

Wilhlemi's time in the men's 50-yard freestyle was 22.19 seconds, as he completed the race just 0.13 out of first. Zachary Washburn of Whitworth University won the event in 21.97 seconds and Garrett Sutton from Linfield University placed second in 21.98 seconds. In the men's 50-yard butterfly, Cole Lindberg (So., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake Christian Academy) from Willamette was sixth in 24.37 seconds and Wilhelmi was timed at 24.57 seconds in ninth. Lindberg missed fifth by just 0.01 and was 0.05 out of fourth. Benjamin Simpson of Linfield University won the 50-yard butterfly in 23.90 seconds.

Ben Nickell (So., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake Christian Academy) from Willamette placed eighth in the men's 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 29.40 seconds. Logan Copeland (Jr., Sparks, NV/Spanish Springs HS) was 12th for the Bearcats at 30.02 seconds, and Wilhelmi's time in 19th place was 30.44 seconds.

In the women's 50-yard freestyle, Alayna Kisiday (So., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) of Willamette took ninth place at 26.35 seconds. She ended the race just 0.01 out of eighth and 0.13 out of seventh. Kisiday registered a 14th place finish in the women's 100-yard individual medley with a time of 1:06.03.

Tatum Good (So., Scottsdale, AZ/Scottsdale Prep Academy) achieved 16th place for the Bearcats in the women's 50-yard backstroke. Her time was 31.19 seconds, just 0.04 out of 14 place. In the men's 50-yard backstroke, Wilhelmi was 21st at 27.71 seconds.

For Willamette in the women's 50-yard breaststroke, Kisiday earned 16th place in 35.21 seconds and Sarah Jenner (So., Normandy Park, WA/Stanford Online HS) tied for 17th in 35.29 seconds.

Lindberg was 18th in the men's 100-yard individual medley in 58.36 seconds. Wilhelmi placed 22nd in 58.78 seconds.

Other Top Results for the Bearcats

The men's 50-yard freestyle included Kevin Olmedo (Fy., La Canada, CA/St. Francis HS) in 20th place at 23.32 seconds and Copeland in 21sth place at 23.33 seconds.

Good took 22nd in the women's 50-yard breaststroke in 35.82 seconds. Jacqueline Hall (So., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) placed 31st in 36.57 seconds.

In the women's 50-yard butterfly, Kisiday placed 23rd at 29.51 seconds and Good finished 24th in 29.71 seconds.

Lindberg was 24th in the men's 50-yard breaststroke at 30.89 seconds and William LaDuca (Fy., Salem, OR/South Salem HS) was 31st at 31.48 seconds.

Kisiday's all-around performance also featured 26th place out of 79 swimmers in the women's 50-yard backstroke at 31.94 seconds.

In the men's 50-yard backstroke, Lindberg added a 26th place result at 27.94 seconds, while Copeland was 30th in 28.27 seconds.

Good was 30th in the women's 50-yard freestyle with a time of 27.61 seconds.

Results in the women's 100-yard individual medley included Good placing 33rd in 1:08.16 and Jenner claiming 35th place in 1:08.62.

Copeland was 34th in the men's 100-yard individual medley.

Team Standings

Linfield won the women's team title with a score of 287. Pacific Lutheran was second at 171, with the University of Puget Sound in third at 123.5. Whitworth placed fourth with 105.5 points, while George Fox University was fifth at 44, Pacific University was sixth at 30, and Willamette was seventh with 14 points.

In the men's team standings, Whitworth took first place with 232.5 points and Linfield was second with 172.5 points. Puget Sound placed third at 150, with George Fox in fourth at 85, Pacific Lutheran in fifth at 81, Willamette in sixth at 54, and Pacific did not score.

Willamette will compete at the NWC Relays on Saturday, Oct. 29. The meet will be hosted by Puget Sound starting at 11 a.m. (PDT).