Julius Wilhelmi (Sr., Roseville, Calif./Woodcreek High School)
Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director of Communications
NEWBURGH, Ore. — Willamette University men’s swimming team takes third place on day two of the Bruin Invitational as the Bearcats finish second in the final standings Sunday, Dec. 3, at the Chehalem Parks/Recreation Aquatic Center. won over. Julius Wilhelmi (Sr., Roseville, Calif./Wood Creek High School), Cole Lindberg (Junior, Moses Lake, Wash./Moses Lake Christian Academy), Nicholas Moore (Year, Moses Lake High School, Moses Lake, Wash.) brought victory. Wilhelmi took first place in the 50-yard freestyle, Lindberg won the 100-yard backstroke and Moore took first place in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Host George Fox University won the men’s team with 809 points. Willamette was second with 632.5 points, and Lewis & Clark College was third with 588.5 points. The Pioneers narrowly defeated Pacific Lutheran University, which placed fourth with 586 points. Pacific University did not participate on the second day and finished in 5th place with 17 points.
Wilhelmi’s winning time in the 50-yard freestyle “A” final was 21.48 seconds. George Fox’s Levi Gibson took second in 21.67 seconds. Lindberg took third place for the Bearcats with a time of 22.51 seconds. WU’s Kevin Olmedo (So., La Cañada, Calif./St. Francis HS) was sixth in 22.51 seconds.
Moore completed the 1,650-yard freestyle with a margin of 14.45 seconds and a time of 17 minutes, 42.49 seconds. L&C’s Aidan Ringel took second in 17:56.94, and Willamette’s Ethan Davis (Hong Kong Discovery College) took third in 128:23.22.
Lindberg won the 100-yard backstroke in 53.60 seconds, the best performance in the field. GFU’s Aries Valenzuela took second place with a time of 54.02 seconds. Willamette’s Ash Keel (Carson City, Nev., So/Carson City HS) was eighth with a time of 1:02.13.
Wilhelmi took second place in the 200-yard freestyle, touching out in 1:45.37. Also for Willamette, William Laduca (South Salem High School, Salem, Ore.) took seventh place with a time of 1:51.51. L&C’s Zachary Martin won the 200 free in 1:42.74.
In the 400-yard individual medley, Willamette’s Davis placed fifth with a time of 4:39.70. Her teammate Logan Copeland (senior, Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs High School) placed sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:03.41.
The Willamette boys placed third in both relays Sunday. In the 200-yard medley relay, WU’s team of Laduca, Copeland, Lindberg and Wilhelmi ran a time of 1:39.39. PLU won with a time of 1:36.42 and George Fox took second with a time of 1:38.38. The Bearcats were represented in the 400-yard freestyle relay by Lindberg, Copeland, Olmedo and Wilhelmi, with a time of 3:16.90. PLU took first place with a time of 3:13.94, and L&C took second place with a time of 3:15.59.
Several Bearcats had quality results in Sunday’s “B” final. Laduca placed 10th overall and second in the 50-yard freestyle “B” final with a time of 23.01 seconds. In the 200-yard freestyle, Moore placed 9th overall and Olmedo placed 10th. In the “B” final, Moore won with a time of 1:49.49 and Olmedo took second with a time of 1:52.77. Kaolapa Masco (Volcano, Hawaii/Kamehameha Schools Hawaii), a women’s college athlete, placed 11th overall and third in the 100-yard breaststroke “B” final with a time of 1:05.21.
Willamette is scheduled to return to action on Friday, Jan. 12, when the Bearcats are scheduled to return to Newburgh to take on George Fox in an NWC dual match. The action is set to begin at 6pm PT.