Northwest Conference Championships - Day 2

Pacific U.

Pacific swimmers once again used the conference championship to re-write the record book Saturday, breaking seven records, capped by a second place finish by Allison Clark (Fr., Keizer, Ore.) at the Northwest Conference Championships at the King County Aquatic Center.

A day after becoming the Boxers' first ever NWC women's individual champion in the 200-yard individual medley, Clark posted a record effort in the 400-yard individual medley, finishing second in a time of 4:43.75.  She shaved three seconds off of her own record mark set at the Nov. 21 Northwest Invitational.

Clark also had a role in shattering Pacific's record in the 800-yard freestyle relay.  The team of Kristin Favillo (So., Caldwell, Idaho), Becky Hattersley (So., Clancy, Mont.), Eileen Bringman (Jr., Cleveland, Ohio) and Clark finished fourth with a time of 8:14.99, well eclipsing the former mark of 8:26.09 set last year.  The record efforts allowed Pacific to stay in sixth place in the team competition with 169 points.

On the men's side, it was Dylan Cramer (Fr., Caldwell, Idaho) leading four record efforts.  Cramer finished third in the 100-yard backstroke in 54.92 seconds, breaking the previous record of 56.90 seconds set at last year's championships by Sam Watanuki.  Cramer went on to finish eighth in the 200-yard freestyle, clocking a time of 1:49.78.  Brandan Mantei (Jr., Canby, Ore.) finished seventh in the event, clocking 1:48.44.  The men enter the third day of competition in eighth place with 172 points, just nine points behind Pacific Lutheran and 10 behind Lewis & Clark.

Luke Fuller (Jr., Lake Oswego, Ore.) put together a record effort in the 100-yard breaststroke, winning the "B" final with a time of 1:01.59.  That broke the previous record of 1:03.53 set by Mantei last season. Kai Seixas (Sr., San Pedro, Calif.) finished just behind in 14th place in 1:04.25.

Both swimmers had roles in a pair of record-setting men's relays.  The 200-yard medley relay team of Cramer, Fuller, Ben Griffin (Jr., Tacoma, Wash.) and Seixas finished eighth in 1:45.93, beating the record of 1:46.33 set in 2007.  The 800-yard freestyle relay team of Scott Kimura (Jr., McMinnville, Ore.), Seixas, Cramer and Mantei finished fourth in 7:32.73, beating the previous mark of 7:38.80 set in 2009.

Nicole Koch (Fr., Longmont, Colo.) provided the seventh record of the day, lowering her own mark in the 100-yard butterfly by two seconds with a ninth place finish time of 1:01.98.

Bringman was Pacific's other "A" final qualifier, finishing seventh in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:03.33. Two other Pacific women made the "B" finals.  Julie Garner (Jr., Burns, Ore.) was 14th in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:14.44 and Cherice Cochrane (So., Beaverton, Ore.) was 15th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:06.24.  Fuller also added a "B" final on the men's side, placing 13th in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:01.96.

The three-day championships will conclude on Sunday with preliminaries beginning at 10 a.m. and finals beginning at 5 p.m. Events to be contested include the 1,650-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard freestyle relay.