BROWN DEER, Wis. (
www.blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire swim and dive teams hit the road Wednesday as the 2024 Wisconsin intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships got underway at the Schroeder Aquatic Center. After five events, both the Blugold women's team sits tied for first with UW-La Crosse at 74 points, and the men's squad sits narrowly behind in second with 114 points.
Ben Koller (Sr. – Savage, Minn./Shakopee) and
Blake Wallen (Fr. – Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) got the Championship week started for UW-Eau Claire with a first-place finish from Koller and a third-place finish from Wallen in the 3-meter men's diving.
Brett Farmer (Sr. – Antigo, Wis.) added points to the squads' overall total with an 11
th place finish in his first career postseason diving event.
A night full of relays capped off day one as the Blugolds captured top-3 honors in all four relay events. On the women's side, the team of Syndey McCollor (Sr. – Saint Paul, Minn./Irondale),
Grace Pidde (Sr. – Rockton, Ill./Boylan Catholic),
Grace Schnabl (So. – New Berlin, Wis./Brookfield Central), and
Molly Hosack (So. – Cedarburg, Wis.) set the WIAC Championship women's 800-yard freestyle relay meet record with their time of 7:36.30 and a first-place finish. In the women's 200-yard medley,
Sydney McGuine (Sr. – Huntley, Ill.),
Ella Weaver (Sr. – McFarland, Wis.),
Zoe Rylander (Sr. – Roseville, Minn./Mounds View), and
Kiara Bissen (Jr. – Madison, Wis./Vel Phillips Memorial) earned a second-place finish with a 1:44.17, coming up just 0.04 seconds short of the top time (1:44.13).
On the men's side,
Sam Ryf (Gr. – Berlin, Wis.),
Ben Keller (Sr. – Cedarburg, Wis.),
Alex Jorgenson (Sr. – Winona, Minn.), and
Evan Schroeder (Jr. – Shakopee, Minn.) were also crowned WIAC Champions with their first-place finish in the men's 800-yard freestyle relay. During the men's 200-yard medley relay,
Sam Ryf,
Ian Olson (Sr. – Chippewa Falls, Wis.),
Ben Keller, and
Evan Bushko (Fr. – Gilbert, Ariz./Desert Vista) placed third amongst the five competing relays with a time of 1:30.92. The men's race was close as well as the Blugolds fell to third by just 0.1 seconds of second place and 0.58 seconds of first place.
The Blugolds will be back at the Schroeder Aquatic Center on Thursday, February 15
th for day two of the WIAC Championships with more swimming and diving on deck beginning at 10 a.m. with afternoon prelims. Heat sheets, video, and final scores can be found at the
WIAC Swimming & Diving Championships website.
