BROWN DEER, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's and women's swimming and diving teams both sit in first place halfway through the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships. The Blugolds won several more conference titles on Day 2 of the meet Thursday, and both squads have healthy leads in the team standings heading into the third day of competition.
The UW-Eau Claire women have 226 team points, well ahead of second-place UW-La Crosse at 141. The Blugold men have 248 team points and sit ahead of second-place UW-Stevens Point, which has 179.
The Blugold men surged into first place after entering the day in second.
Ben Keller (Sr. - Cedarburg, Wis.) and
Kadin Denner (Jr. - Aurora, Colo.) both won individual WIAC titles, and the 400-yard medley relay team also earned a conference crown to push UW-Eau Claire into first place overall.
Keller successfully defended his WIAC title in the men's 200-yard individual medley. He clocked in at 1:49.79 to win the fourth individual conference title of his career. Denner joined him atop the podium by winning the 500-yard freestyle. Denner, like Keller, finished off back-to-back conference titles in the event. He finished in 4:33.60 and earned the fourth individual WIAC crown of his career.
The men's 400-yard medley relay team of
Sam Ryf (Sr. - Berlin, Wis.),
Ian Olson (Sr. - Chippewa Falls, Wis.), Keller and
Alex Jorgenson (Sr. - Winona, Minn.) clocked in at 3:19.65 to win the conference title in the event.
The Blugold women entered the day tied for first place with UW-La Crosse, and pulled ahead with another strong day on Thursday.
Molly Hosack (So. - Cedarburg, Wis.) and
Sydney McGuine (Sr. - Huntley, Ill.) both won individual WIAC titles, and the Blugolds also picked up a relay championship.
McGuine earned the third individual WIAC championship of her career by prevailing in the 50-yard freestyle. She finished in 23.70 to earn her first conference title in the event. Hosack won the first individual WIAC title of her career by placing first in the 500-yard freestyle. Her time of 4:58.15 put her atop the podium and gave the Blugolds another conference champion.
The women's 400-yard medley relay team of McGuine,
Ella Weaver (Sr. - McFarland, Wis.),
Elaina Plonis (Jr. - Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) and
Kiara Bissen (Jr. - Madison, Wis./Memorial) posted a time of 3:48.81 to clinch the conference crown.
Apart from their event winners, the Blugolds also had seven competitors place in the top three of their events on Thursday.
The Blugolds will look to maintain their leads in the team standings when the action resumes on Friday, February 16 at Schroeder Aquatic Center. Preliminaries are set to begin at 10 a.m., with finals slated to start at 6:30 p.m.
