BROWN DEER, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's and women's swimming and diving teams are both in first place entering the final day of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships. The Blugold men and women both won multiple individual titles on Friday at Schroeder Aquatic Center to extend their lead atop the team standings.
The Blugold women have 627.50 points and lead the team standings by 53.50 over second-place UW-La Crosse. The Blugold men sit with 622 points, 69.5 points ahead of second-place UW-Stevens Point.
Kadin Denner (Jr. - Aurora, Colo.) had a night to remember for the UW-Eau Claire men. He set a new WIAC and school record in the 400-yard individual medley, finishing in 3:56.46 to beat the record that he set in the event last season. It was the second individual WIAC title of the meet and the fifth conference crown of his career. It was an NCAA B cut for both Denner and
Ben Keller (Sr. - Cedarburg, Wis.), who took second.
Zhander Rowley (So. - Janesville, Wis./Parker) picked up the first WIAC title of his career by prevailing in the 100-yard breaststroke. Rowley finished in 55.73 seconds to clinch his first conference title.
Blake Wallen (Fr. - Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) also captured the first WIAC championship of his career thanks to his first-place showing in the one-meter diving competition. Wallen scored a 479.75 to slightly edge teammate
Ben Koller (Sr. - Savage, Minn./Shakopee) for the conference crown. Both Wallen and Koller's scores were NCAA zone cuts.\
The Blugold women also had a conference champion in
Ella Weaver (Sr. - McFarland, Wis.), who captured the title in the 100-yard breaststroke. Weaver clocked in at 1:03.71 to win the event, which was an NCAA B cut.
Apart from their event winners, the Blugold men and women had a combined 13 competitors/relays finish in the top three of their respective event. The Blugolds swept the top three spots in multiple events.
UW-Eau Claire will look to finish strong when the four-day meet concludes on Saturday, February 17. The women are the defending conference champions, while the men are seeking their first WIAC title since 1999. Preliminaries begin at 10 a.m., while finals are set to begin at 5:45 p.m.
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