ROCHESTER, Minn. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's and women's swimming and diving teams competed at the MIAC vs. WIAC meet on Saturday, taking part in a unique format that allowed student-athletes to compete alongside swimmers from other schools within their respective conferences. In the individual events, the Blugold men's team captured the team title with 1,680 points while the women's team placed second with 1,358 team points.
The women's swimming team recorded several strong individual performances, led by Anwen Smith, who won the 100-yard freestyle in 53.52 seconds and placed second in the 100-yard butterfly in 57.79 seconds. Ava Radtke captured the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:27.04, while Amber Winter finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:06.45. Amanda Hyland led a Blugold sweep of the top three spots in the 500-yard freestyle, winning in 5:12.65, followed by Emma Vogen in 5:14.40 and Megan Chapman in 5:15.30.
UW-Eau Claire also had a strong showing in the distance and individual medley events. Vogen won the 400-yard individual medley in 4:41.71, narrowly ahead of teammate Linnea Brandt, who finished second in 4:41.84. Vogen also placed second in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:13.11, while Reagan Jimenez finished third in 2:14.59. In the 200-yard freestyle, Jayne Satre placed second in 1:57.62, followed closely by Erika Schroeder in third at 1:57.87. Claire Lemke added second-place finishes in the 100-yard backstroke in 59.60 seconds and the 200-yard backstroke in 2:06.97.
The men's team also recorded multiple event victories. Derek Stadheim won both the 200-yard freestyle in 1:41.85 and the 500-yard freestyle in 4:41.16. Drew Testin captured the 50-yard freestyle in 21.26 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle in 46.77 seconds. Grant McElwain won the 100-yard backstroke in 51.31 seconds and the 200-yard backstroke in 1:52.74, while Emmett Botten claimed first in the 200-yard butterfly in 1:55.45 and the 100-yard butterfly in 49.55 seconds.
Additional first-place finishes came from Henry Botten, who won the 200-yard individual medley in 1:56.29. The Blugolds also showed their depth in the freestyle events, with Carter O'Leary finishing second in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:42.34 and Jacob Bisek placing third in 1:43.53. In the 500-yard freestyle, O'Leary added a second-place finish in 4:41.27.
In men's diving, Tait Johnson won the 1-meter board with 238.75 points, while Charlie Nohner finished fourth with 215.80 points. Nohner then placed second on the 3-meter board with 218.90 points, followed by Johnson in fourth with 191.45 points.
Women's diving was led by Sierra Jones, who placed 10th on the 1-meter board with a score of 183.40, followed by Julia Schluter in 11th with 175.00 points. On the 3-meter board, Schluter finished seventh with a score of 192.10, while Jones placed 10th with 170.70 points.
The Blugolds will return to action Oct. 30-31 against UW-La Crosse. Swimming events are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 30, followed by diving on Saturday, Oct. 31.
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