Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's swimming and diving teams achieved significant success on the second day of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships at Schroeder Aquatic Center. The Blugold men's team secured three conference titles, enhancing their lead in the team standings, while the women's team claimed one title to stay competitive for a potential third consecutive team championship.

Senior Kadin Denner from Aurora, Colorado, and senior Ben Keller from Cedarburg, Wisconsin, both clinched individual WIAC titles for the men's team. Denner triumphed in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:34.34, marking his third consecutive victory in this event and his eighth overall WIAC title. Keller won the 200-yard individual medley in 1:50.65, achieving his third straight win in this category and his 11th career WIAC title.

The men's team also excelled in relay events with Adam Kamel from Minneapolis, Ian Olson from Chippewa Falls, Ben Keller, and Drew Testin from Mequon winning the 400-yard medley relay. Their combined effort resulted in a finishing time of 3:21.00, securing UW-Eau Claire's fourth consecutive conference title in this event.

On the women's side, junior Molly Hosack from Cedarburg came close to setting a new conference record as she won the WIAC title in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:56.51—just 0.07 seconds shy of breaking the existing record. This victory marked her second consecutive win in this event and her sixth career conference title.

Currently leading with 302 points are the Blugold men ahead of UW-La Crosse's 269 points. The women’s team stands second with 295 points behind UW-La Crosse who leads with 355 points.

The competition will continue on Friday with preliminaries starting at 10 a.m., followed by finals at 6:30 p.m.