Brown Deer, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's swimming & diving team finished second at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships (presented by Culver's) Saturday night at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.
UWL finished with 752 team points to place second while UW-Eau Claire took the league title with 848. UW-Stevens Point placed third (710) with UW-Whitewater fourth (487) and UW-Oshkosh fifth (282).
It is UWL's best finish since also placing second in 2019. The Eagles have placed third the last three years.
Blake Nelson won his second straight 100 freestyle on Saturday with a first-place time of 45.08.
The Eagles won their third straight 400 freestyle relay as Nelson,
Alex Starr,
Jesse Hammes and
Tyler Hartmann went 3:04.68. It is Nelson's third straight title in the 400 freestyle relay.
UWL had four of the top-seven finishers in the three-meter diving competition on Saturday.
Tony McNiff placed third (442.10 points) with
Evan Zimdars fifth (383.70),
Aanav Patel sixth (356.80) and
Joey Marchiando seventh (353.85).
The Eagles'
Zach Vinson placed second (1:54.24) in the 200 butterfly while
Caleb Jondle was fifth (1:57.13) and
Jonah Elfers seventh (2:03.24).
Vinson was also fourth (1:53.20) in the 200 backstroke with
Sean Gillett eighth (1:57.35).
Ben Collins finished third (2:03.21), Hartmann sixth (2:07.65) and
Davin Evans eighth (2:09.67) in the 200 breaststroke. Collins set a school record, breaking the record of 2:03.89 set by Adam Baryenbruch in 2021.
UWL's Nick Ellerd finished seventh (17:13.19) in the 1,650 freestyle on Saturday.
UWL returns to action Friday, February 28 at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Central Diving Regional at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
