Titans To Perform At WIAC Swimming & Diving Championship
David Bain, Alex Jernberg, Jarrett Lieder, Ian Sewell and Matt Wilke are expected to receive high grades when UW-Oshkosh competes at this weekend's Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men's Swimming & Diving Championship (presented by Culver's) in Brown Deer.
Competition in the three-day meet begins Thursday (Feb. 14) and concludes Saturday (Feb. 16) at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center. Sessions will be held at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday (Feb. 15) and at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday.
UW-Eau Claire is serving as the host institution for the 57th men's championship that will be held concurrently with the 48th women's championship. Medals will be awarded to the top eight finishers in each of the individual events and to the individuals comprising the top three relay teams.
Bain is seeded 14th among his WIAC competitors in the 100-yard backstroke with a season-best time of 56.28 seconds and 16th in the 200-yard backstroke at 2:03.88.
Jernberg is seeded 12th among his league challengers in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:53.86.
Lieder is seeded second in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:53.58 and 14th in the 500-yard freestyle at 4:55.51.
Lieder was involved in the creation of four UW-Oshkosh records at last year's WIAC Championship. He established a pair of school bests with his second-place swim in the 1,650-yard freestyle. His overall time of 16:31.67 set a new record along with his time of 10:00.40 at the 1,000-yard mark of the race.
Lieder also formed a new UW-Oshkosh record with his preliminary time of 4:42.34 in the 500-yard freestyle. He went on to finish sixth in the event with a time of 4:42.55 while also placing ninth in the 200-yard freestyle with a swim of 1:45.13.
Lieder shared his remaining record-setting performance with teammates Sewell, Trevor Jacobs and Josiah Vandenberg. The group established a new UW-Oshkosh standard in the 800-meter relay with their fifth-place time of 7:11.15.
Wilke ranks as one of the top divers in the WIAC. He is seeded first in the 3-meter category with a score of 510.80 and second in the 1-meter section with a figure of 520.25. Wilke finished second off the 1-meter board at last year's league championship with 460.65 points and third off the 3-meter plank with 443.05.
Sewell returns to this year's championship after placing 14th in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.61 seconds and 15th in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:50.41 during last year's championship.
UW-Stevens Point strives for its 20th consecutive team title this weekend after scoring 905 points to claim its 22nd overall conference championship a year ago. The Pointers were followed in the five-team listings by second-place UW-Eau Claire with 711 points, third-place UW-La Crosse with 635.5, fourth-place UW-Whitewater with 583.5 and fifth-place UW-Oshkosh with 245.
UW-Stevens Point's 22 first-place finishes rank second behind UW-Eau Claire's 25 titles and ahead of UW-La Crosse's four. Former programs to win titles were UW-Platteville (4) and UW-Milwaukee (1).
This year's championship features nine student-athletes who have combined to win 12 individual and 20 relay first-place medals at previous league meets.
UW-Stevens Point's Reilly Donnellan is the most decorated returnee with eight relay titles. He has been a member of winning 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley relay teams three consecutive seasons. Donnellan added the 400-yard medley relay crown at last year's meet and a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 2016.
The Pointers' Grant Moser has won three straight titles in the 800-yard freestyle relay and back-to-back championships in both the 400-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relays. Jacob Aegerter contributed to the first-place 400-yard freestyle and 800-yard freestyle relay teams in 2017 and 2018, while adding 200-yard butterfly titles both years. Payton Kilian joined Moser and Aegerter on the 800-yard freestyle relay squad a season ago.
UW-Eau Claire's Dylan Glumac-Berberich is the two-time defending one-meter diving champion. He secured Diver of the Meet honors at last year's championship.
The Blugolds' Collin Miller was named the Swimmer of the Meet at the 2017 championship and has posted back-to-back first-place finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley. He also won the 100-yard freestyle in 2017.
UW-La Crosse's Jacob Burchfield was chosen the Swimmer of the Meet a season ago and was victorious in the 200-yard freestyle, while Hans Hover posted a first-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke.
UW-Whitewater's Zach Noll is the defending champion in the 1,650-yard freestyle.