Nygaard Wins 100 Breaststroke with Faculty Report at WIAC Championships; Relay Wins Crown; UWL Leads Championships

Men’s Swimming and Diving | 2/20/2026 10:04:00 PM

Brown Deer, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse males’s swimming & diving group leads after the third day of competitors on the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships (introduced by Culver’s) Friday evening on the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.

The Eagles have 597.0 group factors with UW-Eau Claire second with 562.0. UW-Stevens Point is third with 473.0 adopted by UW-Whitewater fourth with 328.0 and UW-Oshkosh fifth with 228.0.

Preston Nygaard grew to become the primary swimmer for UWL to win the 100 breaststroke since Matt Diehl in 2010 with a college file time of 54.57 on Friday. Nygaard broke his personal faculty file of 54.75 set in Friday’s preliminaries.

UWL captured the 200 freestyle relay with a first-place time of 1:21.51. The relay of Tyler Hartmann, Jesse Hammes, Nygaard and Jacob Ketterling gained the title because the Eagles took the occasion for the fourth straight season. Hammes was on the first-place relay final yr whereas Hartmann gained the title in 2024 and 2025.

Hartmann was fourth (56.19) and Ben Collins eighth (59.57) within the 100 breaststroke Friday whereas Gabe DeWald was ninth (58.08).

The Eagles’ Jonah Elfers positioned second (50.33) within the 100 butterfly whereas Isaac Mozena was fourth (50.99) and Sean Gillett seventh (51.33).

Caleb Jondle was second (4:08.67), Davin Evans fourth (4:09.81) and Gabe DeWald fifth (4:11.67) within the 400 I.M.

Ketterling completed second (50.33) within the Friday’s 100 backstroke with Coby Zander fourth (52.06), Gillett sixth (52.86) and Hammes eighth (54.54). Elfers positioned ninth (52.68).

In Friday’s 200 freestyle, Collins positioned fifth (1:44.99), Gavin LaBeau sixth (1:45.47) and Zander ninth (1:45.26).

In the one-meter diving competitors, Aanav Patel completed sixth (382.20 factors) whereas Ethan Pederson eighth (363.40) and Luke Zocher eleventh (277.40).

Action concludes Saturday, February 21 with preliminaries at 10 a.m. and finals at 5:45 p.m.