UWL Wins First WIAC Championship Since 1971; Ketterling and Nygaard Seize Titles; 400 Freestyle Relay Wins Crown

Men’s Swimming and Diving | 2/21/2026 9:36:00 PM

Brown Deer, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse males’s swimming & diving workforce captured the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships (introduced by Culver’s) Saturday night time on the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.

The Eagles secured their fifth convention title at school historical past and first since 1971 with 891.0 workforce factors. UW-Eau Claire positioned second with 781.0 factors whereas UW-Stevens Point was third with 677.0, UW-Whitewater fourth with 488.0 and UW-Oshkosh fifth with 288.0.

It is the primary WIAC Championship beneath head coach Steve Mohs, who was named the WIAC Men’s Coach of the Year on the conclusion of the championships.

UWL’s Jacob Ketterling and Preston Nygaard every gained particular person titles on Saturday with Ketterling successful the 200 backstroke (1:51.25) and Nygaard the 200 breaststroke (1:58.85). Ketterling is the primary UWL swimmer to captured the 200 backstroke since Hans Hover in 2019 whereas Nygaard is the primary to take the 200 breaststroke since Michael Hruska in 2008. Nygaard broke his personal faculty document within the preliminaries on Saturday (1:58.65). Ketterling was voted the WIAC Co-Swimmer of the Meet and Nygaard chosen the WIAC Newcomer of the Year on the conclusion of the championships.

Along with Ketterling’s win within the 200 backstroke, Coby Zander completed fourth (1:54.38), Owen Acker sixth (1:56.28) and Sean Gillett tenth (1:56.96).

Ben Collins was third (2:03.26) and Gabe DeWald sixth (2:06.89) within the 200 breaststroke together with Nygaard’s first-place end.

The Eagles captured the 400 freestyle relay Saturday with Tyler Hartmann, Ketterling, Nygaard and Jesse Hammes (3:01.58). UWL set a college document, breaking the earlier document (3:02.47) set by Jacob Burchfield, Alec Carlson, Hover and Jack Rohlinger in 2019.

It is UWL’s fourth straight title within the 400 freestyle relay. Hammes and Hartmann have been each members of final 12 months’s first-place relay whereas Ketterling was on the successful relay in 2024.

UWL had 4 of the highest 5 finishers within the 200 butterfly Saturday as Caleb Jondle positioned second (1:55.74), Isaac Mozena third (1:56.33), Jonah Elfers fourth (1:59.07) and Nick Ellerd fifth (1:59.40). Nolan Sannito was eleventh (2:03.13).

The Eagles’ Hartmann positioned third (46.79) and Hammes fourth (46.81) within the 100 freestyle whereas Luca Nociti was ninth (47.05) and Gavin LaBeau 14th (48.89).

In Saturday’s 1,650 freestyle, Acker completed fifth (16:33.16), Davin Evans sixth (16:46.10), Ellerd eleventh (17:20.41), Sannito twelfth (17:26.71) and Mozena fifteenth (19:11.32).

 

UWL returns to motion Friday, February 27 with the NCAA Division III Central Diving Regional in Kalamazoo, Michigan.