2016 WIAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championship Preview University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will strive for a 17th straight title at the 2016 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship (presented by Culver’s) that will be held at Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, Wis., Feb. 18-20. UW-Stevens Point is serving as the host institution for the 54th edition of the men’s championship that will be held in unison with the 45th annual women’s event. The Pointers collected the 19th first-place finish in program history a season ago with 920 points to exceed UW-La Crosse’s second-place total of 697 points. UW-Whitewater was third with 693 points, while UW-Eau Claire was fourth with 594 and UW-Oshkosh fifth with 172. This year’s championship features 11 student-athletes that have combined to win 15 individual and 24 relay first-place medals at previous league meets. UW-Stevens Point junior Sam Jekel is the most decorated returnee with 12 titles (five individual, seven relay) to his credit. He has won back-to-back championships in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard freestyle relay and 200-yard medley relay. A season ago, Jekel added first-place finishes in the 100-yard butterfly and 400-yard medley relay. Junior Evan Catani is the two-time defending champion in the 1,650-yard freestyle, while adding the 400-yard individual medley title. Senior Kyle McNair and junior Andrew King have won consecutive crowns in the 200-yard medley relay, while McNair has captured the 400-yard freestyle relay and King the 200-yard freestyle relay in back-to-back seasons. Last year, McNair helped the 200-yard freestyle relay team to victory and King the 400-yard freestyle relay squad to a first-place finish. Senior Joe Hollman is the defending champion in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley, while junior Ethan Bott contributed to last year’s winning 400-yard medley relay quartet. UW-Whitewater junior Josh Kanute received Swimmer of the Meet honors at last year’s championship. He has won consecutive titles in the 500-yard freestyle and could become the first individual in conference history to post three straight first-place finishes in the event. Kanute is the defending champion in the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly, while contributing to the victorious 800-yard freestyle relay team a season ago - along with classmate Alex Gidlow. UW-La Crosse junior Jackson Uselman was a member of the winning 800-yard freestyle relay squad and 400-yard medley relay team at the 2014 meet. He was joined in the 800-yard freestyle relay by senior Charleton Skinner, who also contributed to the winning team in the event in 2013. UW-Eau Claire junior Ben Fisher is the defending champion in the 100-yard breaststroke. # # # # #