2020 WIAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championship Preview

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will strive for a 21st straight title at the 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. 13-15. UW-Whitewater is serving as the host institution for the 58th men’s championship that will be held in union with the 49th gathering of the women’s teams.
 
Preliminaries will begin at 10:00 a.m. all three days with the finals commencing at 6:30 p.m. the first two evenings and 6:00 p.m. the final night. Medals will be awards to the top-eight finishers in each of the individual events and the individuals comprising the top-three relay teams.
 
The Pointers collected the 23rd championship in program archives last year with 816 points. UW-La Crosse placed second with 721 points, UW-Eau Claire third with 671, UW-Whitewater fourth with 541 and UW-Oshkosh fifth with 311.
 
UW-Stevens Point’s 23 first-place finishes rank second behind UW-Eau Claire’s 25 titles, while UW-La Crosse has collected four team championships. Former programs to win titles include: UW-Platteville (4) and UW-Milwaukee (1). This year’s championship features 10 student-athletes that have combined to win 26 individual and 17 relay first-place medals at previous league meets.
 
UW-Stevens Point’s Jacob Aegerter is the three-time defending champion in the 200-yard butterfly and could become just the third individual in conference history to win the event four times. His time of 1:49.90 in the event at the 2017 meet established a conference meet record. He was a member of the first-place 400-yard freestyle relay and 800-yard freestyle relay teams in 2017 and 2018. Aegerter was joined on the 800-yard freestyle relay squad by Payton Kilian in 2018.
 
The Pointers’ Nate Somers owns four individual and two relay crowns. He won the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle at the 2016 and 2017 championships. Somers was also a member of the first-place 800-yard freestyle relay teams both years. He received Swimmer of the Meet recognition at the 2016 championship where he set a conference meet record of 15:49.36 in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
 
UW-Stevens Point’s Sam Young is the defending champion in the 200-yard breaststroke and 400-yard individual medley. His time of 4:00.12 in the 400-yard individual medley established a conference meet record.
 
UW-Eau Claire’s Collin Miller received Swimmer of the Meet accolades in 2017 and 2019. He has won three consecutive titles in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley, and could become just the second four-time winner of each event. Miller was victorious in the 100-yard freestyle at the 2017 and 2019 championships. He contributed to the first-place 400-yard medley relay team a season ago and was joined by Michael Bylander. Miller owns conference meet records in the 100-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley with times of 43.95 seconds, 53.62 seconds and 1:48.76, respectively. All three marks were established a season ago.
 
The Blugolds’ Dylan Glumac-Berberich has claimed Diver of the Meet recognition the last two years. He has posted three consecutive first-place finishes on the one-meter board and added the three-meter title a season ago. He could become the third individual in league archives to win four one-meter championships.
 
UW-La Crosse’s Hans Hover has collected four individual WIAC titles and four relay crowns in his career. He is the defending champion in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly, and has posted consecutive first-place finishes in the 200-yard backstroke. In relay events a season ago, Hover was a member of winning 200-yard freestyle, 400-yard freestyle, 800-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley. He was joined on the 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard freestyle relay and 800-yard freestyle relay by Jack Rohlinger, while Marley Kasier contributed to the 200-yard medley relay. Rohlinger is also the defending champion in the 200-yard freestyle.
 
UW-Oshkosh’s Jarrett Lieder and Jack Miller have produced the team’s top swimming performances during the 2019-20 campaign, while Matt Wilke is the Titans’ top diver.
 
Tyler Chatterton and Joe Wenszell have been UW-Whitewater’s top swimmers this season.
 

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