BROWN DEER, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's and women's swim and dive teams got off to a strong start on Day 1 at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship on Wednesday. Sarah Dahlk (Sr. - Verona, Wis./Middleton) won the women's three-meter diving championship, and both the men's and women's 800-yard freestyle relays picked up titles on the opening day of competition.
Dahlk successfully defended last season's title in the three-meter diving competition to become a two-time conference champion. She scored a 448.80 in the finals to beat second place by just over 32 points.
The women's 800 freestyle relay team of Sydney McCollor (Jr. - St. Paul, Minn./Irondale), Grace Schnabl (Fr. - New Berlin, Wis./Brookfield Central), Molly Hosack (Fr. - Cedarburg, Wis.) and Paige Pelikan (Sr. - New Berlin, Wis.) secured its title with a time of 7:37.76. They beat the runner-up by 11 seconds. It is the first career conference title for all four swimmers.
The men's 800 freestyle relay team Sam Ryf (Sr. - Berlin, Wis.), Alex Jorgenson (Jr. - Winona, Minn.), Evan Schroeder (So. - Shakopee, Minn.) and Ben Keller (Jr. - Cedarburg, Wis.) clocked in at 6:41.76 to clinch their conference crown. They won by eight seconds. It was the ninth career conference title for Ryf, the fourth for Jorgenson and Keller, and the third for Schroeder.
Both the men's and the women's 200-yard medley relay teams finished in second place.
The Blugold men lead the team standings after Day 1 with 74 points. The women are in second place with 124 points, only trailing UW-La Crosse. The Blugolds rank second in the combined standings with 198 points, only one point behind UW-La Crosse.
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