{
  "id": 11704895,
  "title": "Men’s Swim and Dive 2026 season preview",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/mens-swim-and-dive-2026-season-preview",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-03T14:42:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/men-swim-dive-2026-season-144234004.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Northwestern men's swim and dive team, currently preseason ranked No. 16, appears set for their best season in decades. With 10 seniors on a roster of 28, the Wildcats possess a wealth of experience and leadership under the guidance of Rachel Stratton-Mills as their director. The team's returners include Ryan Augustine, Adam Cohen, Cade Duncan, David Gerchik, Oliver Kós, Kyle Ly, Tristan Prizler, Connor Schuster, Gal Shlegel, Joshua Staples, Kyle Wang, Aaron Baltaytis, Gipson Crye, Langston Duncan, George Groves, Christopher Leung, Diego Nosack, Alexander Rousseau, Stuart Seymour, Wiley Spinner and David Vinokur. New additions to the roster include Brandon Ha, Mike Marder, Ben Whiteford, Jack Chiappetta, Zack Kusch, Caleb Romero and Cooper Zakorchemny. Last season, Northwestern finished fourth at the Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, their highest finish since 2006. Standout performances included a third-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay and second- and third-place finishes in the 100-yard freestyle by Stuart Seymour and Caden Duncan. The experienced core of Seymour, Schuster, Staples and Oliver Kós is returning for the 2026-27 season, promising consistency, experience and speed. Both Cohen and Seymour have been named to the Big Ten Men's Swimmers and Divers to Watch list, with Cohen earning Academic All-Big Ten honors last year. Additionally, the incoming 2026 class boasts talent such as California high school state champion Brandon Ha and U.S. Open Qualifier Zack Kusch, who will add depth to events including distance freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke. The Wildcats are scheduled to begin their season on October 3 against Miami (Ohio) in Evanston, with their regular season concluding on February 27 at the Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. The NCAA Diving Zones will also take place in West Lafayette from March 8-10, followed by the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championship in Austin, Texas from March 24-27.",
  "summary": "Northwestern is on the brink of a truly special season.",
  "key_points": [
    "Northwestern men's swim and dive team ranked No. 16, aiming for best season in decades.",
    "Ten seniors on roster of 28, led by Rachel Stratton-Mills.",
    "Team returns to Big Ten Championships after finishing fourth in 2025."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}