Northwestern Wildcats Compete at Wisconsin Ahead of NCAA Championships

Momentum can be a powerful thing in college athletics, and right now the Northwestern Wildcats have plenty of it.

The team recently traveled to Wisconsin for a crucial late-season meet that could help secure valuable spots at the upcoming NCAA Championships.

Northwestern Wildcats’ Historic Breakthrough This Season

After delivering a historic performance at the conference level, the Wildcats now head into the final month of the season.

These 'Cats are headed to Atlanta 🎟️😼

>> NCAA DI Women's Championships: March 18-21 📆 pic.twitter.com/6fY5J1s4G5
— Northwestern Swimming & Diving (@NUSwimDive) March 5, 2026

This season has represented a major turning point for the Wildcats under head coach Rachel Stratton-Mills. The team recently wrapped up a landmark showing at the Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. That's where No. 19 Northwestern stunned many observers by finishing fourth overall.

The result marked Northwestern’s highest placement at the conference championships since 2006, a period that featured Olympic star Matt Grevers.

Over four days of competition, the Wildcats delivered a performance that rewrote the school record book. They broke an astonishing 12 program records along the way.

The battle for fourth place became one of the meet’s most compelling storylines. Northwestern finished with 840 points, narrowly edging No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers men's swimming and diving by just 7.5 points. The Wildcats also finished well ahead of the No. 15 USC Trojans men's swimming and diving, which placed seventh in the standings.

For a program that finished seventh in the conference just one year earlier, the jump into the top four represented a dramatic step forward.

At the top of the standings, traditional Big Ten powers controlled the podium. Indiana Hoosiers men's swimming and diving captured the conference title with 1,544.5 points, while the Michigan Wolverines men's swimming and diving finished second with 1,208 points and the Ohio State Buckeyes men's swimming and diving secured third place with 1,035.5 points.

Northwestern’s surge into fourth place was built on strong relay performances and standout individual efforts. The Wildcats reached the podium on opening night with a third-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay.

The relay team of Seymour, Staples, Baltayis, and Kos delivered the performance that helped set the tone for Northwestern’s successful week. The quartet continued the momentum later in the meet when Seymour, Staples, Schuster, and Duncan teamed up for another bronze medal in the 400-yard medley relay.

Individually, Stuart Seymour emerged as one of the biggest stars of the week. Seymour finished second in the 100-yard freestyle, fourth in the 100-yard backstroke, and fifth in the 100-yard butterfly. Nearly every race he swam resulted in a new school record.

He was joined by teammate Cade Duncan, who finished third in the 100-yard freestyle. He gave Northwestern a remarkable 2–3 finish in that event. Joshua Staples also delivered a major contribution. He finished fourth in both the 200-yard and 400-yard individual medleys while setting new school records in both events.

Meanwhile, Oli Kos added valuable points with a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke. Kos also carries an interesting connection to Olympic history as the younger brother of Hubert Kos, an Olympic gold medalist.

Ryan Augustine delivered a historic moment for the program by finishing fifth in the 1-meter diving competition, the highest placement ever achieved by a Northwestern diver at the Big Ten Championships.

Additional contributions came from Adam Cohen, who finished seventh in platform diving, and Kyle Ly, who placed eighth. In the individual high-point standings, Seymour finished seventh overall, while Staples placed 14th and Kos finished 40th.

Wisconsin Last Chance Meet and the Road to the NCAA Championships

With the conference championships complete, Northwestern turned its attention to the Wisconsin Last Chance Meet, a small but critical competition that gives swimmers one final opportunity to improve their times before NCAA selections are finalized.

Six Wildcats competed at the meet, each aiming to improve their national ranking and strengthen their case for selection. The biggest performance came from Ekaterina Nikonova, who took full advantage of the opportunity to improve her time and significantly boost her standing in the national rankings.

The importance of the Last Chance Meet was even greater this year because of a new qualification system for the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. In previous seasons, swimmers could qualify automatically with an "A" time or earn consideration with a "B" time.

Under the new format, there is now only one qualifying time standard per event. Swimmers who achieve that time are ranked, and the NCAA selects competitors based on the fastest times until the total meet limit of 322 swimmers is reached.

The NCAA Championships will take place from March 18 to March 21 at the McAuley Aquatic Center.

More from Northwestern On SI

Stay up to date on the Wildcats by bookmarking Northwestern On SI and follow us on Twitter.