2025 Ohio State Fall Invitational: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

2025 Ohio State Fall Invitational

• November 18-21, 2025
• McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, OH
• Start Times:
  • 9:30 am ET swimming prelims
  • 11:30 am diving prelims
  • 5:30 pm ET finals
• Participating Teams: Ohio State, Indiana, Yale, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Louisville, Penn State, UCLA, Kentucky, Purdue
• SCY (25 yards)
• Live Results
• Results on Meet Mobile as “2025 Ohio State Fall Invitational”
• Live Stream (subscription required)
• Live Recaps: Day 1 Finals | Day 2 Prelims
• Day 2 Prelims Results (PDF)

The first full day of action at the 2025 Ohio State Fall Invitational kicks off this morning from McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, with heats in the men’s and women’s 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free and 100 breast on tap.

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 46.97, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 2025
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 52.52
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 51.87

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Miranda Grana (IU), 51.35
2. Ella Welch (LOU), 51.53
3. Caroline Larsen (LOU), 51.82
4. Jada Duncan (UCLA), 52.60
5. Carrie Furbee (OSU), 52.72
6. Mya DeWitt (IU), 52.88
7. Amelia Bray (IU), 52.89
8. Sze Yeo (IU), 53.06
9. Fay Lustria (UCLA), 53.45
10. Margaret Markvardt (PSU), 53.56

Indiana junior Miranda Grana grabbed the top spot in the heats of the women’s 100 fly after putting up a time of 51.35 from the seventh and final heat, putting her 18 one-hundredths clear of Louisville’s Ella Welch.

The swim for Grana chips two-tenths off her season-best of 51.55, set in early October at the USC Invite. She moves into a tie for 5th in the NCAA this season.

Welch, a senior, clocked 51.53 to advance in 2nd, also improving on her season-best of 51.64, while teammate Caroline Larsen made it three swimmers under 52 seconds in 51.82. Larsen set a personal best time of 51.68 two weeks ago in a dual meet with Kentucky.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 42.80, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 46.11
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 45.12

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Owen McDonald (IU), 44.76
2. Matthew Klinge (OSU), 44.99
3. Nick Finch (YALE), 45.07
4. Aidan Paro (LOU), 45.69
5. Raekwon Noel (IU), 45.72
6. Thomas Powers-Hammond (LOU), 45.74
7. Matthew Bittner (PSU), 45.82
8. Rian Graham (LOU), 45.84
9. Cooper Morley (PSU), 45.90
10. Alex Hotta (PUR), 46.08

Indiana senior Owen McDonald threw down the gauntlet in the heats of the men’s 100 fly, blasting a time of 44.76 from the penultimate heat to claim the top seed into tonight’s final.

This was just McDonald’s second time racing the 100 fly this season, having clocked 47.96 at the Hoosiers’ first meet of the season in late September against Florida. It also marks a massive personal best time, improving on the 46.99 he produced in September 2022 by more than two seconds, and moves him up to 4th in the NCAA this season.

Ohio State’s Matthew Klinge came into the meet with a newly minted personal best of 45.07, set at the recent Raleigh Rumble, and he lowered that to 44.99 from the final heat to qualify 2nd overall.

Yale’s Nick Finch, the reigning Ivy League champion in the 100 fly, brought some speed to the first circle-seeded heat, clocking 45.07 to advance 3rd into the final and crush his season-best of 46.20.

Louisville’s Aidan Paro (45.69) and Thomas Powers-Hammond (45.74) were both just shy of their best times to advance 4th and 6th overall, while in 5th, Indiana’s Raekwon Noel broke 46 seconds for the first time in 45.72.

WOMEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 3:54.60, Ella Eastin (Stanford) – 2018
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 4:13.20
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 4:09.53

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Rosie Murphy (UCLA), 4:08.24
2. Fernanda De Goeij (UKY), 4:09.43
3. Paige Delma (OSU), 4:10.02
4. Kim Herkle (LOU), 4:10.83
5. Reese Tiltmann (IU), 4:11.18
6. Sienna Angove (OSU), 4:12.42
7. Macky Hodges (IU), 4:12.72
8. Hayden Penny (UKY), 4:12.91
9. Jessica Eden (OSU), 4:13.58
10. Emma Finlin (OSU), 4:14.43

UCLA senior Rosie Murphy led a group of four swimmers who qualified for tonight’s ‘A’ final in the 400 IM from the fifth and final heat this morning, pulling away from Kentucky’s Fernanda De Goeij on the freestyle leg to touch first by over a second.

Murphy’s time of 4:08.24 shatters her previous season-best of 4:10.91 and slots her into 9th in the NCAA this season, and it’s also notably more than six seconds faster than she was at last season’s OSU Invite (4:14.79).

De Goeij, also a senior, set a monstrous best time of 4:09.43 to advance 2nd overall, taking down her two-and-a-half-year-old best time of 4:12.37 by nearly three seconds.

OSU’s Paige Delma topped Heat 3 in 4:10.02, improving on her season-best of 4:11.23 and coming within just over a second of her lifetime best of 4:08.84.

Louisville graduate senior Kim Herkle paced the penultimate heat in 4:10.83 to advance in 4th, while Indiana’s Reese Tiltmann (4:11.18) and OSU’s Sienna Angove (4:12.42) placed 3rd and 4th in the final heat to qualify 5th and 6th overall. All three swimmers set new season-bests.

MEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 3:28.82, Leon Marchand (ASU) – 2023
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 3:46.19
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 3:41.61

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Jackson Millard (LOU), 3:40.56
2. Zalan Sarkany (IU), 3:41.48
3. Tommy Bried (LOU), 3:42.71
4. Gregg Enoch (LOU), 3:42.81
5. Josh Bey (IU), 3:43.71
6. Tristan Jankovics (OSU), 3:43.90
7. Mason Edmund (OSU), 3:44.52
8. Noah Cakir (IU), 3:44.53
9. Luke Ellis (IU), 3:44.90
10. David Kovacs (IU), 3:45.06

Louisville senior Jackson Millard exploded for a big lifetime best and a likely spot at the 2026 NCAA Championships after clocking 3:40.56 out of Heat 2 of the men’s 400 IM, shattering his previous best time of 3:42.31 set at last season’s ACC Championships.

Millard, who didn’t qualify for NCAAs last season but was there as a sophomore in 2024, was more than a second under the invite time from the 2025 NCAAs (3:41.61), putting him in a great spot for this season. The swim also launches him up to #1 in the NCAA so far this season, prior to results from other midseason invites factoring in, and ranks him #2 all-time in Louisville history after ranking 6th coming in.

Indiana’s Zalan Sarkany blazed home with a 50.67 freestyle leg to qualify 2nd overall in 3:41.48 out of the penultimate heat, topping his season-best by two seconds and coming within a second of his lifetime best of 3:40.50. The swim would rank Sarkany 3rd in the NCAA this season, trailing Millard and Texas’ Rex Maurer (3:41.19).

Tommy Bried, who holds the Louisville Record and is the only Cardinal to have been faster than Millard with his PB of 3:39.38, put up a time of 3:42.71 from Millard’s heat to qualify 3rd overall, chopping six seconds off his season-best, while teammate Gregg Enoch (3:42.81) also set a big season-best to advance in 4th.

The Indiana freshman trio of Josh Bey (3:43.71), Noah Cakir (3:44.53) and Luke Ellis (3:44.90) all cracked the ‘A’ final, with Bey dropping seven seconds from his season-best and Cakir taking nearly two seconds off his lifetime best. Ellis, racing the event for the first time this season, was less than two seconds off his PB of 3:42.94.

The top seed coming in, reigning Big Ten champion Tristan Jankovics, won the final heat in a time of 3:43.90, easing his way into the ‘A’ final in 6th place.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:39.10, Missy Franklin (Cal) – 2015
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:45.53
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:44.74

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Liberty Clark (IU), 1:43.28
2. Rachel Bockrath (OSU), 1:43.95
3. Summer Cardwell (LOU), 1:44.60
4. Daria Golovaty (LOU), 1:44.76
5. Kristina Paegle (IU), 1:45.64
6. Sienna Angove (OSU), 1:45.73
7. Grace Hoeper (IU), 1:46.12
8. Delia Lloyd (OSU), 1:46.35
9. Gizem Guvenc (UCLA), 1:46.70
10. Caitlin Hurley (PUR), 1:46.72

After ripping a best time of 1:41.55 leading off the 800 free relay last night, Liberty Clark continues to impress in her freshman year at Indiana in the 200 free, leading the prelims this morning in 1:43.28.

Clark, who came into the season with a best time of 1:45.76, has caught fire early in her debut campaign with the Hoosiers and showed off her early speed in the heats this morning, flipping a blistering 49.19 at the 100 (23.79/25.40). She faded a touch coming home, splitting 26.68/27.41 for a back-half of 54.09, but it was still enough to earn the top seed in the final head of Ohio State’s Rachel Bockrath.

Clark’s time of 1:41.55 from Tuesday night ranks her 3rd in the NCAA. She also went 1:42.43 in early October.

Bockrath, a sophomore, had similar splits to Clark, going out fast (23.92/25.73) to the 100 in 49.65 before ultimately touching in 1:43.95 to advance 2nd overall. The swim marks a best time by more than a second for the Buckeye, who had previously been 1:45.08 at the 2025 Big Ten Championships (though she did split 1:43.91 on the 800 free relay at NCAAs).

Louisville’s Summer Cardwell (1:44.60) and Daria Golovaty (1:44.76) won their respective heats to comfortably qualify 3rd and 4th into the final, both adding a few tenths to their season-bests set earlier this season.

Advancing in 6th was Ohio State sophomore Sienna Angove, who backed up her 400 IM swim just minutes earlier with a 1:45.73 clocking to make both finals for tonight’s session. Last season, Angove set a best time of 1:43.54 at the OSU Invite.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:28.33, Luke Hobson (Texas) – 2025
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:33.93
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:32.27

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Tomas Navikonis (OSU), 1:32.54
2. Guy Brooks (LOU), 1:32.57
3. Matias Santiso (LOU), 1:34.09
4. Aaron Shackell (IU), 1:34.17
5. Miroslav Knedla (IU), 1:34.48
6. Oscar Isberg (LOU), 1:34.56
7. Jordi Vilchez (OSU), 1:34.96
8. Alex Axon (OSU), 1:35.00
9. Cooper McDonald (IU), 1:35.37
10. Lars Kuljus (YALE), 1:35.67

Ohio State’s Tomas Navikonis, the defending OSU Invite champion and reigning Big Ten champion, outduelled Louisville’s Guy Brooks in the seventh and final heat to earn the top spot in the prelims of the men’s 200 freestyle.

Navikonis made his move on the third 50, splitting 23.74 to Brooks’ 24.04, and then held on coming home to touch first in 1:32.54 to improve on his season-best of 1:36.12 by three and a half seconds.

Last season, Navikonis went 1:31.87 in the prelims and then won the final at the OSU Invite in 1:31.55.

Brooks, who came into the week ranked 2nd in the NCAA after going 1:32.22 against Notre Dame, was just three one-hundredths back in 1:32.57 to qualify 2nd overall. Last season, Brooks also advanced 2nd into the final behind Navikonis after clocking a PB of 1:31.96 in the heats, but faded to 8th in the final (1:35.82).

Louisville’s Matias Santiso knocked a tenth off his best time in 1:34.09 to qualify 3rd out of Heat 7, while Indiana’s Aaron Shackell was 4th in the heat and overall in 1:34.17 in what was his first time competing for the Hoosiers since September against Florida (where he went 1:40.01 in the 200 free).

Yale’s Noah Millard, 3rd in this event last year, was a notable no-show in the event.

WOMEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 55.73, Lilly King (Indiana) – 2019
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:00.30
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 59.51

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Joleigh Crye (CINC), 58.09
2. Maria Ramos Najji (LOU), 58.30
3. Mia Cheatwood (LOU), 59.19
4. Caroline Larsen (LOU), 59.66
5. Lindi Worrell (CINC), 59.96
6. Sarah Bennetts (UCLA), 1:00.28
7. Jessey Li (YALE), 1:00.67
8. Jonette Lagreid (IU), 1:00.81
9. Anna Inagaki (LOU), 1:01.24
10. Danika Varda (OSU), 1:01.37

Cincinnati senior Joleigh Crye matched her personal best time on the number to advance first into tonight’s final of the women’s 100 breast, clocking 58.09 after delivering a sizzling 26.93 opening 50.

Crye, who won this event at the 2024 OSU Invite in 59.06, moves up to #5 in the NCAA this season with her performance, tying the best time she set at the 2025 Big Tens en route to winning the conference title.

Louisville sophomore Maria Ramos Najji established a massive personal best of 58.30 to advance 2nd into the final, knocking off her previous mark of 59.97 set at last season’s OSU Invite. Najji was not an NCAA qualifier last season, but will be this year, given she’s more than a second under the 2025 invite time of 59.51.

Louisville’s Mia Cheatwood (59.19), Caroline Larsen (59.66) and Cincinnati’s Lindi Worrell (59.96) made it five swimmers sub-1:00 this morning, with Worrell setting a new best time and breaking 1:00 for the first time after previously owning a PB of 1:00.62. Cheatwood was just shy of her season-best (58.97), while Larsen slipped under hers (59.79).

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 49.51, Julian Smith (Florida) – 2025
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 52.58
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 51.58

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Mariano Lazzerini (PSU), 51.14
2. Alexei Avakov (IU), 51.56
3. Charlie Egeland (YALE), 52.03
4. Jake Eccleston (LOU), 52.26
5. Noah Cakir (IU), 52.32
6. Travis Gulledge (IU), 52.45
7. Toby Barnett (IU), 52.62
8. Ahmed Ismail (OSU), 52.68
9. Max Blume (PUR), 52.72
10. Adomas Fatulis (UKY), 52.89

Penn State’s Mariano Lazzerini stamped his authority on the men’s 100 breast in this morning’s prelims, producing the fastest time in the field by nearly a second in 51.14.

The swim for the Chilean senior falls just six one-hundredths shy of his personal best of 51.08, set at the 2024 Big Tens, and improves on his season-best of 51.52, though he remains 3rd in the NCAA rankings this season.

A major disqualification went to Indiana’s Alexei Avakov, the #2 seed coming in and the 13th-fastest swimmer in the NCAA coming into this week, with his time of 52.22 from the USC Invite.

Update: After initially being disqualified, Indiana’s Alexei Avakov was reinstated and moves into Lane 5 for tonight’s ‘A’ final after clocking 51.56 in the prelims. The swim marks a new best time for the sophomore, whose previous PB stood at 51.79, set at the IU Men’s Last Chance Meet this past March.

The reinstatement bumped Indiana’s Collin McKenzie (52.91) out of the ‘A’ final and into the consols.

Yale’s Charlie Egeland earned the #3 seed, leading a group of eight ‘A’ finalists who went 52-point. Egeland clocked 52.03 to narrowly miss his personal best time of 51.99, set in March 2024, while Louisville’s Jake Eccleston (52.26) was 4th in a big season-best.

Four of the next seven final qualifiers came from Indiana, led by freshman Noah Cakir, who clocked 52.32 to chip two one-hundredths off his personal best time.