2026 Big 12 Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2026 Big 12 Championship

• Dates: Tuesday, February 24–Saturday, February 28
• Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• Defending champions: Arizona State women (1x); Arizona State men (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video: ESPN +
• Championship Central
• Men’s Championship Preview
• Women’s Championship Preview
• Teams: Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Christian, Utah, West Virginia
• Psych Sheets
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2

Day 3 Prelims Heat Sheet

Day 3 Scratch Report

Day 3 picks up right where things left off last night as the 100 fly kick starts the action this morning at the 2026 Big 12 Championships. Ilya Kharun, fresh off a new Big 12 Meet record in the 50 free, returns to the water in the 100 fly.

Seeded first with a time of 43.38, which is under his own Big 12 record and under Joseph Schooling‘s meet record of 44.06 set back in 2017, Kharun is nearly a second and half ahead of his nearest competitors, namely Arizona’s Haakon Naughton (44.80) and ASU’s Filip Senc-Samardzic (45.13) the latter of whom scratched the 200 free to focus on this event.

ASU also holds down the top seeds in this morning’s remaining events, with Michael Hochwalt the top seed in the 400 IM and Remi Fabiani in the 200 free. However, as we saw last night, being seeded first doesn’t mean much, so don’t expect anyone to take it easy this morning. Buoyed by some great performances last night, expect Utah’s Strahinja Maslo and Brandon Miller, the #2 and #5 seeds in the 400 IM to push the pace. So too will Arizona’s Tomas Lukminas and Ralph Daleiden Ciuferri in the 200 free, as the latter is the meet record holder.

The women’s side also sees a clear front runner in the 100 fly, as ASU’s Julia Ullmann‘s entry time of 51.25 is more than a second clear of her teammate, Miriam Sheehan‘s 52.42 and #3 seed Lydia Lafferty‘s 52.96. Don’t sleep on Cincinnati’s Joleigh Crye, though, as despite entering as the 11th seed, she finished last year with a 52.13.

Sonia Vaishnani leads the 400 IM by over four seconds but the ASU junior will need to be on her game to ensure that she can get a spot in the final tonight, where she could punch a ticket to the NCAAs. Albane Cachot has already punched her ticket to NCAA courtesy of her win last night in the 50 free, but the freshman from ASU would love to add another title to her name as she is the top seed in the 200 free. Entered with a 1:44.34, the Frenchwomen will be under pressure from her teammates Jordan Greber and Grace Lindberg, each of whom are seeded under the NCAA qualifying time of 1:45.53.

Women’s 100 Fly – Prelims

• NCAA: 46.97 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
• Big 12: 49.70 – Emma Sticklen, Texas (2024)
• Big 12 Championship Record: 50.07 – Olivia Bray, Texas (2023)
• 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 52.52
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 51.87

Top 8:

1. Miriam Sheehan (ASU) – 52.38
2. Julia Ullmann (ASU) – 52.41
3. Maryam Sheikhalizadehkhangh  (ARIZ) – 52.67
4. Joleigh Crye (CINC) – 53.22
5. Lydia Lafferty (KANS) – 53.24
6. Noor El Gendy (UH) – 53.38
7. Kate Mardis (CINC) – 53.60
8. Emma Kinsey (ARIZ) – 53.63

West Virginia’s Maecy Wells, a first-year, held the top time of 54.60, through the start of the circle seeded heats, but heat 5 saw five swimmers jump ahead of her as Kansas’s Lydia Lafferty, the #3 seed won the heat in a time of 53.24, just a little over a quarter of a second off her seed time of 52.96. The Jayhawk led at the 50, opening in 24.34, but has to fend off a late charge from Houston’s Noor El Gendy, who was out in 25.09, but charged home quickly to close the to just .14 as she touched 2nd in 53.38.

The 2nd to last heat, heat 6 was a much faster affair as Miriam Sheehan, a junior from ASU who spent her first year at NC State, set a new season best as she hit the wall in 52.38, bettering her seed time of 52.42. Sheehan, who owns a PB of 51.67 dating back to 2023, was out in 24.58, slower than Cincinnati’s Joleigh Crye (24.48), but the Sun Devil’s 27.80 last 50 was more than enough to pull her in front of Crye and her 28.74 last 50. The senior would hold on for 2nd in the heat touching in 53.22, a drop of .44 from her seed.

The last heat was a similar affair to the first as Arizona’s Maryam Sheikhalizadehkhangh was out fast, opening in 24.50, .31 ahead of the defending champion Julia Ullmann. Ullmann, a sophomore from Switzerland who won last year in 51.40, was out in 24.81 but didn’t fall off the pace as ash closed in 27.60 (faster than her teammate Sheehan) to pass Sheikhalizadehkhangh and win the last heat in 52.41 with the Arizona junior, not far back at 52.67, a drop of .36 from her seed of 53.03.

Men’s 100 Fly – Prelims

• NCAA: 42.80 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• Big 12: 43.43 – Ilya Kharun, ASU (2025)
• Big 12 Championship Record: 44.06 – Joseph Schooling, Texas (2017)
• 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 46.11
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 45.12

Top 8:

1. Ilya Kharun (ASU) – 44.25
2. Filip Senc-Samardzic (ASU) – 45.52
3. Haakon Naughton (ARIZ) – 45.80
4. Evan VanBrocklin (UTAH) – 46.12
5. Tolu Young (ASU) – 46.16
6. Jordan Tiffany (ASU) – 46.19
7. Tommy Palmer (ASU) – 46.33
8. Lior Mizrahi (TCU) – 46.45

Unlike the 50 free yesterday morning, there were no meet records set but Ilya Kharun still comfortably earned lane 4 for tonight’s 100 fly final. The Canadian native who recently switched sporting nationality to that of the USA, was not the fastest swimmer at the 50 yard turn amongst the top 8, with his 21.15 being just the 3rd fastest opening split. However, Kharun closed with not only the lone sub-12 last 25, but also the lone sub-12 3rd 25, going 11.48 and 11.62 (23.10) to hit the wall in 44.25.

Nearly a second off his entry time of 43.38, Kharun appears to be in good stead to repeat as champion, but the battle for second is very tight. Kharun’s teammate and fellow junior Filip Senc-Samardzic won the first of the circle seeded heat in 45.52, opening up faster than Kharun with a 21.01 first 50 split. Not far behind Senc-Samardzic tonight is Arizona’s Haakon Naughton who won the penultimate heat in 45.80 to enter tonight as the 3rd seed. Naughton, the #2 seed on the psych sheet will be looking to improve upon his 3rd place from last year, when he finished behind both Kharun and Senc-Samardzic.

Last year’s winner of the B-final Tolu Young, made the jump into the A-final as he hit the wall this morning in 46.16, which was good for 5th overall. Young, a sophomore from ASU, was the lone swimmer to open under 21, as he hit the 50 wall in 20.83, so expect him to be near the front of the pack tonight.

Women’s 40o IM – Prelims

• NCAA: 3:54.60 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
• Big 12: 4:00.97 – Madisyn Cox, Texas (2017)
• Big 12 Championship Record: 4:01.15 – Madisyn Cox, Texas (2017)
• 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 4:13.20
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 4:09.53

Top 8:

1. Sonia Vaishnani (ASU) – 4:13.01
2. Libby Michel (CINC) – 4:15.78
3. Sydney Nethercutt (UH) – 4:16.05
4. Lucy Warnick (BYU) – 4:17.06
5. Alexa Reyna (ASU) – 4:19.20
6. Ella Derby (UTAH) – 4:19.42
7. Alondra Ortiz (UH) – 4:19.83
8. Lia Csulak (ASU) – 4:20.04

Up through the start of the circle seeded heats, the top time in the women’s 400 IM belonged to heat 1’s Alexa Reyna. The ASU junior, who finished 2nd last night in the 500 free, hit the wall in 4:19.20. Reyna was entered with No Time, as she had not competed in the event this season. Last year at these Championships, Reyna swam the 200 free on Day 3, placing 5th overall, but this year instead opted for the IM, an event which she owns a PB of 4:15.35 dating back to 2023.

Reyna’s time survived the first of the circle seeded heats, as the #3 seed Ella Derby, who had an entry time of 4:14.42 touched first in 4:19.42, less than half a second ahead of Houston’s Alondra Ortiz. The junior had a lead of 1.26 seconds over Derby at the halfway point leading 2:03.65 to 2:04.91, but the Utah junior out split her by over 2 seconds in the breaststroke to take over the lead and hit the wall first.

The No Time to top time story was not meant to be as heat 5, the penultimate heat, was a fast affair with three swimmers surpassing Reyna’s time of 4:19.20. Grabbing that top spot was Cincinnati’s Libby Michel, the 5th fastest seed. Michel didn’t look to be in control of the race as Houston’s Sydney Nethercutt led after the backstroke by over two seconds 2:02.32 to 2:04.80. However, Michel and BYU’s Lucy Warnick, who was 2:05.25 at the 200, made up a lot of ground on the breaststroke, cutting their deficit to within a second with the pair trailing by .64 and .57 respectively. In the all out sprint to the finish it was Michel, who would emerge victorious as she closed in 58.62 to stop the clock at 4:15.78, ahead of Nethercutt’s 4:16.05 and Warnick’s 4:17.06.

The last heat was all Sonia Vaishnani. The junior from Arizona State opened up in 56.61, the lone sub-57 first 100, and never looked back from there as she was also the lone swimmer under 2:02 at the halfway point (2:00.97). The defending champion, Vaishnani, cruised to the finish, hitting the wall in 4:13.01, a little less than three seconds off her entry time of 4:10.29. While her time was the fastest of the morning, the last heat was an overall slower affair as only Lia Csulak, a fellow Sun Devil and the #18 overall seed advanced to the A-final as she dropped 1.08 seconds from her seed to stop the clock at 4:20.04 to secure lane 8 tonight.

Men’s 400 IM – Prelims

• NCAA: 3:28.82 – Léon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• Big 12: 3:33.79 – Carson Foster, Texas (2022)
• Big 12 Championship Record: 3:35.49 – Carson Foster, Texas (2023)
• 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 3:46.19
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 3:41.61

Top 8:

1. Tanner Nelson (BYU) – 3:46.29
2. Strahinja Maslo (UTAH) – 3:47.48
3. Beck Parnham (ARIZ) – 3:47.66
4. Brandon Miller (UTAH) – 3:48.68
5. Filip Suchanski (TCU) – 3:49.37
6. Reece Grady (ASU) – 3:49.74
7. Matthew Sexton (UTAH) – 3:49.99
8. Kyle Bumgardner (CINC) – 3:50.04

The men’s 400 IM, unlike the women’s did not go to script or the way of ASU, as top seed Michael Hochwalt, struggled in the last heat, adding over 9 seconds to his seed, going 3:51.45 and finishing 10th overall. Taking his place as the top seed is Tanner Nelson, a junior from BYU, who entered the meet as the 4th seed. Nelson, at the 2025 edition of this meet finished 4th in a time of 3:45.59, and looks good to better that time and result as he went 3:46.29 to win the last heat.

Nelson’s biggest threats to winning the event look to come from Utah’s Strahinja Maslo and Arizona’s Beck Parnham, although the pair are both a second off his prelims time. Don’t discount Kyle Bumgardner of Cincinnati though, as tonight’s 8th seed is a two time finalist in this event and finished one spot behind Nelson last year.

ASU did manage to advance one swimmer into the final as last year’s 6th place finisher Reece Grady secured that same spot in tonight’s final thanks to 3:49.74 prelims swim.

Women’s 200 Free- Prelims

• NCAA: 1:39.10 – Missy Franklin, California (2015)
• Big 12: 1:42.38 – Kelly Pash, Texas (2022)
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:42.70 – Kelly Pash, Texas (2021)
• 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 1:45.53
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:44.74

Top 8:

1. Albane Cachot (ASU) – 1:45.05
2. Grace Lindberg (ASU) – 1:46.67
3. Jordan Greber (ASU) – 1:47.12
4. Ella Guilfoil (ASU) – 1:47.33
5. Avery Dillon (TCU) – 1:47.35
6. Kayman Neal (ARIZ) – 1:47.41
7. Gerda Szilagyi (ASU) – 1:47.61
8. Taira Vroom (CINC) – 1:47.85

Arizona State dominated the women’s 200 free prelims this morning as they advanced five into the final including the top four. Leading the way, already having punched their ticket to the NCAAs last night in the 50 free is ASU first year Albane Cachot. The Frenchwomen posted the lone sub-1:46 swim this morning as she stopped the clock in 1:45.05. She entered the meet as the top seed with an entry time of 1:44.34, and will be looking to lower that time to improve her seeding at NCAAs,

Such was her dominance this morning, that the time difference of 1.62 between her and the 2nd fastest qualifier, Grace Lindberg, is greater than that between Lindberg and Taira Vroom the 8th fastest qualifier, as only 1.18 separates them.

The highest placed returner from last year,  runner-up Kayman Neal, safely advanced into the final as 6th seed. The Arizona sophomore was 1:45.85 last year, so could contest for the title, but if Cachot can replicate her 50 free time drops, then we could see a winner in the 1:43 range.

Men’s 200 Free – Prelims

• NCAA: 1:28.33 – Luke Hobson, Texas (2024)
• Big 12: 1:28.81 – Luke Hobson, Texas (2024)
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:31.48 – Ralph Daleidem Ciuferr, Arizona (2025)
• 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 1:33.93
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:32.27

Top 8:

1. Remi Fabiani (ASU) – 1:32.68
2. Jonny Kulow (ASU) – 1:33.11
3. Rafael Daleiden Ciuferri (ARIZ) – 1:33.25
4. Quin Seider (ASU) – 1:33.71
5. Mattia Mauri (ASU) – 1:34.02
6. Nick Chirafisi (UTAH) – 1:34.10
7. Ben Butler (ARIZ) – 1:34.39
8. Tomas Lukminas (ARIZ) – 1:34.51

Remi Fabiani defended his top billing on the psych sheet as he posted the fastest time of the morning going 1:32.68 in the last heat. The Grad student didn’t record a first 50 split, but was the lone swimmer under 44.00 at the 100 turn and just one of three under 45. The former Cal Baptist swimmer posted the 2nd slowest last 50 (24.70) amongst tonight’s A-finalist second only to his teammate Jonny Kulow (24.71), so likely has more in the tank tonight.

Kulow, who came come the slowest on the last 50, earned lane 5 in the final after he dropped from a seed time of 1:34.12 to 1:33.11 this morning. The senior is the highest placed finisher from last year, where he finished runner-up to the since graduated Patrick Samon, and could threaten Fabiani for the title. So too could Rafael Daleidin of Arizona.

Daleidin finished 4th last year in a time of 1:33.01, but he owns the meet record of 1:31.48 courtesy of his lead off leg on the 800 free relay at the 2025 Championships. His teammate Tomas Lukminas, who finished between him and Kulow last year played a dangerous game this morning, but the gamble paid off as the 3rd seed squeaked into the final in 8th position with a time of 1:34.51, .12 away from having to swim off for the spot.