2026 Longhorn Elite Invite: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2026 Longhorn Elite Invite

It is the 4th and final night of the Longhorn Elite Invite, and tonight’s lineup features several big events, including a pair of loaded 100 freestyle races.

Night 4 Event Lineup

  • Women’s 200 IM
  • Men’s 200 IM
  • Women’s 1500 Free
  • Women’s 200 Back
  • Men’s 200 Back
  • Women’s 50 Breast
  • Men’s 50 Breast
  • Women’s 100 Free
  • Men’s 100 Free

Tonight’s events kick off with the women’s 200 IM, where both Summer McIntosh and Regan Smith will go head-to-head. McIntosh got the upper hand this morning in 2:13.69 to Smith’s 2:16.16; just behind them is Campbell Chase in 2:16.24.

The men’s 200 IM is loaded with talent; Rex Maurer, Baylor Nelson, Shaine Casas, Nate Germonprez, and Hubert Kos, just to scratch the surface. The entirety of the final will be competitive, with Maurer clocking the only sub-2:03 in prelims in 2:02.59; the rest of the event should be hungry to take the 200 IM crown here.

Jillian Cox and Kate Hurst will be the lone swimmers in the 1500 free. Cox is entered with the top time in 16.05.88; Hurst’s time is just over 10 seconds off of that in 16:16.06.

Smith will race as the clear top seed in the 200 back with a smooth prelims performance of 2:10.74, more than two and a half seconds quicker than the rest of the field. The next closest to Smith are Lillian Nesty and Sara Rodrigues, both touching in 2:13s in 2:13.39 and 2:13.96, respectively.

The men’s 200 back will feature a heavy favorite in Hubert Kos, who posted 1:54.85 in the prelims; behind him is newly minted Bowman trainee Jack Aikins at 2:00.47.

Several breaststroke talents will race in the women’s and men’s 50 breaststroke races, including Anna Elendt and Piper Enge on the women’s side, and Campbell McKean, Jack Kelly, and Nate Germonprez on the men’s side.

Simone Manuel and Summer McIntosh will clash in one of the meets biggest races, the women’s 100 free. Manuel clocked 53.67 in the prelims, about a second and a half ahead of Nikolett Padar‘s next fastest time in 55.07. McIntosh was just behind them in 55.13 to set herself up for a side-by-side clash with Manuel.

In the final race of the meet, Chris Guiliano will race the 100 free, where in prelims, he blasted a 48.00 to lead all qualifiers by more than a second and a half. The final will also feature Rafael Fente-Damers, Mauerer, Luke Hobson, and former Michigan Wolverine Tyler Ray, a recent addition to the Texas pro group.

Women’s 200 IM

  • World Record: 2:05.70 – Summer McIntosh (2025)
  • US Open Record: 2:06.79 – Kate Douglass (2024)

Top 3:

  1. Summer McIntosh (TXLA) – 2:08.24
  2. Regan Smith (TXLA) – 2:09.65
  3. Campbell Chase (TXLA) – 2:12.71

Each of the top three performers from the morning saw massive drop in tonight’s final, with the largest coming from the top two, and some of the biggest names in attendance.

Summer Mcintosh pulled out a solid win in 2:08.24, though still well off her own World Record time of 2:05.70, it nearly bested her season best of 2:08.21 from the Westmont Pro Series.

Regan Smith was the biggest improver from the prelims, maintaining her 2nd place position in 2:09.65, nearly seven seconds faster than her prelims time. She had previously gone 2:10.63 this season, which was done at the Fort Lauderdale open early last month.

This time is among only a handful of sub 2:10 performances her career, with her best sitting at2:08.48 from the Sun Devil Open in 2023.

Men’s 200 IM

  • World Record: 1:52.69 – Leon Marchand (2025)
  • US Open Record: 1:54.43 – Ryan Lochte (2010)

Top 3:

  1. Shaine Casas (TXLA) – 1:56.42
  2. Hubert Kos (TXLA) – 1:58.72
  3. Nate Germonprez (TXLA) – 1:59.90

After a morning with no sub 2:00 swims, it took just that to finish inside the top three in tonight’s final, as Shaine Casas moved up his 4th place prelims swim to take the win here in 1::56.42, over two seconds quicker than Hubert Kos and his 1:58.72.

That time for Casas sits about two seconds off of his best of 1:54.30 from the World Championships in Singapore last summer. As for Kos, he also swam his fastest time in Singapore last summer in 1:55.34, about three seconds faster than he was here.

Casas managed to swim his first 100 meters almost five seconds faster than he finished in the prelims, blasting open in 53.90 compared to his 58.55 from the prelims. Kos opened about four seconds quicker (53.39 to 57.11).

Nate Germonprez was the last swimmer to dip under the 2:00 mark in 1:59.90, off from his best from the Futures Championships in July of 2024 in 1:58.11.

Women’s 1500 Free

  • World Record: 15:20.48 – Katie Ledecky (2018)
  • US Open Record: 15:20.48 – Katie Ledecky (2018)
  1. Kate Hurst (TXLA) – 16:11.98

According to the posted results, Kate Hurst was the only finisher in the women’s 1500 freestyle, touching in 16:11.98, which is just off of her career best of 16:09.37 from the World Junior Championships in 2023.

That time fro Hurst would also rank her as 20th fastest performer in the world this season, just ahead of China’s Ma Youngui’s 16:12.86.

Hurst stayed consistently around the 32.5 range throughout her swim,beginning around the 200 mark, falling a bit off of that pace towards the 1250 mark, slipping to 32.7s and 32.8s, before charging home in 30.97 on the final 50.

Women’s 200 Back

  • World Record: 2:03.14 – Kaylee McKeown (2023)
  • US Open Record: 2:03.80 – Regan Smith (2023)

Top 3:

  1. Regan Smith (TXLA) – 2:04.85
  2. Sarah Rodrigues (TXLA) – 2:12.58
  3. Lillian Nesty (TXLA) – 2:13.22

In dominant fashion, Regan Smith claimed the win in the women’s 200 backstroke, touching a near eight seconds faster than the rest of the competition field in 2:04.85.

That time is about a second off of her own US Open record of 2:03.80 from 2023, but does mark her fastest time of the season thus far, besting her 2:04.90 from the Pre Series in Westmont in March.

Rodrigues and Nesty each battled for runner-up positioning, with Rodrigues taking that spot in 2:12.58 well off of her career best of 2:11.04 that she threw down at the US Olympic Trials in 2024.

Nesty was slightly faster than her morning swim of2:13.39 to finish in a comfortable 3rd in 2:13.22.

Men’s 200 Back

  • World Record: 1:51.92 – Aaron Peirsol (2009)
  • US Open Record: 1:53.08 – Aaron Peirsol

Top 3:

  1. Hubert Kos (TXLA) – 1:55.62
  2. Jack Aikins (TXLA) – 2:00.16
  3. Jack Wilkening (TXLA) – 2:02.04

In his 2nd event of the session, Hubert Kos was expectedly dominant in the 200 back, though his time of 1:55.62 was about three quarters of a second slower than his prelims performance of 1:54.85.

Kos took this race out identical to the morning, splitting 26.49 to lead off both races, and was actually faster tonight on that 2nd 50, 29.23 to his prelims 29.25. From there, Kos fell off that morning pace, splitting 29.82 and 30.08 to close out his race, about eight tenths slower than his morning swim.

Aikins was right around where he was this morning, dropping three tenths off a second from his prelims 2:00.47 to keep his runner-up position in 2:00.16. Training partner, and fellow Jack, Jack Wilkening was over two seconds faster than the prelims, taking a comfortable 3rd place finish in 2:02.04.

Women’s 50 Breast

  • World Record: 29.16 – Ruta Meilutyte (2023)
  • US Open Record: 29.62 – Lilly King (2018)

Top 3:

  1. Anna Elendt (TXLA) – 30.80
  2. Piper Enge (TXLA) – 31.11
  3. Sarah Padurean (NTRA) – 34.12

The women’s 50 breast was a battle for 1st and 3rd. Anna Elendt managed to creep ahead of Piper Enge to claim the spring breast win in 30.80, just less than two tenths faster than her prelims swim.

Enge also shaved a quarter of a second off of her morning time to push Elendt in 31.11.

Elendt, the reigning 100 breast world champion, has been as fast as 30.10 in her career, which came at the Mare Nostrum Tour in 2022 in Barcelona. Enge’s best sits at 30.53 from the 2024 World Championships.

Sarah Padurean, the 15-year-old, slipped by Lily Glasgow to finish 3rd in 34.12, eight hundredths faster than Glasgow.

Men’s 50 Breast

  • World Record: 25.95 – Adam Peaty (2017)
  • US Open Record: 26.52 – Michael Andrew (2022)

Top 3:

  1. Campbell McKean (TXLA) – 27.60
  2. Nate Germonprez (TXLA) – 28.07
  3. Jack Kelly (NYAC) – 28.42

The men’s race was significantly tighter than the women’s with Campbell Mckean taking the top time in 27.60, the only sub 28 performer at the meet. That sits seven tenths off of his career best of 26.90 from the US National Championships last summer that helped him earn a spot on his first World Championship team.

Germonprez just missed out on the sub 28 second barrier in 28.07, a just over a half second off his season best of 27.55 from the US Open in December.

Kelly, the former Brown University standout, was the only swimmer to add time from his morning race in the event, touching 3rd in 29.42, which was three tenths slower than he was in the prelims.

The 4th swimmer in this race, Will Scholtz, also dipped under 29 seconds, touching three tenths outside of the top three in 28.72.

Women’s 100 Free

  • World Record: 51.71 – Sarah Sjostrom (2017)
  • US Open Record: 52.43 – Tori Huske (2025)

Top 3:

  1. Simone Manuel (TXLA) – 53.50
  2. Summer McIntosh (TXLA) – 54.98
  3. Nikolett Padar (TXLA) – 55.02

Simone Manuel owned this race, once again, taking the win in the 100 free by a considerable margin, similar to the morning, that winning margin sat at about a second a nd a half, clocking 53.50.

That time nearly marked a season best, just missing out on the 53.33 she swam at the US Open in December.

McIntosh moved up to 2nd after her 3rd place prelims swim, turning in the only other sun 55 second time in 54.98. THis event is outside of what we normally associate the Canadian phenom with, having been as fast as 53.90 in her career, which came at the Speedo Canadian Open in 2024.

Padar stayed competitive, touching just four hundredths off of McIntosh, just missing a sub 55 second time in 55.02.

Men’s 100 Free

  • World Record: 46.40 – Pan Zhanle (2024)
  • US Open Record: 46.99 – Jack Alexy (2025)

Top 3:

  1. Chris Guiliano (TXLA) – 48.13
  2. Rafael Fente-Damers (TXLA) – 49.21
  3. Luke Hobson (NYAC) – 49.66

In the final men’s race of the evening, it was Chris Guiliano who stayed dominant in the 100 free, finishing a full second plus ahead of the field in 48.13, just off his prelims time of 49.21.

Guiliano is still the fastest performer in the world this season with his 47.38 from the Westmont Pro Series, for reference, his prelims time of 48.00 would have still ranked 16th in the world this season, while his finals swim would be tied for 21st.

Fente-Damers was the next fastest performer in 49.21, nearly a half second faster than US freestyle mainstay Luke Hobson in 49.66. Fente-Damers best time came at the Championnats de France Elite Natation meet in 2025, where he clocked 48.02, while Hobson’s career best sits at 48.50 from the 2024 World Championships.

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CASIO Swim Nerd
19 days ago

Ayo, Anna Elendt with a new “technically 50 free world record???” wHaT???
(referring to initial typo in podium ranks)

Last edited 19 days ago by CASIO Swim Nerd
Bevo
19 days ago

8 weeks ’til Nationals
10 weeks ’til Pan Pacs
Great early summer swims…

BBE
20 days ago

Question: why did Summer switch over to Bob? Was it so he could break down her faults in order to build her up for LA2028?
If so, Summer likely won’t be performing at peak condition until she improves on her mechanics, no?

Admin
Reply to  BBE
20 days ago

I can’t say exactly why she chose Bob beyond what is obvious, but I think her time with Sarasota had just run its course. That program does amazing things with age groupers, but isn’t structured to carry global superstars into their adult careers.

Eddie
Reply to  Braden Keith
19 days ago

she would’ve done crazy things if she’d stayed with Fred

Lily
Reply to  Braden Keith
19 days ago

Must be said, coach Brent at Sarasota did bring Summer to 3 gold 1 silver Olympic medals, which is phenomenal for a development program.

I think many Summer fans are wondering whether staying with coach Fred in France rather than transferring to coach Bob in Austin may have yielded different results this year (so far).

Admin
Reply to  Lily
19 days ago

He for sure did. Brent is a phenomenal coach. But like I said…Sarasota isn’t constructed to have your head coach focused on one professional superstar. The rest of the team was starting to get frustrated with the arrangement, and rightly so.

Texas has coaches who focus mostly on the pros. They have a whole infrastructure to train pro athletes. It’s not about coach quality, it’s about program structure.

Bobthebuilderrocks
Reply to  Braden Keith
19 days ago

well this is interesting…

Notsofast
20 days ago

I don’t think anyone should get too hyped up about Summer’s times in this meet. She did win all 4 core events and came second in her fifth. Didn’t anybody notice her last split in the 200 fly? It was insane. She is peaking for the Canadian Trials and Pan Pacs, not the meet equivalent to Sockwell’s South Texas Merry Mountain Dingleberry Splash.

64x25m.
Reply to  Notsofast
20 days ago

I really hope you are right, and that I am wrong. Like I said elsewhere, I will be here to take the heat and kicks if/when it all turns around. I won’t hide.

But something just bothers me about what I’m seeing.

(And hopefully, Leon is just fine!)

Notsofast
Reply to  64x25m.
20 days ago

I’ll eat my words if she doesn’t perform well at trials as that is the meet where she swam to all her world records.

Texan
Reply to  64x25m.
19 days ago

Even Braden basically remarked once that Bob does alright the first year with a swimmer, and in later years becomes very good. Why are you bothered so much by results from what is basically an intrasquad meet?

64x25m.
Reply to  Texan
19 days ago

Concerned is the better word.

I’m a Summer and Leon fan.

Do we even know how Leon is?

John26
Reply to  Notsofast
19 days ago

Is bowman even going to let her go WRs at trials? Phelps and Marchand dont

wild
Reply to  John26
19 days ago

Didn’t Phelps set a WR at a trials meet one year? Also summer tends to swim faster pre-championships than Marchand

Juan Cena
20 days ago

Anna Elendt 20.80 to beat the enhanced super suited 20.81, swimming breaststroke too. rip Enhanced Games

TerrapinDude
20 days ago

genuinely curious how many people understand the concept of cyclical training

64x25m.
Reply to  TerrapinDude
20 days ago

😂

I think I know where this is going!

Yes, macrocyles, mesocyles, microcycles, loading, recovery, etc etc etc (I coached for 30+ years. Some National champs.)

So, how’s Leon doing?

Bobthebuilderrocks
Reply to  64x25m.
20 days ago

you said once recently that you’re new to swimming…

64x25m.
Reply to  Bobthebuilderrocks
20 days ago

45 years running!! 😂

newbie
Reply to  64x25m.
20 days ago

removed — misread

Last edited 20 days ago by newbie
64x25m.
Reply to  newbie
20 days ago

Oh look! Newbie just confirmed what I said above. 😂

I AM NOT A LIAR. (Unlike You-All In Chief.)

64x25m.
Reply to  newbie
20 days ago

Dude…that removal is very kind of you. Thanks.

wild
Reply to  TerrapinDude
20 days ago

Besides the fact that Texas swimmers have their hardest training year this year, I don’t know a ton about it

Graven gerhanan
20 days ago

Regan and Kate both broke the pool record

GOATKeown
20 days ago

I hate to derail the article but Australian trials start in 25 minutes. Are we getting an article to comment on?

64x25m.
Reply to  GOATKeown
20 days ago

Yeah, I can’t wait for this. I’m sensing epicness. (Vice overtraining / burnout!)

Sparkle
Reply to  GOATKeown
20 days ago

*womp womp my third world country doesn’t have a recap article wahhhhhh*

GOATKeown
Reply to  Sparkle
20 days ago

Thankfully they’ve made one!

Combining the last 3 major long course meets, Australia has the most gold medals and most world records of anyone. Im proud of my third world country ❤️

Murica
Reply to  GOATKeown
20 days ago

No. Get your own website.

GOATKeown
Reply to  Murica
20 days ago

lol you’re usually unpleasant and angry at Australia for no reason but you really woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, didn’t you!

64x25m.
Reply to  GOATKeown
20 days ago

I love Aussies!!!

(You-Alls? Much more complex.)