Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships
- Wednesday, February 11–Saturday, February 14
- Location: Spire Academy, Geneva, OH
- Defending Champions: Niagara women (éx); Niagara men (1x)
- Live Results
- Live Video: ESPN+
- Schedule of Events (PDF)
- Championship Central
- SwimSwam Fan Guide
The third and longest finals session of the 2026 MAAC Championships did not disappoint. It featured a gluttony of top-end talent from the Fairfield women, freshman breakout star Vilem Mikula pick up a 2nd win, and the conference’s first 2026 NCAA qualifier in diver Ryleigh Maloney.
MAAC newcomer Allie Bashor, a grad student transfer to Fairfield from Long Island University, topped a tight 100 fly field with a 55.17. Bashor went out in 25.73 before coming back in 29.44 to run down runner-up Sophia Velleco.
After throwing down a field-leading 50 freestyle relay split on Mount Saint Marys’ anchor the previous night, Parker Koenig followed it up with an individual 100 fly title. His 48.01 was slower than the 47.78 he went last year for 2nd, but it was good enough to become the junior’s first individual MAAC win.
Freshman Bobby Regan took the men’s 400 IM for Fairfield, granting him his first conference win. He swam a 3:51.32 pb to lead the rest of the field by two seconds. The women’s event went to Marty Divis, a Niagara sophomore, in 4:25.46.
Then, in the 200 free, Fairfield freshman Natasha De Pree took down defending champion Natalie Killion in the women’s event, 1:48.33 to 1:48.66. De Pree, an British national, missed the 1:48.18 best mark she produced leading off her 800 free relay, but she still established herself as the woman to beat in the next three years.
In the men’s middle distance event, Aidan Schnapf avenged a narrow loss in the 500 last night with a 1:37.15 victory. The swim shaved over a second from his 1:38.25 lifetime best produced at this meet last year. Shnapf is in his junior year at Fairfield.
Schnapf’s classmate Tone Sansjoe retained her MAAC sprint breaststroke crown in record fashion. She went out in 27.72 and back in 32.60 in the 100 breaststroke for a final time of 1:00.32, beating her own conference mark of 1:00.61 from 2025. Rider University teammates Max Connelly and Billy Ruddy went 1-2 in the men’s breaststroke, clocking times of 53.87 and 54.06. For Connelly, the winner, it represented a massive PB; his previous best was 54.96.
The final individual event, the 100 backstroke, saw Raegan O’Brien and Vilem Mikula touch first. On the women’s side, O’Briend produced a wire-to-wire lead over the field for a final time of 55.41. This is a best time for the Iona sophomore.
Mikula, meanwhile, continued an excellent campaign for freshman of the meet with a double individual victory. He produced a 47.51, a best time and Niagara team record by over a second.
Sacred Heart University once again took three of the top four spots in women’s diving, this time in the 3 meters. Freshman Ryleigh Mahoney led the way with a 280.85, which qualifies her for NCAAs.
The women’s 400 medley proved the fastest and most exciting event of the session. With three of the individual winners tonight (Sandsjoe, Bashor, De Pree), along with backstroker Chloe Wutkitch, Fairfield produced 3:40.35 to obliterate the 3:42.93 MAAC record set by Niagara last year. Most notably, Bashor put up a 53.62 split on butterfly.
Niagara didn’t go down with a fight, though, as they also went under the old record with a 3:40.75. They had an electric front half; Natalie Killion led off in a 54.96 that would’ve won the individual 100 back, while Alaina Pitton split a field-leading 59.56 100 breast after losing to Sansjoe in the individual event.
Iona university had a comfortable 3:14.04 victory on the men’s side. Its winning squad consisted of Kieran Egan, Max Buchen, Noah Giunta, and Nate Wales.
Team Standings After Night 3
Men
- Fairfield – 860.83
- Marist – 792
- Niagara – 767.33
Women
- Marist – 909.5
- Fairfield – 875.5
- Niagara – 738
