2026 Men’s NCAA Division I Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, March 25–Saturday, March 28
• Location: McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
• Defending Champions: Texas (1x)
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  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2

Day 3 Finals Heat Sheets

Welcome back for the third night of finals at the 2026 Men’s NCAA Division I Championships. The racing has been electric so far with at least one NCAA record in each session of the meet so far. With the 100 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 500 freestyle, 50 freestyle, and 400 medley relay on tap tonight it’s sure to be another blisteringly fast session–and we’ll see if that record-setting trend continues.

It was Hubert Kos who delivered the NCAA record this morning. He lowered his own 100 backstroke mark with a 43.08, inching closer to the 43-second barrier. Kos swam almost four-tenths faster than the rest of the field during prelims and that statement swim set him up excellently to repeat as the 100 backstroke champion.

Then, Yamato Okadome aims to complete the breaststroke sweep in Atlanta. Last night’s 100 breaststroke champion is third after the 200 breaststroke prelims (1:50.54). He’s sitting behind a pair of 1:49-points from UNC’s Ben Delmar and Texas’ Nate Germonprez. Luka Mladenovic (1:50.63), Gabe Nunziata (1:50.66), and Josh Bey (1:50.77) form a freshman trio seeded 4th-6th in this final.

After diving, the attention turns to a battle between Ahmed Jaouadi and Rex Maurer in the 500 freestyle. Both of them have already won NCAA titles this week; Jaouadi opened the first finals session by breaking the 1650 freestyle NCAA record and Maurer took home the 400 IM title last week. Maurer is the American record holder and defending champion in this event, but Jaouadi torched Bobby Finke‘s 1650 freestyle record and fired off an exceptional final 50 yards that made it look easy for him to shake off two-time defending champion Zalan Sarkany.

The individual racing will close with another excellent matchup, this time between Gui Caribe and Josh Liendo in the 50 freestyle. Anything can happen in the splash-and-dash, but it seems these two are men to beat in the wake of Jordan Crooks‘ graduation.

Men’s 100 Backstroke — Final

• NCAA Record: 43.08 — Hubert Kos, Texas (2026)
• Championship Record: 43.08 — Hubert Kos, Texas (2026)
• American Record: 43.26 — Will Modglin, Texas (2025)
• U.S. Open Record: 43.08 — Hubert Kos, Texas (2026)
• 2025 Champion: Hubert Kos, Texas — 43.20
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 44.52/45.22

Final: 

1. Hubert Kos (Texas) — 42.61 *NCAA, Championship, U.S. Open Record*
2. Ruard van Renen (Georgia) — 43.54
3. Adam Chaney (ASU) — 43.75
4. Will Modglin (Texas) — 43.80
5. Johnny Crush (Army)/Owen McDonald (Indiana) — 43.84
6. —
7. Marcus Reyes-Gentry (Notre Dame) — 44.14
8. Aiden Hayes (NC State) — 44.49

That’s another time barrier crushed this weekend. After approaching the 43-second barrier with his NCAA record-setting swim this morning, Hubert Kos blew past that mark in tonight’s final, setting NCAA, Championship, and U.S. Open records with his winning time of 42.61.

Kos left little doubt about who was going to win this final. He was out in 9.98, then flipped at the halfway point in 20.42. Already, he was about four-tenths ahead of the rest of the field. Georgia’s Ruard van Renen flipped in 20.81 and Marcus Reyes-Gentry made his turn in 20.91–they were the only two men in the final out sub-21.

Kos continued to press his advantage on the back half of the race, coming home in 22.19 to stop the clock in 42.61 and defend his title from last year. Not only is he the first man to break 43-seconds in this event, he is the first to do so in both the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly.

van Renen added .13 seconds from prelims but maintained his second-place position at the finish, clocking 43.54. Two years ago, van Renen was 7th and last year, he took 3rd. Arizona State fifth-year Adam Chaney rounded out the top three with a 43.75, moving ahead of Will Modglin on the final 25 yards after being tied at the 75-yard turn. Chaney’s swim is a new lifetime best, bettering the 43.93 he swam at the Big 12 Championships.

Modglin was 5th in prelims but took 4th here (43.80), picking up some points for the Longhorns.

Behind him, Army’s Johnny Crush and Indiana’s Owen McDonald tied for 5th in 43.84. This swim marks the first sub-44 swim of both their careers. Crush’s time improves his standing as the second-fastest mid-major swimmer in history behind Dean Farris (43.66).

Men’s 200 Breaststroke — Final

• NCAA Record: 1:46.35 – Leon Marchand, ASU (2024)
• Championship Record: 1:46.35 – Leon Marchand, ASU (2024)
• American Record: 1:47.91 – Will Licon, Texas (2017)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:46.35 – Leon Marchand, ASU (2024)
• 2025 Champion: Jassen Yep, Indiana – 1:48.30
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 1:50.35/1:51.83

Final: 

1. Yamato Okadome (Cal) — 1:48.61
2. Josh Bey (Indiana) — 1:48.79
3. Luka Mladenovic (Michigan) — 1:49.34
4. Ben Delmar (UNC) — 1:49.66
5. Nate Germonprez (Texas) — 1:49.69
6. Toby Barnett (Indiana) — 1:49.80
7. Gabe Nunziata (Tennessee) — 1:50.26
8. Eli Martin (Virginia Tech) — 1:52.04

Yamato Okadome completed the breaststroke sweep at this year’s NCAA Championships, holding off Indiana freshman Josh Bey for his second title of the week.

Texas’ Nate Germonprez, the 100 breaststroke third-place finisher, took the race out, leading the way at the 50 yard mark with a 24.16 opening split. At that point, Bey was second (24.34) and Okadome third (24.46). Okadome took over at the 100 with a 51.87 split. He kept the pace high on the second 50 (27.41) and was the only man out sub-52 seconds. Bey maintained his second-place with a 52.04 split and Germonprez was in third (52.11).

Okadome again had the fastest split on the third 50 (28.06), adding to his lead over Bey by three-hundredths. Bey outsplit the Cal sophomore 28.66 to 28.68 on the final 50, but those two-hundredths were not enough to overtake Okadome. Okadome hit the wall with a 1:48.61, shaving almost three-tenths from his previous lifetime best.

Bey touched second in a lifetime best 1:48.79. This marks his first sub-1:50 outing; his previous lifetime best was the 1:50.03 he swam at Big Tens. He took second at that meet behind Michigan freshman Luka Mladenovic. Mladenovic took third in this race, matching his winning time from Big Tens and lifetime best exactly (1:49.34).

Ben Delmar, the top seed after prelims, finsihed 4th in 1:49.66, splitting 28.99 on the final 50 to move ahead of Germonprez.

After placing 20th last year, Indiana junior Toby Barnett took 6th in a lifetime best 1:49.80, rounding out the sub-1:50 swims in this final.

Men’s 3-Meter Diving Final — Rds 1-3

Top 8 After Three Rounds: 

1. Matteo Santoro (Miami) — 247.25
2. Collier Dyer (Missouri) — 235.40
3. Luke Sitz (SMU) — 233.20
4. Moritz Wesemann (USC) — 231.50
5. Conor Gesing (Florida) — 218.75
6. Luke Forester (Texas) — 198.55
7. Nicholas Harris (Texas) — 198.40
8. Bennett Greene (Tennessee) — 181.50

Men’s 500 Freestyle — Final

• NCAA Record: 4:02.31– Leon Marchand, ASU (2024)
• Championship Record: 4:02.31 – Leon Marchand, ASU (2024)
• American Record: 4:04.35 – Rex Maurer, Texas (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 4:02.31 – Leon Marchand, ASU (2024)
• 2025 Champion: Rex Maurer, Texas – 4:05.35
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 4:09.52/4:13.15

Final: 

1. Ahmed Hafnaoui (Florida) — 4:06.56
2. Ahmed Jaouadi (Florida) — 4:06.90
3. Rex Maurer (Texas) — 4:07.88
4. Zalan Sarkany (Indiana) — 4:07.95
5. Gio Linscheer (Florida) — 4:09.13
6. Leonardo Alcantara (Alabama) — 4:11.87
7. Aaron Shackell (Indiana) — 4:12.23
8. Sean Green (Georgia) — 4:13.29

Make that two of Florida’s World Championship-winning first-years that are now NCAA champions. Reigning 800/1500-meter freestyle champion Jaouadi got the job done on night one in the 1650 freestyle. It looked like this race was going to come down to him and Maurer, the defending champion. But Ahmed Hafnaoui, the 2023 800/1500-meter freestyle world champion, had something to say about that.

This was not at all on the same magnitude of surprise as when Hafnaoui won the 400-meter Olympic gold in Tokyo out of lane eight. But he still disrupted the narrative of this race. He took over the lead from Zalan Sarkany at the 200-yard mark and did not surrender it again, holding off pushes from Jaouadi, Maurer, and Sarkany.

Hafnaoui split 47.14/49.86/50.60/50.25/48.71 to earn the win in 4:06.56, breaking Matt Sates‘ pool record from four years ago.

His teammates Jaouadi began to make his move at the 350-yard mark and kicked into gear in earnest at the 400-yard mark. He closed in 24.42/23.49, touching in 4:06.90 to give the Gators the top two spots. Once again, his final 50 was the fastest in the field by a considerable margin.

The Gators went 1-2-5 in this final as Gio Linscheer took 5th in 4:09.13. It clearly provided a huge momentum boost for the Gators, as evidenced by all three participating in the post-race interview.

Men’s 50 Freestyle — Final

• NCAA Record: 17.63 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• Championship Record: 17.63 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• American Record: 17.63 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 17.63 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• 2025 Champion: Jordan Crooks, Tennessee – 17.91
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 18.73/18.92

Final: 

1. Josh Liendo (Florida) — 18.06
2. Gui Caribe (Tennessee) — 18.19
3. Ilya Kharun (ASU) — 18.24
4. Quintin McCarty (NC State) — 18.47
5. Remi Fabiani (ASU) — 18.54
6. Jonny Kulow (ASU) — 18.55
7. Nikita Sheremet (Louisville) — 18.65
8. Brendan Whitfield (Virginia Tech) — 18.66

After that 1-2-5 finish in the 500 freestyle, Florida kept the momentum building in the 50 freestyle. Josh Liendo, who acknowledged post-race that the 500 freestyle “hyped [him] up” swam an 18.06 for the win, knocking a hundredth off his lifetime best. The time improves his standing as the third-fastest performer in event history. He reclaimed the 50 freestyle national title with the swim; he won the event two years ago and then took second last season.

This is Liendo’s second individual NCAA title of the meet after he won the 100 butterfly yesterday (breaking the NCAA record twice over the course of the day).

The fourth-fastest swimmer all-time in this event, Gui Caribe, took second with a lifetime best 18.19. Meanwhile, Ilya Kharun moved up the all-time performers list, jumping ahead of Bjorn Seeliger‘s 18.27 best with an 18.24. This is Kharun’s second third-place finish of the meet as he earned the same place in the 100 butterfly.

This event helped put Florida in the lead in the team race with 285 points ahead of Texas’ 281.5. Texas does have two divers in the ‘A’ flight to Florida’s one though. The 50 freestyle final was also a major points-getter for the Sun Devils, who had three men in this final. Kharun was their best placed finisher in 3rd then Remi Fabiani took 5th (18.54) and Jonny Kulow finished 6th (18.55).

Notably, all eight finalists either matched or improved on their prelims time.

Men’s 3-Meter Diving Final — Rds 4-6

Final: 

1. Collier Dyer (Missouri) — 497.75
2. Luke Sitz (SMU) — 495.30
3. Mortiz Wesermann (USC) — 485.85
4. Matteo Santoro (Miami) — 465.95
5. Conor Gesing (Florida) — 425.05
6. Nicholas Harris (Texas) — 415.00
7. Luke Forester (Texas) — 405.55
8. Bennett Greene (Tennessee) — 402.55

Collier Dyer was sitting second after the first three rounds of diving. He dove well over his final three dives and moved ahead of become national champion for the first time with 497.75 points. Not only is this Dyer’s first NCAA title, this was his first ‘A’ flight at the NCAA Championships. Last year, he finished 11th on the 1-meter and was 44th on the 3-meter board.

Florida’s Conor Gesing finished 5th ahead of both Texas divers. However, Nicholas Harris and Luke Forester‘s combined points helped put the Longhorns back ahead of the Gators in the team standings race, 306.5 to 299.

Men’s 400 Medley Relay — Final

• NCAA Record: 2:55.66 – Florida (Marshall, Smith, Liendo, Painter), 2025
• Championship Record: 2:56.10 – Florida (Marshall, Smith, Liendo, Painter), 2025
• American Record: 3:00.34 – Texas (Modglin, Germonprez, Gould, Taylor). 2025
• U.S. Open Record: 2:55.66 – Florida (Marshall, Smith, Liendo, Painter), 2025
• 2025 Champion: Florida (Marshall, Smith, Liendo, Painter) – 2:56.10
• 2025 8th/16th Times: 3:01.19/3:04.14

Top time after early heats: Tennessee (Saravia, Nunziata, Paula, Caribe) — 3:00.34

Final Heat: 

1. Arizona State (Chaney, Dobrzanski, Kharun, Fabiani) — 2:56.79
2. Texas (Modglin, Germonprez, Kos, Taylor) — 2:57.22
3. Florida (Marshall, de Groot, Liendo, Painter) — 2:57.54
4. Michigan — 2:58.53
5. Indiana — 2:59.96
6. California — 3:00.41
7. Florida State — 3:01.58
8. Georgia — 3:02.91

Top 8: 

1. Arizona State (Chaney, Dobrzanski, Kharun, Fabiani) — 2:56.79
2. Texas (Modglin, Germonprez, Kos, Taylor) — 2:57.22
3. Florida (Marshall, de Groot, Liendo, Painter) — 2:57.54
4. Michigan — 2:58.53
5. Indiana — 2:59.96
6. Tennessee — 3:00.34
7. California — 3:00.41
8. Virginia — 3:00.55

Texas had a strong first three legs of the 400 medley relay, but the sprint freestyle leg was always going to be their weakness in this final, particularly when stacked against teams like Arizona State and Florida.

And that is how this 400 medley relay final played out as the final event on Day 3 at these championships. Texas held the lead through the first three legs: Modglin led off in 43.49, Germonprez split 49.77 on breaststroke, and Kos a 42.52 on butterfly. Camden Taylor anchored for them in 41.44, but it was not enough to withstand a 40.24 anchor from Arizona State’s Remi Fabiani.

The Longhorns had control of the first 75% of the race, but they weren’t able to entirely shake either the Sun Devils or the Gators. Chaney fired off a 43.64 100 backstroke, a new lifetime best faster than the one he set for 3rd in the 100 backstroke final that opened this session. Then, Dobrzanski split 50.28 and Kharun swam 42.63 on butterfly. The Longhorns had about an eight-tenths lead heading to the freestyle leg, which Fabiani ate away at over his leg. He stopped the clock in 2:56.79, setting a new pool record as the Sun Devils picked up another relay win this week.

The Longhorns held on to take second in 2:57.22 as Taylor held off the charge from Alexander Painter (40.99). Jonny Marshall missed the 100 backstroke scoring today, but opened with a 44.09 for the Gators tonight. Then, Koen de Groot split 50.05 in breaststroke before Liendo swam a field-best 42.41 that ranks second all-time only to his 42.12 split from 2025 SECs. With Painter’s 40.99 anchor, the team swam 2:57.54 for third.

Michigan took fourth in 2:58.53, powered by Jack Wilkening leading off in 43.98, becoming the first Wolvering under the 44-second barrier in the 100 backstroke.

Tennessee’s time from the early heats (3:00.34) held up for 6th place overall. Virginia also swam this morning and snuck into the top 8 with their program record 3:00.55.

The Luca Urlando-less Georgia quartet added significant time without their superstar as expected. They did not fall out of scoring range though, picking up two points with a 16th place finish (3:02.91).

Team Scores Thru Day 3

1. Texas, 340.5
2. Florida, 331
3. Indiana, 254
4. Arizona State, 245
5. Tennessee, 199
6. California, 186
7. NC State , 175.5
8. Michigan, 163
9. Virginia, 110
10. Stanford, 95
11. Louisville, 72
12. Virginia Tech, 67
13. Ohio State, 63
14. Kentucky/USC, 52
15. —
16. Georgia, 50.5
17. Miami (FL), 46
18. Auburn, 44
19. SMU, 41
20. Northwestern/UNC/LSU, 29
21. —
22. —
23. Alabama, 27
24. Princeton/Florida State, 25
25. —
26. Missouri, 20
27. Pittsburgh/Wisconsin, 19
28. —
29. Army, 17.5
30. Yale/Utah/Georgia Tech, 17
31. —
32. —
33. Notre Dame, 16
34. Delaware, 12
35. Purdue, 10
36. Harvard, 9
37. Texas A&M, 8
38. IU Indianapolis, 6
39. Penn State, 5
40. Arizona, 2