2026 NAIA National Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2026 NAIA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, March 4–Saturday, March 7
• Times: Prelims 9AM Eastern, Finals 5PM Eastern
• Location: Elkhart Aquatic Center, Elkhart, IN
• Defending Champions: Keiser women (4x); Keiser men (1x)
• Championship Program
• Psych Sheet
• Qualifiers per School: Men | Women
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Championship Central
• Recaps
  • Day 1 Finals
  • Day 2 Prelims

Day 2

Women’s Top 10 After Day 1

1. Keiser, 80
2. SCAD, 68
3. Masters, 64
4. St Thomas (FL), 58
5. Cumberlands, 56
6. Bethel (IN) , 52
7. Lindsey Wilson, 46
8. Milligan, 36
9. William Carey, 34
10. Olivet Nazarene, 28

Men’s Top 10 After Day 1

1. Keiser, 121
2. SCAD, 64
3. William Carey, 62
4. Milligan, 58
5. Masters, 56
6. St Thomas (FL), 54
7. St Ambrose, 50
8. Aquinas College, 46
9. (tie) Lindsey Wilson / Cumberlands, 34
10. –

Women’s 500 Freestyle — Finals

• Meet Record: 4:52.24, Alex Peters (Concordia) – 2011
• 2025 Champion: Haley Vanbuskirk (St. Thomas) – 5:00.87

Podium:

1. Bella Hoare (Cumberlands), 4:56.45
2. Lena Gerl (SCAD), 4:56.60
3. Riley Renaud (Milligan), 5:00.06
4. Juliana Lopez Morales (Cumberlands), 5:01.75
5. Hannah Jyawook (Arizona Christian), 5:02.01
6. Nathalie Medina (Lindsey Wilson), 5:04.35
7. Alanis Santiago (Keiser), 5:07.57
8. Bea Moron Alonso (St. Thomas), 5:09.67

Day 2 could not have begun on a more exciting note. Bella Hoare of Cumberlands took it out quickly from lane 3. She flipped just a tick ahead of St. Thomas senior Bea Moron Alonso, who had earned lane 4 with the fastest time out of prelims this morning, at the 50, 100, and 150. Moron Alonso began to fall off pace on the 4th 50, and SCAD freshman Lena Gerl moved past her into 2nd.

At the 200 wall, Hoare led Gerl by 7-tenths. She extended her lead to 8-tenths at the 300. Gerl began her descent and closed the gap to half a second at the 400. Gerl came home in 30.3/28.3 to Hoare’s 30.1/28.8. It was a photo finish at the end but Hoare got the win by .15 with 4:56.45. Gerl placed 2nd in 4:56.60.

Riley Renaud of Milligan, 4th a year ago, placed 3rd this time in 5:00.06, 5 seconds faster than she had been last year. Juliana Lopez Morales from Cumberlands took 5th with 5:01.75, 10 seconds better than her 8th-place finish in 2025. Natalie Medina of Lindsey Wilson, 7th in 2025, finished 6th with 5:04.35.

Men’s 500 Freestyle — Finals

• Meet Record: 4:20.35, Joel Ax (SCAD) – 2017
• 2025 Champion: Mate Miszlai (William Carey) – 4:23.81

Podium:

1. Titouan Bernot (Cumberlands), 4:22.64
2. Izaiah Trevino-Iozano (Masters), 4:23.67
3. Alan Gonzalez (St. Thomas), 4:28.18
4. Alex Menzel (Keiser), 4:29.80
5. Sergio Ybarra (Lindsey Wilson), 4:29.59
6. Marat Usov (St. Ambrose), 4:31.31
7. Ethan Butler (Lindsey Wilson), 4:34.07
8. Miguel Leal Vieira (William Carey), 4:35.85

Cumberlands freshman Titouan Bernot took another 3-tenths off his best-by-4-seconds PB from prelims to win the men’s 500 in 4:22.64, coming to the wall a full second ahead of Masters sophomore Izaiah Trevino-Iozano (4:23.67).

The two were in a battle from the outset, already clear of the rest of the field by half a second at the first 50. They traded stroke for stroke, never separated by more than a few tenths, through the 250. Bernot then led by about half a second for the next 200 yards, but Trevino-Iozano made a run for it on the 9th 50 and led by .10 when the bell rang. Bernot came home in 25.29 to Trevino-Iozano’s 26.51 and earned the title with 4:22.64.

St Thomas freshman Alan Gonzalez took 3rd in 4:28.18, beating last year’s bronze medalist Alex Menzel of Keiser (4:29.80).

Women’s 200 IM — Finals

• Meet Record: 2:01.49, Katherine Dyer (The Masters) – 2025
• 2025 Champion: Katherine Dyer (The Masters) – 2:01.49

Podium:

1. Luiza Bersi (Keiser), 2:00.93 *NAIA AND MEET RECORD*
2. Katherine Dyer (Masters), 2:01.70
3. Louise Jones (SCAD), 2:02.42
4. Alessia Claassen (St. Thomas), 2:03.47
5. Rachel Bradley (Keiser), 2:04.12
6. Emma Phillips (St. Thomas), 2:04.23
7. Jette Haedicke (SCAD), 2:04.75
8. Nikki Hahn (SCAD), 2:06.04

Masters sophomore Katherine Dyer of Masters, swimming in lane 4, set out to defend her title and meet record in the 200 IM. Keiser sophomore Luiza Bersi was out first with a 25.50 butterfly to Dyer’s 25.79, but Dyer moved back in front after the backstroke. She outsplit Bersi by nearly a full second with 30.27, and was up 56.06 to 56.71 at the halfway mark.

Bersi had a slight edge on the breaststroke, 35.52 to 35.68, but it was the final 50 that determined the outcome. Bersi split 28.70 on the freestyle, beating Dyer by 1.2 seconds. Her final time of 2:00.93 took down the NAIA and championship meet records that Dyer had set last year with 2:01.49. Bersi had been 4th a year ago with 2:04.19.

Dyer touched 2nd in 2:01.70. SCAD’s Louise Jones, a sophomore who transferred in from Nevada, was solidly in 3rd place from start to finish and ended with a time of 2:02.42, while Alessia Claassen from St Thomas, 5th a year ago, finished 4th with 2:03.47.

Men’s 200 IM — Finals

• Meet Record: 1:46.20, Isaiah Aleksenko (Keiser) – 2026
• 2025 Champion: Fynn Kunze (Keiser) – 1:47.85

Podium:

1. Isaiah Aleksenko (Keiser), 1:44.48 *NAIA AND MEET RECORD*
2. Evan Nail (Masters), 1:46.06
3. Adam Conrad (St. Thomas), 1:47.92
4. Xavier Trovesi (Life), 1:49.13
5. Robert Adam (Milligan), 1:49.47
6. Yusuf Balaban (William Carey), 1:49.62
7. Elijah Holliman (Milligan), 1:50.42
8. Jack Fries (Olivet Nazarene), 1:54.18

After setting the meet record in prelims with 1:46.20, Keiser sophomore and 2025 NAIA Swimmer of the Year Isaiah Aleksenko made a case for a repeat award with an astounding 1:44.48 in the final. He destroyed his newly-established record, going 1.72 seconds faster at night and winning the title by more than a body length over Evan Nail. Nail, a transfer from Arizona State to The Masters, finished almost 2 seconds ahead of St Thomas senior Adam Conrad (1:47.92), who finished 4th a year ago.

Life sophomore Xavier Trovesi, who transferred from West Virginia Tech, came in 4th with 1:49.13. He edged 2025 runner-up Robert Adam from Milligan (1:49.47) and William Carey freshman Yusuf Balaban (1:49.62).

Women’s 50 Freestyle — Finals

• Meet Record: 22.29, Cheyenne Coffman (Fresno Pacific) – 2012
• 2025 Champion: Maaike Broersma (Lindsey Wilson) – 23.16

Podium:

1. Valle Gonzalez Ares (SCAD), 22.83
2. Natalia Janiszewska (Keiser), 23.20
3. Clara Patterson (Masters), 23.37
4. Natalie Gorska (Lindsey Wilson), 23.43
5. Sophie Bell (Brenau), 23.55
6. Megan Sutanto (Masters), 23.67
7. Jaylyn Harrison (Bethel), 23.70
8. Boglarka Zsunics (Keiser), 23.96

Valle Gonzalez Ares kicked off a SCAD sweep of the 50 freestyles by winning with a new personal best of 22.83. That was a relatively-dominant victory over the #1 seed coming into the meet, Natalia Janiszewska from Keiser, who finished 2nd in the final rankings in 23.20.

Gonzalez Ares’ time makes her just the 2nd woman in NAIA history to go under 23 seconds in the race. The all-time record belongs to Fresno Pacific’s Cheyenne Coffman, who swam 22.29 in 2012 before transferring to NCAA Division I Fresno State University.

Gonzalez Ares’ swim also broke the SCAD School Record. It previously belonged to Sloane Sizemore, the #2 performer in NAIA history until Thursday evening.

The morning seeds held pretty clean in the final, with Masters’ Clara Patterson placing 3rd in a new personal best of 23.37.

Men’s 50 Freestyle  — Finals

• Meet Record: 19.47, Noel de Geus (Keiser) – 2025
• 2025 Champion: Noel de Geus (Keiser) – 19.47

Podium:

1. Levente Mozsarik (SCAD), 19.30 *NAIA AND MEET RECORD*
2. Noel de Geus (Keiser), 19.73
3. Caleb Fry (Milligan), 19.82
4. Hanno Boeckmann (Keiser), 19.96
5. Alexander Poulsen (Cumberlands), 19.97
6. Cory Werrett (St. Ambrose), 20.01
7. Zoltan Tompos (SCAD), 20.08
8. Jet Fuhrmann (Keiser), 20.14

The SCAD sprint sweep is on. Hungarian 19-year-old freshman Levente Mozsarik re-broke his own NAIA Record of 19.42 done at the Sun Conference Championships a month ago, posting a 19.30 to snag his first NAIA Championship.

In the process, he knocked off the defending champion Noel de Geus from Keiser, who placed 2nd in 19.73. De Geus swam 19.57 to win last year’s title, which was at the time an NAIA Record.

They led a field of five guys under 20 seconds. That included Caleb Fry from Milligan in 19.82 (best time), Hanno Boeckmann from Keiser in 19.96, and Alexander Poulsen from Cumberlands in 19.97. That’s the most men who have ever been under 20 seconds at the NAIA National Championships (four did so last year), highlighting the increasing depth of the division.

The Keiser boys had a net +3 places in the rankings to extend their lead in this event – not as good as the 1-2-3-4 finish they posted at last year’s championship meet, but still enough to grow the gap over the field as they pursue a fifth-straight title.

Women’s 3-Meter Diving — Finals

• Meet Record: 444.81, Cynthia Miller – 1987
• 2025 Champion: Mireya Bonilla Flores (St Thomas) – 222.55

Podium:

1. Sinead Valero Godoy (Keiser), 321.85
2. Mireya Bonilla Flores (St. Thomas), 266.60
3. Morgan Schraudner (Cumberlands), 253.50
4. Mia Almeida (St. Ambrose), 244.70
5. Macy Schmidtgall (Indiana Wesleyan), 209.75
6. AC Taylor (Keiser), 205.55
7. Sarah Graves (Bethel), 197.40

As NAIA teams have begun to invest more in diving, the springboard events at Nationals have gotten exciting. Keiser’s Sinead Valero Godoy became the first woman diver to surpass 300 points on the 3-meter board in decades. She won with 321.85 points.

But everyone else improved, too. Defending champion Mireya Bonilla Flores of St. Thomas scored 44.05 points more than she had a year ago to finish 2nd with 266.60. Indiana Wesleyan’s Macy Schmidtgall (209.75 for 5th) improved by 28.40 points; Bethel’s Sarah Graves (197.40 for 7th) was 22.85 points over her 3rd-place finish from 2025. In fact, 197.40 would have been runner-up a year ago.

Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay — Timed Finals

• Meet Record: 1:32.15, Oklahoma Baptist – 2014
• 2025 Champion: Lindsey Wilson – 1:33.83

Podium:

1. Keiser, 1:33.32
2. SCAD, 1:33.42
3. Masters, 1:33.57
4. St Thomas, 1:34.67
5. Bethel, 1:35.82
6. Cumberlands, 1:35.85
7. Lindsey Wilson, 1:36.48
8. Aquinas College, 1:37.41

Natalia Janiszewska (23.25), Alanis Santiago (23.49), Boglarka Zsunics (23.39), and Luiza Bersi (23.19) combined to give Keiser the 200 free relay title in a tight finish ahead of SCAD (1:33.42) and Masters (1:33.57).

SCAD’s Valle Gonzalez Ares, fresh off a national title in the 50 free, had the fastest leadoff with 23.09. Jette Haedicke split 23.61 to keep the Bees in front of the Seahawks by a hair at the halfway mark. But Kailah Dauderman (23.69) and Louise Jones (23.03) couldn’t catch Keiser and the Bees had to settle for 2nd place with 1:33.42.

The Masters featured the 2 fastest splits of the night, but had to settle for 3rd place with 1:33.57. Megan Sutanto (23.56), Clara Patterson (22.97), Katherine Dyer (22.69), and Kylee Sears (24.35) contributed to the effort.

Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay — Timed Finals

• Meet Record: 1:18.43, Oklahoma Baptist – 2014
• 2025 Champion: Milligan, 1:19.82

Podium:

1. Keiser, 1:18.27
2. SCAD, 1:19.48
3. Cumberlands, 1:20.04
4. Milligan, 1:20.22
5. St Ambrose, 1:21.53
6. Life, 1:22.76
7. William Carey, 1:23.13
8. Ave Maria, 1:23.81

It was a thrilling end to an already exciting night, as Keiser broke a 12-year-old meet record in the 200 free relay with 1:18.27. Noel de Geus (19.78), Isaiah Aleksenko (19.45), Hanno Boeckmann (19.23), and Jet Fuhrmann (19.81) combined to finish a full body length ahead of runner-up SCAD.

The Bees held off the rest of the field with Zoltan Tompos (20.24), Levente Jan Mozsarik (19.28), Jan Gastal (20.11), and Caed Peterson (19.85) combining for 1:19.48.

Alexander Poulsen (20.23), Adam Geddis (19.87), Arvid Farro (20.01), and Titouan Bernot (19.93) signed the 3rd-place performance for Cumberlands with 1:20.04.

St. Thomas, Lindsey Wilson, and Masters were all disqualified.

Women’s Top 10 After Day 2

1. Keiser, 238
2. SCAD Savannah, 188
3. (tie) Cumberlands / St Thomas (FL), 167
4. –
5. Masters, 142
6. Bethel (IN), 115
7. Lindsey Wilson, 98
8. Milligan, 70
9. Olivet Nazarene, 49
10. (tie) William Carey / Arizona Christian, 48

Men’s Top 10 After Day 2

1. Keiser, 263
2. SCAD Savannah, 140
3. Milligan, 139
4. William Carey, 120
5. Cumberlands, 114
6. St Thomas (FL), 111
7. St Ambrose, 110
8. Masters, 95
9. Life, 76
10. (tie) Aquinas / Lindsey Wilson, 60