Summit League – Men and Women
- Dates: Wednesday, February 18–Saturday, February 21
- Location: Campus Recreation & Wellness Center, Iowa City, IA
- Defending Champions: Denver women (11x); Denver men (10x)
- Live Results
- Live Video: Summit League Network
- Schedule of Events (PDF)
- Championship Central
- SwimSwam Fan Guide
- Teams: Denver, Eastern Illinois, Nebraska-Omaha, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Southern Indiana, St. Thomas
Event Schedule
Wednesday
- 200 medley relay
- Men’s 1-meter diving
- 800 free relay
Thursday
- 500 free
- 200 IM
- 50 free
- Women’s 1-meter diving
- 200 free relay
Friday
- 100 fly
- 400 IM
- 200 free
- 100 breast
- 100 back
- Men’s 3-Meter diving
- 400 medley relay
Saturday
- 1650 free
- 200 back
- 100 free
- 200 breast
- 200 fly
- Women’s 3-Meter diving
- 400 free relay
Swimmers to watch
Women
Sabrina Rachjaibun, Junior, Denver – Last year’s 500 free champion Sabrina Rachjaibun is the only female swimmer in the Summit League this year that we predicted had a chance of earning an individual NCAA qualification via the new “win-and-you’re-in” model. She currently has the fastest time in the Summit League in the women’s 400 IM, coming in at 4:14.87. She sits more than five seconds ahead of the 2nd place swimmer in the conference Mina Ada Solaker, her Denver teammate. She would need to drop a little more than a second because the NCAA standard sits at 4:13.20, but if she does that in her conference title swim, she will earn her first NCAA qualification. She also sits 1st in the conference in the 500 free (4:50.03) and 2nd in the 200 fly (2:00.44).
Sam Synsvoll, Freshman, Denver – One of the top freshmen in the Summit League this year is Denver’s Sam Synsvoll. She currently leads the conference in the 200 free (1:49.76) and the 200 IM (2:01.87), and she is 3rd in the 400 IM (4:21.20). She has been faster in all three events with lifetime bests of 1:48.35, 2:01.13, and 4:18.65, and if she drops back into those ranges, she could be a dual-event winner as a freshman.
Henley Hatzung, Freshman, University of South Dakota – Another one of the top freshmen in the conference is University of South Dakota’s Henley Hatzung. She doesn’t currently lead the conference in any events, but she is projected to score in the top-three in all three. She ranks 3rd in the 50 free (23.32), 100 back (55.15), and 200 back (1:59.31). Hatzung also has faster lifetime bests in all three events, and could be looking to move up even further at the meet.
Men
Nick Rounds, Sophomore, South Dakota – Last season, Rounds finished 6th in the 50 free final. This year, he is looking at a potential NCAA qualification in the event. He is coming into the meet as the top swimmer in the Summit League with the 19.43 he swam in the event in November putting him exactly tied with the NCAA qualifying time. If he can match that swim and win the meet, he will earn a spot at the 2026 NCAA Championships. He is also a potential qualifier in the 100 back, coming in as the top seed in 46.33. He would need to drop four hundredths to get under the time of 46.29, but this is another potential win for him.
Joe Hancock, Senior, Denver – Another potential NCAA qualifier, Joe Hancock currently holds the 55th fastest time in the country this season in the men’s mile, coming in at 15:10.96. The NCAA qualifying time is 15:06.60, and his lifetime best is 15:07.52. He is the top seed in the event by more than seven seconds, and seems like he will primarily be racing the clock. In 2025, he won the event in 15:09.03.
Kito Campbell, Freshman, Denver – The final swimmer we projected to potentially earn an NCAA qualification is Denver freshman Kito Campbell. Campbell swam 52.91 in the 100 breast at the Minnesota Invite, which leads the conference by nearly two seconds this season. The NCAA qualifying time is 52.58, which means Campbell would only need to drop about four tenths in his title winning swim to qualify for NCAAs in his 1st collegiate season. He is also the 2nd seed in the 200 breast (1:59.14).
Races to Watch:
Women
200 back – The Denver women hold the top seeds in most of the individual events, and they also have a few potential ‘A’ finalists in all of them. In the 200 backstroke, Denver teammates Sam Synsvoll and Darian Koler are coming into the meet ranked 1st (1:58.47) and 2nd (1:58.54) respectively. They sit less than a tenth apart and will be battling for the top of the podium while South Dakota’s Henley Hatzung sits less than a second back (1:59.31) and will be looking for a drop to earn South Dakota a win.
100 breast – One of the few events where Denver does not hold the lone top seed is the women’s 100 breaststroke, and a Denver swimmer is still seeded 1st. San Diego’s Taylor Buhr and Denver’s Tenaya Winter are both tied at the top of the conference in 1:02.75. This is Winter’s lifetime best, but Buhr swam 1:01.47 in the event at the 2024 Summit League Championships to finish 3rd. Nebraska – Omaha’s Addisyn Storms is seeded 3rd in 1:02.91, less than two tenths back of the leaders, which means we are looking at a potentially very tight race.
200 fly – Again, two Denver swimmers hold the top spots in the women’s 200 fly. Julia Saxman leads the conference in 2:00.44, coming in just one hundredth ahead of Rachjaibun’s 2:00.45. At last year’s conference meet, Rachjaibun finished 2nd to a different Denver teammate, Mia Moulden, who has since graduated, and she will be wanting to improve that finish. Saxman is just a freshman, but she will be trying to pick up her 1st conference title in her 1st Summit League meet.
Men
100 free – The men’s 100 freestyle is shaping up to be one of the closest races of the meet as there are a few different battles brewing. At the top of the final, South Dakota’s Nick Rounds holds the top seed in 43.83, just six hundredths ahead of Denver’s Hamish McLellan’s 43.89. Denver’s Matija Pantic (44.30), Eastern Illinois’ Zach Clark (44.31), and South Dakota State’s Zavier Kranz (44.33) sit seeded 3rd, 4th, and 5th with just three hundredths separating them. Behind that race there are seven swimmers within three tenths of one another from 6th to 12th.
100 breast – This race is unlike some of the other ones we are watching this week. Kito Campbell will be trying to qualify for NCAAs at the top of the race, and sits nearly two seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Behind Campbell, however, there are three swimmers who have less than a tenth separating them. South Dakota State’s David Bosch is seeded 2nd (54.68), Omaha’s Brady Wainionpaa is seeded 3rd (54.70), and South Dakota State’s Nik Keuser is 4th (54.76)
200 IM – On day one of the meet, the men’s 200 IM will be one of the headliners as two Denver swimmers attempt to hold off a South Dakota State swimmer for the top of the podium. Denver’s Nico Morton is the top seed in 1:48.38, about two tenths ahead of teammate Gabe Jones, who sits 2nd in 1:48.59. In 3rd, South Dakota State’s Cody Vertin comes in at 1:48.79, just two tenths behind Jones and four tenths behind Morton.
SwimSwam Picks
After Denver swept the meet last year by nearly 300 points on both sides, they seem prepared to pull off the same feat this year.
The South Dakota women’s team is solidly in 2nd with Omaha and South Dakota State racing for 3rd.
On the men’s side, South Dakota also seems to have a solid lock on 2nd, but the South Dakota State men’s team will be looking to jump them.
Women:
- Denver
- South Dakota
- Nebraska Omaha
Men:
- Denver
- South Dakota
- South Dakota State
