2026 Men’s NCAA Division I Championships: Day 1 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)
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Psych Sheets
• Preview Index
• Live Stream
• Live Results
• Live Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 1

Day 1 Finals Heat Sheet

**For those watching on ESPN, there is a second stream that will begin at 7:15pm (EST) for the 800 freestyle relay**

It’s time, swim fans. The first finals session of the 2026 Men’s NCAA Division I Championships gets underway tonight in Atlanta, Georgia. Thanks to the schedule change, the meet is already underway; this morning treated us to action in the early heats of the 1650 freestyle, 200 medley relay, and 800 freestyle relay. Tonight, we’ll see the fastest heats of all three events.

Zalan Sarkany aims to win the 1650 freestyle for the third-straight season. He won last year with a speedy 14:21.59, he was within three seconds of that swim earlier this season and comes in with the field-best 14:23.85. Two other swimmers are seeded under 14:30–Florida’s Ahmed Jaouadi (14:25.14) and Harvard’s William Mulgrew (14:26.79), both at their debut NCAA Championships. Another Florida first year, Ahmed Hafnaoui, could mount a challenge from elsewhere in the final. The Gators stand to pick up major points in this event as Gio Linscheer holds the fastest time from the early heats (14:34.18).

Then, the action shifts to the relays. NC State leads after the morning in the 200 medley relay, boasting a 1:21.23 courtesy of Quintin McCarty, Daniel Diehl, Aiden Hayes, and Drew Salls. Last year, Florida touched first in this relay in NCAA record time but was disqualified. Texas took the win and went onto win the meet. This year, the Gators are back for revenge and have reloaded with three of the four legs from 2025 (Jonny Marshall, Scotty Buff, and Josh Liendo) and bringing in breaststroker Koen de Groot. At midseason, Texas’ Will Modglin fired off a 20.00 50 backstroke lead-off, coming tantalizingly close to becoming the first man under the 20 second barrier in the event. He’ll be chasing that accolade as he leads off for a Longhorns team aiming to start their title defense in style.

The 800 freestyle relay was one for the history books last year, with Cal and Texas going head to head, aiming to become the first team sub-six minutes in the event. Both relays have seen major turnover this year, making this a much different race. The Longhorns own the top time on the psych sheet (6:06.24) with Ohio State sitting four-tenths back. The Virginia Cavaliers fired off a 6:06.85 this morning and are the clubhouse leaders.

Men’s 1650 Freestyle — Final Heat 

• NCAA Record: 14:12.08 — Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• Championship Record: 14:12.52 — Bobby Finke, Florida (2021)
• American Record: 14:12.08 — Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• U.S. Open Record: 14:12.08 — Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• Defending Champion: Zalan Sarkany, Indiana — 14:21.59
• 2025 8th/16th Place Times: 14:31.08/14:43.50

Leader after early heats: Gio Linscheer, Florida — 14:34.18

Final Heat: 

1. Ahmed Jaouadi (Florida) — 14:10.03 *NCAA, Championship, U.S. Open Record*
2. Zalan Sarkany (Indiana) — 14:12.20
3. Levi Sandidge (Kentucky) — 14:22.26
4. Ahmed Hafnaoui (Florida) — 14:22.64
5. Luke Whitlock (Indiana) — 14:34.30
6. William Mulgrew (Harvard) — 14:40.07
7. Max Carlsen (NC State) — 14:44.57
8. Nathan Wiffen (California) — 14:46.81

Top 8:

1. Ahmed Jaouadi (Florida) — 14:10.03
2. Zalan Sarkany (Indiana) — 14:12.20
3. Levi Sandidge (Kentucky) — 14:22.26
4. Ahmed Hafnaoui (Florida) — 14:22.64
5. Gio Linscheer (Florida) — 14:34.18
6. Luke Whitlock (Indiana) — 14:34.30
7. Liam Custer (Stanford) — 14:37.28
8. Carson Hick (Kentucky) — 14:39.66

First NCAA Championship swim, first NCAA record for Ahmed Jaouadi. The women’s meet saw no individual NCAA records go down over the four day competition, but now we have one in the very first event of the men’s meet.

Jaouadi, the reigning 800/1500-meter freestyle world champion, kept pace with two-time defending champion Zalan Sarkany for the majority of the race. The final heat quickly became about these two swimmers, as they separated themselves from the field but could not shake each other. Sarkany flipped at the 500 yard mark in 4:12.86, with Jaouadi at 4:13.13.

We got two NCAA records in this race as Sarkany and Jaouadi pushed each other. Jaouadi took over as the 1650 freestyle NCAA record holder from Bobby Finke, but Sarkany got under Clark Smith‘s 1000 freestyle mark with his split. Sarkany made his 1000 freestyle turn in 8:33.10, getting well under Smith’s 8:33.93 from 2015.

The pair were tied at the 1450-yard mark, then Sarkany edged a bit out in front again. Jaouadi turned on the gas during the final 50, putting together a dizzying 22.73 final 50 yards to completely shake off Sarkany and pull away for the title.

Three of the top eight swimmers came out of the morning heats with Florida’s Gio Linscheer placing 5th and leading that trio of himself, Liam Custer, and Carson Hick. This was a strong event for the Gators who jumped out to the lead after the first event. Despite losing his cap, Hafnaoui held it together for fourth overall in 14:22.64.

Men’s 200 Medley Relay — Final Heat

• NCAA Record: 1:20.03 – Florida (Marshall, de Groot, Buff, Liendo), 2026
• Championship Record: 1:20.15 – Florida (Chaney, Smith, Liendo, McDuff), 2024
• American Record: 1:20.92 – Indiana (Barr, Benzing, Brooks, King), 2025
• U.S. Open Record: 1:20.03 – Florida (Marshall, de Groot, Buff, Liendo), 2026
• Defending Champion: Texas (Modglin, Germonprez, Kos, Guiliano) – 1:20.28
• 2025 8th/16th Place Times: 1:22.01/1:23.59

Leader after early heats: NC State (McCarty, Diehl, Hayes, Salls) — 1:21.23

Final Heat: 

1. Arizona State (Chaney, Dobrzanski, Kharun, Kulow) — 1:20.08 *Championship Record*
2. Florida (Marshall, de Groot, Buff, Liendo) — 1:20.16
3. Texas (Modglin, Germonprez, Kos, Gould) — 1:20.46
4. Indiana — 1:21.12
5. California — 1:21.58
6. Michigan — 1:21.64
7. Kentucky — 1:22.00
8. LSU — 1:22.06

Top 8:

1. Arizona State (Chaney, Dobrzanski, Kharun, Kulow) — 1:20.08
2. Florida (Marshall, de Groot, Buff, Liendo) — 1:20.16
3. Texas (Modglin, Germonprez, Kos, Gould) — 1:20.46
4. Indiana — 1:21.12
5. NC State — 1:21.23
6. California — 1:21.58
7. Michigan — 1:21.64
8. Kentucky — 1:22.00

Arizona State grabbed its first relay title of the weekend in record fashion as Adam Chaney, Andy Dobrzanski, Ilya Kharun, and Jonny Kulow swam a 1:20.07 in the 200 medley relay. Their combined time broke the 1:20.15 mark Florida swam two years ago.

Texas held the lead at the first exchange in the final heat though, as Will Modglin logged a 20.19 50 backstroke lead off. Chaney–who owns a lifetime best of 20.19–led off for the Sun Devils in 20.35. The Longhorns continued to lead after the breaststroke leg thanks to Nate Germonprez‘s 22.39 split. Yamato Okadome‘s 22.35 split moved the Golden Bears into second place, followed by Indiana, then Arizona State. Both Okadome and Germonprez’s splits rank among the top five performances all-time.

The Sun Devils moved back into second behind Texas after the butterfly leg, thanks to Ilya Kharun‘s 18.70 split. That’s the second-fastest performance in history and Kharun now own the top five times. The Longhorns still held the lead though, with Kos splitting 19.30 in a preview for his upcoming 100 butterfly.

Jonny Kulow has been Arizona State’s trusted anchor for years and he delivered again tonight. He split 17.98, passing Texas and stopping the clock in 1:20.07. This swim is under the 1:20.92 American record, but Kharun is not eligible to set American records yet.

The Florida Gators were also able to get around Texas on the freestyle leg, thanks to Josh Liendo‘s 17.58 split, which ties as #5 all-time with his anchor from 2026 SECs. The Longhorns took third in 1:20.46.

The top three teams were all sub-1:21, with Indiana taking 4th in 1:21.12. NC State’s time from this morning was good for 5th overall. So far, the clubhouse leader from the early heats has finished 5th overall in both events tonight. The Golden Bears took 6th tonight (1:21.58) as freshman anchor Martin Wrede missed his wall.

Besides Liendo and Kulow, there were two more sub-18 seconds 50 freestyle splits. Kentucky freshman Falemana Tuufi brought the Wildcats home in 17.91 and Jere Hribar anchored for LSU in 17.96.

Men’s 800 Freestyle Relay — Final Heat

• NCAA Record: 5:59.75 – California (Alexy, Jett, Lasco, Henveaux), 2025
• Championship Record: 5:59.75 – California (Alexy, Jett, Lasco, Henveaux), 2025
• American Record: 6:00.08 – Texas (Hobson, Guiliano, Maurer, Carrozza), 2025
• U.S. Open Record: 5:59.75 – California (Alexy, Jett, Lasco, Henveaux), 2025
• Defending Champion: California (Alexy, Jett, Lasco, Henveaux) – 5:59.75
• 2025 8th/16th Place Times: 6:06.96/6:12.82

Leader after early heats: Virginia (Williamson, King, Heilman, Aikins) — 6:06.85

Final Heat: 

1. Texas (Fente-Damers, Taylor, Maurer, Nelson) — 6:05.82
2. Stanford (Dupont Cabrera, Ekk, Zhao, McFadden) — 6:06.39
3. Ohio State (Navikonis, Jahn, Vilchez, Jankovics) — 6:06.40
4. NC State — 6:07.20
5. Indiana — 6:07.66
6. Michigan — 6:07.81
7. Arizona State — 6:08.71
8. Wisconsin — 6:08.72

Top 8:

1. Texas (Fente-Damers, Taylor, Maurer, Nelson) — 6:05.82
2. Stanford (Dupont Cabrera, Ekk, Zhao, McFadden) — 6:06.39
3. Ohio State (Navikonis, Jahn, Vilchez, Jankovics) — 6:06.40
4. Virginia — 6:06.85
5. NC State — 6:07.20
6. Indiana — 6:07.66
7. Michigan — 6:07.81
8. Arizona State — 6:08.71

Remi Fabiani gave the Sun Devils the lead at the 200, leading off with a 1:30.99. That was not the fastest lead-off of the day; Koby Bujak-Upton swam 1:29.79 for Tennessee and Maximus Williamson posted 1:30.43 leading off for Virginia (both are freshmen).

Ohio State took control of the final heat on the second leg. After Tomas Navikonis led off in 1:31.36 for the Buckeyes, Cornelius Jahn swam 1:31.14 to move into the lead. Rex Maurer fired off a 1:30.76 split on Texas’ third leg which put the Longhorns into the lead by three-hundredths over the Buckeyes heading into the final leg. Senior Baylor Nelson anchored the Longhorns in 1:31.20, securing the win in 6:05.82.

The Buckeyes nearly held on for silver but Stanford junior Henry McFadden put together a huge anchor leg for the Cardinal. McFadden split 1:29.72, making up a two second deficit from Ohio State and taking silver a hundredth ahead of them, 6:06.39 to 6:06.40.

Virginia’s relay of Maximus Williamson, David King, Thomas Heilman, and Jack Aikins swam a 6:06.85 this morning, which held up for 4th overall. Per Virginia’s Instagram, that is the Cavalier men’s highest relay finish at NCAAs since 2012. The Virginia quartet that set the 200 freestyle American record in 2022 took 5th at that year’s NCAA Championships. Also from this morning, Princeton’s Ivy League record of 6:09.16 from Arthur Balva, Mitchell Schott, Parker Lenoce, and Patrick Dinu finished 10th.

Scores Thru Day 1

1. Florida/Indiana, 86
2. —
3. Texas, 72
4. Arizona State, 62
5. NC State, 61
6. Kentucky, 49
7. Michigan, 48
8. Stanford, 46
9. California, 45
10. Ohio State, 32
11. Virginia, 30
12. Auburn, 22
13. Tennessee, 20
14. Wisconsin, 18
15. Princeton/LSU, 14
16. —
17. Louisville, 12
18. Georgia, 10
19. Harvard, 9
20. Alabama/USC/Virginia Tech, 8
21. —
22. —
23. Pittsburgh, 6
24. Florida State/SMU, 4
25. Yale, 1