2026 Men’s NCAA Division I Championship: Day 4 Prelims 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 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Saturday Prelims Heat Sheet

Welcome to the final prelims session of the 2026 Men’s Division I NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.

Over the last three days, we have seen a lot of fast swimming, including two straight prelims sessions with new NCAA records. Both record setters are back in the pool this morning. Florida senior Josh Liendo tries to take down the one-year-old 100 free record set by Jordan Crooks last season, and Texas senior Hubert Kos will be aiming for history with his own NCAA record in the 200 backstroke.

The session will open with the 200 IM prelims, where Indiana senior Owen McDonald is the top seed, just four hundredths ahead of Michigan junior Colin Geer. One of the main storylines to watch this morning is the team battle between Texas and Florida. The Longhorns are projected to pick up more than 50 points in this event, while Florida does not have anybody racing it.

The men’s 100 freestyle will follow the 200 IM, and LSU’s Jere Hribar is the top seed. He will be looking for redemption after getting disqualified in the 50 freestyle prelims on Friday, but he will have a steep challenge from the next five seeds, including Liendo, who is seeded 6th. The whole top 6 is separated by just over a tenth.

The 200 fly will race next, and ASU junior Ilya Kharun is the top seed in 1:37.56 after Georgia’s heavy favorite and NCAA record holder Luca Urlando pulled out of the meet. He comes in more than a second ahead of the rest of the field, with Florida State sophomore Logan Robinson coming in 2nd at 1:38.78, and he should easily earn a finals swim.

Finally, the individual session will wrap up with the 200 backstroke. Florida has two swimmers seeded to earn ‘A’ finals swims with the top seed Jonny Marshall and the 7th seed Aiden Norman. Getting both these swimmers into the final will be crucial in their team battle, but nobody is likely to compete with Kos for the top spot.

The last event of the prelims will be the 400 freestyle relay. Stanford and Virginia are both seeded 9th in 2:47.51, and they will be trying to earn their way into the top eight, which would help both teams in the team battle.

Men’s 200 IM — Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:36.34 – Leon Marchand, ASU (2023)
• Championship Record: 1:36.34 – Leon Marchand, ASU (2023)
• American Record: 1:37.91 – Destin Lasco, California (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:36.34 – Leon Marchand, ASU (2023)
• 2025 Champion: Hubert Kos, Texas — 1:37.91
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 1:40.52/1:41.73

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Owen McDonald (IU) — 1:39.48
2. Maximus Williamson (UVA) —
3. Will Modglin (TEX) — 1:40.79
4. Baylor Nelson (TEX) — 1:40.82
5. Noah Cakir (IU) — 1:40.94
6. Josh Bey (IU) — 1:41.17
7. Daniel Diehl (NCST) — 1:41.20
8. Arsenio Bustos (NCST) — 1:41.22

Scored 9-16th:

9. Campbell McKean (TEX) — 1:41.28
10. Colin Geer (MICH) — 1:41.35
11. Louis Dramm (UNC) — 1:41.90
12. Tristan Jankovics (OS) — 1:41.93
13. Lorne Wigginton (MICH) — 1:42.26
14. Nate Germonprez (TEX) — 1:42.26
15. Luka Mladenovic (MICH) — 1:42.29
16. Gregg Enoch (LOU) — 1:42.39

There will only be two Texas swimmers in tonight’s 200 IM ‘A’ final, opening the door for the Florida men to have a strong session and take over the lead. Will Modglin and Baylor Nelson qualified 3rd and 4th respectively, with Modglin swimming 1:40.79 to come in just two tenths off his season best time of 1:40.58. Nelson was 1:40.83, adding about six tenths from his season best 1:40.29.

Indiana on the other hand, put three swimmers into the ‘A’ final, starting with senior Owen McDonald, who was the only swimmer under 1:40 this morning, touching in 1:39.48 after winning the final heat. He was out fast, splitting 45.69 (24.49/24.79) on his first 100 to be the only swimmer in the field under 46 seconds to open the race

Indiana also picked up the 5th and 6th seeds with. a pair of freshman Noah Cakir and Josh Bey. Cakir swam 1:40.82, taking a second-and-a-half off his previous best of 1:42.47 with the fastest breaststroke split in the field of 28.59. Bey dropped a bout half-a-second from his best 1:41.68 to qualify 5th in 1:41.17.

NC State will also be seeing double tonight on opposite ends of the pool. Daniel Diehl qualified 7th in 1:41.20, a full second drop from his seed of 1:41.20. His 2nd 100 was very strong, splitting 28.83/24.77 on the breaststroke and freestyle legs to move into a finals position. Arsenio Bustos qualified 8th in 1:41.22, about a second off his seed of 1:40.39 after he was out in 46.13, the 2nd fastest opening split in the field.

Finally, Virginia’s Maximus Williamson will be the lone Cavalier in the final after he swam a personal best 1:40.06 to qualify 2nd overall behind McDonald. Williamson had one of the strongest breaststroke legs in the field at 28.99 before he came home in 24.28 on the back half. If he can open in the front half speed he has shown before this evening, he could challenge for his 2nd title of the meet.

Men’s 100 Free — Prelims

• NCAA Record: 39.83 – Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2025)
• Championship Record: 39.83 – Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2025)
• American Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 39.83 – Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2025)
• 2025 Champion: Josh Liendo, Florida — 39.99
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 41.14/41.62

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Julian Koch (PITT) — 40.52
2. Jere Hribar (LSU) — 40.76
3. Josh Liendo (FLOR) — 40.81
4. Quintin McCarty (NCST) — 40.98
5. Gui Caribe (TENN) — 41.05
6. Jonny Kulow (ASU) — 41.05
7. Tomas Lukminas (ARIZ) — 41.11
8. Brendan Whitfield (VT) — 41.12

Scored 9-16th:

9. Remi Fabiani (ASU) — 41.23
10. Jerry Fox (NCST) — 41.28
11. Patrick Dinu (PRIN) — 41.30
12. Nikita Sherement (LOU) — 41.41
13. Nikoli Blackman (TENN) — 41.45
14. Garrett Gould (TEX) — 41.47
15. Hudson Williams (NCST) — 41.51
16. Mikkel Lee (IU) — 41.56

Pitt’s Julian Koch had an absolutely massive prelims swim in the 100 freestyle to earn the top seed by more than two tenths over LSU’s Jere Hribar. He stopped the clock in 40.52 to drop half-a-second from his previous lifetime best of 41.00 that he swam in February. Koch came into the season with a lifetime best 42.41 from the 2025 ACC Championships.

LSU’s Jere Hribar qualified 2nd in 40.76, redeeming his DQ in yesterday’s 50 freestyle prelims. He was just thee tenths off his SEC winning time of 40.42. Hribar was out in 19.56, one of the slowest splits among the top eight, but he came home in 21.20 to move into a strong 2nd position over Florida’s Josh Liendo.

Liendo qualified 3rd in 40.81, jumping up three spots from his seeded 8th to win the first circle seeded heat. He will be in lane three this evening.

NC State’s Quintin McCarty was the final swimmer under 40 seconds in the prelims, touching in 40.98 to add exactly a tenth from his seed of 40.88 that he swam at last month’s ACCs.

Tennessee’s Gui Caribe, ASU’s Jonny Kulow, Arizona’s Tomas Lukminas, and Virginia Tech’s Brendan Whitfield will round out the ‘A’ final, coming in less than a tenth apart.

In team scoring news, the Texas Longhorns picked up three points with sophomore Garrett Gould swimming 41.47 to drop just over three tenths from his lifetime best 41.82 from the SEC Championships.

Men’s 200 Fly — Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:36.41 – Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• Championship Record: 1:36.43 – Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• American Record: 1:36.41 – Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:36.41 – Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• 2025 Champion: Luca Urlando, Georgia — 1:36.43
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 1:39.93/1:40.89

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Ilya Kharun (ASU) — 1:38.49
2. Tyler Ray (MICH) — 1:38.55
3. Thomas Heilman (UVA) — 1:39.26
4. Logan Robinson (FSU) — 1:39.48
5. Jacob Johnson (MINN) — 1:39.54
6. Raekwon Noel (IU) — 1:39.55
7. Abdalla Youssef (AUB) — 1:39.49
8. Mitchell Schott (PRIN) — 1:39.71

Scored 9-16th

9. Haakon Naughton (ARIZ) — 1:39.85
10. Seb Lunak (UNC) /Jan Zubik (MIZZ) — 1:39.92
11. —
12. Michal Chmielewski (USC) — 1:39.93
13. Kyle Peck (TEX) — 1:39.94
14. Cooper Lucas (TEX) — 1:40.11
15. Gibson Holmes (STAN) — 1:40.27
16. Casper Puggaard (CAL) — 1:40.35

ASU’s Ilya Kharun earned lane four in the 200 fly final tonight by just six hundredths over Michigan’s Tyler Ray, who has been having a very strong meet so far.

Kharun swam 1:38.49 to win his heat, splitting 47.50/50.99 to have the fastest closing 100 in the field. Ray touched in 1:38.55, dropping three tenths from his Big Ten’s swim of 1:38.82, splitting 47.08/51.47 with the fastest opening 100 in the top eight.

Virginia freshman Thomas Heilman was just off his season best best of 1:39.09 from the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge in November, touching in 1:39.26 to qualify 3rd overall after winning his heat with splits of 47.42/51.84. He came in about two tenths ahead of Florida State’s Logan Robinson, who swam 1:39.48 to qualify 4th

Minnesota’ s Jacob Johnson qualified 5th in 1:39.54, a four tenth drop from his previous best 1:39.96 that he swam last March. He was the last swimmer in the top eight to drop time from their seed.

Texas had another strong showing in the 200 fly with Kyle Peck finishing 13th (1:39.94) and Cooper Lucas finishing 14th (1:40.11) to each score points after the Longhorns were projected to pick up 0 in the event.

Men’s 200 Back — Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:34.21 – Hubert Kos, Texas (2025)
• Championship Record: 1:34.21 – Hubert Kos, Texas (2025)
• American Record: 1:35.37 – Destin Lasco, California (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:34.21 – Hubert Kos, Texas (2025)
• 2025 Champion: Hubert Kos, Texas — 1:34.21
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 1:38.07/1:39.61 (three-way tie)

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Hubert Kos (TEX) — 1:36.29
2. David King (UVA) — 1:37.69
3. Jack Aikins (UVA) — 1:37.90
4. Tommy Hagar (BAMA) — 1:37.96
5. Ruard Van Renen (UGA) — 1:38.05
6. Jonny Marshall (FLOR) — 1:38.08
7. Kai Van Westering (IU) — 1:38.18
8. Nick Simons (TENN) — 1:38.21

Scored 9-16th

9. Keaton Jones (CAL) — 1:38.29
10. Josh Zuchowski (STAN) — 1:38.33
11. Rex Maurer (TEX) — 1:38.78
12. Ethan Ekk (STAN) — 1:38.78
13. Cornelius Jahn (OSU) — 1:38.84
14. Jack Berube (SMU) — 1:38.96
15. Levente Balogh (VT) — 1:39.07
16. Hayden Meyers (UGA) — 1:39.29

The men’s 200 backstroke was a lot to follow with every heat featuring some major times from big name swimmers. The first heat of the event saw Ruard van Renen and Rex Maurer battle for the top spot, with Van Renen ultimately earning the heat win in a massive 1:38.05 to qualify 5th for the final.

From there, it felt like every heat had somebody swim a very strong time. Heat two saw Keaton Jones swim 1:38.29 to finish 9th in the event. In heat three, the first circle seeded heat, Tommy Hagar earned the win in 1:37.96, four hundredths off his 1:37.92 seed, qualifying 4th overall.

The top three qualifiers came from heat four with Texas’ Hubert Kos earning the top seed in 1:36.29, a new season best by about half-a-second from the 1:36.80 he swam at the SEC Championships.

Behind him, came two Virginia Cavaliers in David King and Jack Aikins. King swam 1:37.69 to qualify 2nd, dropping under 1:38 for the first time from his former lifetime best 1:38.14 from the ACC Championships.

Aikins barely earned a qualification for the NCAA Championships, needing to swim the 200 back at a last chance meet, where he went a 1:39.00. He made the most of that qualification, dropping another second in the prelims to swim 1:37.90 and make it two Virginia swimmers in the ‘a’ final.

Florida’s Jonny Marshall swam in the final heat, and he was out very fast in 45.41, more than a second ahead of Hubert Kos‘ opening split of 47.50. He fell off the pace after that, splitting 25.12/26.55 to touch in 1:38.08, almost two seconds off his SECs time. He qualified sixth for tonight’s final.

Texas had Maurer finish 11th, picking up more points for the Longhorns, while Florida’s Aiden Norman dropped to 31st from his original 7th seed, which gives Texas a little more cushion in their final pursuit tonight.

Men’s 400 Free Relay — Timed Finals (Early Heats)

• NCAA Record: 2:42.15 – Arizona State (Kharun, Chaney, Fabiani, Kulow) (2026)
• Championship Record: 2:42.30 – Tennessee (Caribe, Taylor, Blackman, Crooks) (2025)
• American Record: 2:43.53 – NC State (Winkler, McCarty, Fox, Williams) (2026)
• U.S. Open Record: 2:42.15 – Arizona State (Kharun, Chaney, Fabiani, Kulow) (2026)
• 2025 Champion: Tennessee (Caribe, Taylor, Blackman, Crooks) — 2:42.30
• 2025 8th/16th Times: 2:46.21/2:48.56

Top 8

1. California (Wrede, Battaglini, Petty, Jones) — 2:46.59
2. Virginia (Heilman, Williamson, King, Aikins) — 2:46.73
3. Pittsburgh (Koch, Belmon, Allison, Vergine) — 2:47.17
4. Arizona — 2:47.66
5. Northwestern — 2:47.72
6. Stanford — 2:47.78
7. Virginia Tech — 2:47.96
8. Louisville — 2:48.04

Cal, Virginia, and Pittsburgh were locked in a very exciting and close battle in the men’s 400 freestyle relay that saw the three teams exactly tied going into the final 50 of the race.

Pitt got out to an early lead, splitting 40.71 on the opening 100 courtesy of Julian Koch, who is the top seed in the individual event tonight. Virginia was behind with Thomas Heilman‘s 41.74 and Cal had Martin Wrede split 42.37.

The 2nd leg saw Merlon Belmon take the water for Pitt, splitting 41.95. Virginia’s Maximus Williamson was 41.02, and Cal had Luca Battaglini in 41.30. Pitt still held a slight lead at one tenth over Virginia.

On the 3rd leg, Virginia overtook the lead with David King splitting 42.04 ahead of Pitt’s James Allison, who was 42.34 and Cal’s Evan Petty, who split 41.23 to move Cal into a very close 2nd behind Virginia.

The anchors were Jack Aikins for Virginia, Alan Vergine for Pitt, and Keaton Jones for Cal. All three men turned in exactly 2:24.94 at the 350 mark splitting 20.14 (Aikins), 19.94 (Vergine), and Jones (41.69). The 2nd 50 saw Jones split a massive 21.65 for a total 41.69 split. He touched in 2:46.59, earning the Golden Bears the top spot going into tonight’s top eight.

Aikins split 21.79 to touch in 41.93 and 2:46.73, earning the Cavaliers 2nd in the early heats. Pitt’s Vergine was 42.17, splitting 22.23 on his final 50 to touch in 2:47.17 for the Panthers.

Other notable splits came from Princeton’s Patrick Dinu, who was 40.67 on the anchor leg of their 9th place relay. Northwestern’s Cade Duncan split 41.23 on the 2nd leg of their 5th place relay. Brendan Whitfield from Virginia Tech was 41.29 on their leadoff leg.