2026 ACC Championships: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships

• Dates:
  • Diving: Sunday, February 15–Tuesday, February 17
  • Swimming: Tuesday, February 17–Saturday, February 21
• Location: McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
• Defending champions: UVA women (6x); Cal men (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video: ESPN+ ($)
• Schedule of Events (PDF)
• Championship Central
• Pre-Scratch Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims:
  • Finals: Day 1|Day 2|Day 3
• Teams: Boston College, Cal, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (women swimming & diving/men diving), NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Virginia, Virginia Tech

Day 4 Heat Sheet

Day 4 Prelims Scratch Report 

If you’re wondering if somehow you fell in the slipstream of a Delorean travelling at 88 mph and are suddenly in the 4th day of swimming at ACCs, I can’t help you. But I can confirm that the 4th day of the ACC Championships will see our first individual races of the meet, as diving took center stage on the first two days, with the topsy-turvy 200 medley and 800 free relays occupying most of the attention yesterday.

This morning, however, sees the 500 free, 200 IM and 50 free occupying our attention. It is a perfect mix of events for all swim fans as we see a smattering of all disciplines: the distance (not really that long, though) based 500, the very technical and yet fast 200 IM and the “POWER” that is the 50 free.

UVA, currently just 11th in the team rankings, will look to kick off its title defense in earnest as it looks to stack the 500 free final tonight with the likes of top seed Aimee Canny as well as Cavan Gormsen, Madi Mintenko and Katie Grimes, who are seeded 3rd through 5th. California, too, will look to use this event to earn a massive boost of points as Claire Weinstein sits seeded 2nd and her teammate Ella Cosgrove ranks 7th.

The Women’s 200 IM saw a rash of withdrawals as top seed Lucy Bell of Stanford withdrew, as did her teammate, #8 Caroline Bricker. UVA too had multiple scratches as Canny (#4) and Anna Moesch (#10) withdrew. Despite this, however, the event will see a great battle as defending champion Torri Huske, seeded 7th on the psych sheet, has opted to swim this instead of the 50 free where she was seeded 1st. Huske will take to lane 5 in the penultimate heat, with Louisville’s Anastasia Gorbenko in lane 4.

The final women’s event on the morning, see UVA first-year Sara Curtis as the swimmer to beat on paper, but nothing is certain as Louisville’s Julia Dennis, the #2 seed, will be riding a high after having captured the 200 medley relay title last night away from UVA.

The men’s 500 free will be an age-old battle of age, as the top four seeds are all freshmen. In fact, six of the top eight, and eight of the top 11 entrants are making their ACC debut. Leading the way are Ethan Ekk of Stanford, Max Carlsen of NC State, Ryan Erisman of California and Oscar Isberg of Louisville. That said, the experience of veterans Lance Norris and Eduardo Oliveira de Moraes (who is listed as 5th year, but is in fact making his ACC debut as a Cal transfer) may play spoiler.

The 200 IM is a similar story as the much heralded young guns of UVA, Max Williamson and Thomas Heilman will look to make a name for themselves against the experience of Louis Dramm, a senior from UNC and Daniel Diehl, a junior from NC State. Williamson and Heilman, the 1st and 4th seed are not the lone pair of first-year teammates in the top 8, as Stanford has a pair of rookies seeded highly, with Omer Weiner and Jason Zhao occupying the 5th and 6th spots.

The last race of the morning, the blink and you’ll miss it, 50 free, sees NC State looking to make a strong showing as the Wolfpack, led by #2 seed Quintin McCarty and #6 ranked Jerry Fox will look to make up valuable points after DQing in last night’s 200 Medley. McCarty will have his hands full, however, as he is one of four swimmers already under the 19.00 second barrier this season with Cal’s Lucca Battaglini leading the way at 18.78, and Nikita Sheremet and Brendan Whitfield of Louisville and Virginia Tech, joining them there.

WOMEN’S 500 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA: 4:24.06 — Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• ACC: 4:28.90 — Leah Smith, Virginia (2017)
• ACC Championship Record: 4:30.74 — Leah Smith, Virginia (2016)
• Pool: 4:30.81 — Leah Smith, Virginia (2016)
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 4:39.47

Top 8

1. Katie Grimes (UVA) – 4:36.49
2. Cavan Gormsen (UVA) – 4:36.55
3. Aimee Canny (UVA) – 4:38.37
4. Madi Mintenko (UVA) – 4:38.46
5. Clai Weinstein (California) – 4:38.71
6. Thilda Haell (Louisville) – 4:39.01
7. Daria Golovaty (Louisville) – 4:40.28
8. Bailey Hartman (UVA) – 4:40.65

Notre Dame’s Carli Cronk lit things up in the 2nd heat, where the sophomore went 4:45.90 to post the first sub-4:50.00 of the morning. The 19-time Deaflympics gold medalist entered with a seed time of 4:51.75. Next to her in lane 3, Stanford’s Addison Sauickie appeared to stop mid-length in her 500 and then resumed her race to finish with a time of 5:01.12. The sophomore appeared to exit the pool gingerly with some aid before needing to be helped to a chair. If we hear more, we will update.

Heat 3 saw a few swimmers eclipse Cronk’s time, but Heat 4 saw fireworks as UVA’s Cavan Gormsen, the 3rd overall seed, posted the first sub-4:40 time, as the junior hit the wall in 4:36.55, less than a second off her entry time of 4:35.65. Out in 1:48.55, Gormsen was between 28.09 and 28.23 from the 150 to 400 yard mark, before she closed in 27.88 and 27.51 to win the heat of Louisville’s Thilda Haell, who touched the wall in 4:39.01. Virginia Tech’s Chiara Klein was Declared False start in the heat.

The 5th heat was a closer affair as Olympic teammates Claire Weinstein and Katie Grimes went head-to-head in the middle of the pool. While more distance-oriented than her club teammate, Grimes had a lead of over a second on Weinstein at the 200 with the pair opening in 1:47.98 and 1:49.05, and she never looked back as the Cavalier sophomore cruised into the wall at 4:36.49, overtaking her teammate, Gormsen’s top time from the previous heat. Weinstein, who had an entry time of 4:34.81, was a little off that as she stopped the clock at 4:38.71. The Cal Bear should safely advance to the A-final, as her time sits 3rd with only one heat remaining.

Heat 6 was the closest of them all as teammates Aimee Canny and Madi Mintenko controlled the field and secured themselves berths in the A-final with the pair touching in 4:38.46 and 4:38.46 respectively. The top and 4th seeds, respectively, were out slower than Grimes, with the senior and first year opening in 1:48s, but they were neck and neck at the 350 turn, but Canny made her move a little sooner and got the touch.

In the team race, it’s exactly what UVA needed as they advanced five into the top 8, with sophomore Bailey Hartman rounding out their contingent.

MEN’S 500 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA: 4:02.31 — Léon Marchand, ASU (2024)
• ACC: 4:06.74 — Lucas Henveaux, California (2025)
• ACC Championship Record: 4:08.83 — Lucas Henveaux, California (2025)
• Pool: 4:06.61 — Matthew Sates, Georgia (2022)
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 4:14.13

Top 8

1. Ryan Erisman (California) – 4:11.17
2. Eduardo Oliveira de Moraes (California) – 4:13.02
3. Max Carlsen (NC State) – 4:14.49
4. Nathan Wiffen (California) – 4:14.72
5. Ethan Ekk (Stanford) – 4:15.20
6. Patrick Branon (ND) – 4:16.10
7. Norvin Clontz (California) – 4:16.23
8. Oscar Isberg (Louisville) – 4:16.58

Up through heat 4, the start of the circle seeded heats, the top time belonged to UVA first-year Nathan Szobota, who stopped the clock in 4:18.02, which not only cut 4.82 off his seed time, but betters his PB of 4:18.38 from the 2023 NCSA Spring Championships.

As mentioned above in the preview, this event is filled with young guns looking to make a name for themselves and Ryan Erisman did nothing to change that storyline as the Cal first-year out-dueled his teammate Eduardo Oliveira de Moraes. The pair were near equal at the 400 yard mark, with Erisman flipping at 3:21.86, 26 ahead, but the Florida native turned on the afterburners and closed in a sub-50 split of 49.31 to touch in 4:11.17, which like Szobota is not only a new Season Best, but also a new PB, as he had never before broken 4:12. Oliveira de Moraes, a transfer from Michigan, came home in 50.90 to post the 2nd fastest time of the morning of 4:13.02.

Fellow first-year Max Carlsen of NC State asserted his authority on the field as he had over a second lead at the 200-yard mark, with the Nevada native opening in a swift 1:37.64 (for reference, Erisman was 1:40.36). Carlsen was on a sub-4:10 pace but after the 300 turn, the Wolfpack swimmer started to slow as he crept into 26-point 50s. before cruising into the finish wall at 4:14.49, ahead of fellow first-year Patrick Branon of ND, who took 2nd in the heat at 4:16.10.

Surprise Surprise, it was another freshman winning the last heat of the men’s 500 free, but Nathan Wiffen countered the script above, as #10 seed upset fellow first-years Ethan Ekk and Oscar Isberg, as he attacked the race from lane 6 and survived a 24.16 last 50 from Ekk to win the heat in 4:14.72, a drop of nearly 2 seconds from his seed. For his part Ekk, seemed to just settle a little too soon in the 26-second splits, but used that last split to keep himself in contention for the A-final, as the top seed touched in 4:15.20, 4.10 slower than his seed.

All told, seven of the eight A-final spots went to first years, with the lone upperclassman being Oliveira de Moraes. As he is a transfer to the ACC, the entire A-final are new faces, meaning there are no returning A-finalists from 2025.

WOMEN’S 200 IM – PRELIMS

• NCAA: 1:48.37 — Kate Douglass, Virginia (2022)
• ACC: 1:48.37 — Kate Douglass, Virginia (2022)
• ACC Championship Record: 1:50.15 — Kate Douglass (Virginia (2023)
• Pool: 1:50.08 — Alex Walsh, Virginia (2022)
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:56.69

Top 8

1. Torri Huske (Stanford) – 1:53.99
2. Anastasia Gorbenko (Louisville) – 1:53.99
3. Leah Hayes (UVA) – 1:54.65
4. Mia West (California) – 1:54.84
5. Sophia Umstead (UVA) – 1:55.03
6. Teagan O’Dell (California) – 1:55.07
7. Sydney Gring (Pitt) – 1:55.86
8. Mary Macaulay (UNC) – 1:55.87

Despite swimming in the 1st heat, FSU’s Lucy Porter and her 1:59.35 held on to the top spot until the start of the circle-seeded heats. A spring semester addition to the Seminoles, the Australian had never before recorded a time in the event as she was entered with No Time.

Heat 5, the first circle-seeded heat, saw eight swimmers surpass Porter’s time with Leah Hayes, just a half a second off her season best, take over the top time at 1:54.65. Hayes, a sophomore, used a strong back-half to pull herself ahead of UNC’s Mary Macaulay, who was trailing by .21 at the 100, but finished over a second back at 1:55.87, a strong improvement from her 1:57.17 seed time.

Billed as one of the races of the morning, heat 6 did not disappoint as Torri Huske and Anastasia Gorbenko went at it and each other. Huske opened up in a swift 23.54, the lone sub 24 split in the field, but yielded ground on the backstroke, with Gorbenko outsplitting her by .20 to sit 2nd by .39 52.40 to 52.01. Huske, who has been working on her breaststroke, kept her losses to a minimum, as she was 33.63 to her opponent’s 33.4o. With the momentum and with a deficit of just .16, Gorbenko pulled out a 28.19 last 50 split to close the gap to Huske as the pair touched in equal 1st placed times of 1:53.99.

The last heat was a slower affair with Cal sophomore Mia West winning the heat in 1:54.84, ahead of her teammate and top seed Teagan O’Dell, who was nearly two seconds off her entry time of 1:53.19, but safely advanced into the A-final as the 6th seed with her 1:5507.

MEN’S 200 IM – PRELIMS

• NCAA: 1:36.34 — Léon Marchand, ASU (2022)
• ACC: 1:37.98 — Destin Lasco, California (2025)
• ACC Championship Record: 1:40.31 — Arsenio Bustos, NC State (2023)
• Pool: 1:37.69 — Léon Marchand, ASU (2022)
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:42.65

Top 8

1. Arsenio Bustos (NC State) – 1:42.14
2. Jackson Millard (Louisville) – 1:42.21
3. Jeremy Kelly (ND) – 1:42.46
4. Louis Dramm (UNC) – 1:42.52
5. Max Williamson (UVA) – 1:42.68
6. Daniel Diehl (NC State) – 1:42.74
7. Gibson Holmes (Stanford) – 1:42.93
8. Omer Wiener (Stanford) – 1:43.09

After missing a year due to injury, Arsenio Bustos certainly announced his return in the 3rd heat of the men’s 200 IM. Seeded 48th courtesy of his 1:47.88 from the NCSU Invitational back in November, Bustos jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back as he went 21.56 and 24.89 to hit the halfway mark at 46.45. The fifth year paid for his early speed as he came home in a 26.21 last 50, but some of that could have been strategy as he had such a lead on his heat, and needed to post a fast time to try to earn a spot in the A-final. Bustos’s time of 1:42.14 set the early standard to beat and would be targeted by the next three heats.

However, no one was able to supplant the NC State swimmer, as he earned the middle lane tonight. Heat 4’s Jeremy Kelly of Notre Dame came close, as the sophomore swimming out of lane 1, went from a 1:45.63 seed time to 1:42.46, to win the heat ahead of Daniel Diehl‘s 1:42.74. Heat 5’s Louis Dramm, the 2nd seed from UNC, got close as well, employing a blistering 24.84 last 50 to pull himself to a 1:42.52.

The last heat got closest as the Louisville senior Jackson Millard went 1:42.21 to earn lane 5 tonight. Back by 2.10 seconds at the 100, Millard used the lone sub-29 50 breaststroke split among the top 8 (28.64) to cut into Bustos’s lead and then went 25.11 to come with .07 of his time. Top seed Max Williamson was over a second off his seed, but used a strong 24.90 last 50 to secure a spot in the A-final. His teammate Thomas Heilman, despite closing in 24.56, couldn’t make up for poor back and breast splits, 26.34 and 30.93 and finished 12th overall at 1:44.17, one spot behind Jason Zhao and his 1:44.03.

WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA: 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• ACC: 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• ACC Championship Record: 20.57 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• Pool: 20.84 — Kate Douglass, Virginia (2022)
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 22.01

Top 8

1. Sara Curtis (UVA) – 21.09
2. Julia Dennis (Louisville) – 21.21
3. Anna Olasewere (Stanford) – 21.52
4. Tatum Wall (Duke) – 21.57
5. Anna Moesch (UVA) – 21.60
6. Brynn Greenwaldt (UVA) – 21.68
7. Caroline Larsen (Louisville) – 21.69
8. Lily Christianson (NC State)/Mary-Ambre Moluh (California) – 21.76 ***SWIM-OFF REQUIRED***

UVA first-year Sara Curtis has continued to shed time as she posted a PB in the event, shaving .09 off her previous best of 21.18 from October. Curtis wasn’t the fastest to the flip as Louisville senior Julia Dennis opened in 10.11, but Curtis had the lone sub-11 last 25 in the field as the Italian national closed in 10.92 to secure the top spot in tonight’s final.

She will be joined by two other Cavaliers in the final as Anna Moesch and Brynn Greenwaldt went 21.60 and 21.68, a little off their entry times of 21.44 and 21.51, but still fast enough to secure the 5th and 6th seeds. Louisville, who upset UVA in the 200 medley relay last night, also advanced multiple swimmers into the final as Caroline Larsen and her 21.69 earned her the 7th seed.

The final is not set, however, as Lily Christianson and Mary-Ambre Moluh tied at 21.76, which was good for 8th. Christianson had the faster first 25, opening in 10.59 as compared to Moluh’s 10.67, but the Frenchwoman and Cal Bear closed faster to tie with the NC State Wolfpack swimmer.

In the swim-off, Christianson used a strong start to power her way into the A-final as she out-touched Moluh 21.86 to 21.95.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• ACC: 18.34 — Jack Alexy, California (2025)
• ACC Championship Record: 18.57 — Chris Guiliano, Notre Dame (2024)
• Pool: 18.20 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2016) 
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 19.02

Top 8

1. Quintin McCarty (NC State) – 18.55 ***NEW MEET RECORD***
2. Brendan Whitfield (VA Tech) – 18.62
3. Jerry Fox (NC State) – 18.80
4. Nikita Sheremet (Louisville) – 18.84
5. Martin Wrede (California) – 18.87
6. Shane Eckler (ND) – 18.89
7. Lucca Battaglini (California) – 18.94
8. Drew Salls (NC State) – 19.03

After an obviously disappointing DQ in the 200 Medley Relay last night, the NC State sprint squad rebounded in a strong way, not only advancing three swimmers into the 50 free A-final, but all three in new season best times.

Leading the way for the Wolfpack is Quintin McCarty, who exploded off the block with one of the two sub-9-second splits as he flipped in 8.93. The junior, who placed 8th in this event at NCAAs last season, closed in 9.62, the fastest in the field as well, to touch not only in a new personal best of 18.55, but also a new ACC Championship record, erasing the two-year-old mark of 18.57 set by then Notre Dame swimmer Chris Guiliano.

Joining him in the final are Jerry Fox and Drew Salls, who finished 3rd and 8th overall with times of 18.80 and 19.03, respectively.

Top seed Lucca Battaglini was a little off form as he added .16 to his seed time. However, the Cal Bear was still fast enough to earn a spot in the final, as his 18.94 placed 7th and gave him some outside smoke opportunities. Battaglini is not the lone Cal swimmer in the field as Martin Wrede, a freshman and 16th seed, had a massive drop, going from 19.31 to 18.87 to earn the 5th seed tonight.