2026 Big 12 Championship
- Dates: Tuesday, February 24–Saturday, February 28
- Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
- Defending champions: Arizona State women (1x); Arizona State men (1x)
- Live Results
- Live Video: ESPN +
- Championship Central
- Men’s Championship Preview
- Women’s Championship Preview
- Teams: Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Christian, Utah, West Virginia
- Psych Sheets
- Live Recaps
Wednesday Finals Heat Sheet
Tonight’s Big 12 finals session will not feature any relay events, but will be bookended by two diving events. We will kick off the evening with the women’s 1-Meter finals and will wrap up with the men’s 3-meter event finals.
In terms of swimming, the Big 12 did not change their events to mirror the 2026 NCAA Championships, so we will see the typical day 1 individual events of the 500 free, 200 IM, and 50 free.
Kansas’ Gabi Dyer earned the top seed in the prelims of the women’s 500 freestyle, touching in 4:45.52 to come in just a tenth ahead of ASU’s Deniz Ertan, who swam 4:45.64. Ertan was followed closely by last year’s champion Alexa Reyna, also from ASU, who swam 4:45.88 in prelims to qualify 3rd.
ASU picked up the top seed in all three men’s events this morning, starting with the 500 freestyle where Noah Mudadu swam 4:15.41 to earn the top seed by more than two seconds over Arizona’s Joel Nace (4:17.61). Mudadu’s swim was a new lifetime best and put him under the NCAA qualifying time in the event.
The women’s 200 IM was led by ASU’s Jordan Greber, who swam 1:58.28 to come in just six tenths ahead of Houston’s Alexia Duncan, who swam 1:58.88 for 2nd qualifier. Greber was 10th in the event last year.
Jordan Tiffany earned the top time in the men’s 200 IM prelims, touching in 1:43.99 to be the only sub-1:44 swimmer this morning. ASU and Utah will be well represented in the final with ASU putting four swimmers in the final and Utah earning three.
The women’s 50 freestyle top seed went to Arizona’s Riley Botton in 21.90, by just one hundredth over Albane Cachot‘s 21.91 for ASU and the 2nd qualifying spot. They were the only swimmers under 22 seconds this morning.
Seven of the eight ‘A’ finalists in the men’s 50 freestyle came from the Sun Devils. The event was led by Ilya Kharun, who earned the top qualifying spot in a new meet record time of 18.64. Kharun also holds the conference record at 18.31, a mark he will be trying to take down tonight. Arizona’s Duncan Henderson will be the only non-ASU swimmer in the final, qualifying 7th in 19.12.
Women’s 1-Meter Diving — Finals
Top 8 Finishers
- Shiyun Lai (KANS) — 338.70
- Emilia Garip (UTAH) — 303.95
- Kathryn Grant (UTAH) — 301.20
- Callie Eaglestone (UTAH) — 297.75
- Michelle McLeod (UH) — 292.70
- Odessa Kaeck (TCU) — 280.30
- Maisy Woloszyn (UH) — 278.95
- Zara Joy Ayazi (ARIZ) — 254.45
Kansas junior Shiyun Lai picked up her 2nd straight Big 12 title in the women’s 1-meter diving event, picking up 338.70 points to outscore 2nd place diver Emilia Nilsson Garip‘s 303.95 for Utah by more than 30 points.
The Utes finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the event, picking up huge points for the team.
WOMEN’S 500 FREESTYLE – FINALS
- NCAA: 4:24.06 – Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
- Big 12: 4:35.02 – Evie Pfeifer, Texas (2021)
- Big 12 Championship Record: 4:36.35 – Evie Pfeifer, Texas (2021)
- 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 4:43.70
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 4:39.47
Top 8 Finishers
- Deniz Ertan (ASU) — 4:41.34
- Alexa Reyna (ASU) — 4:44.01
- Avery Dillon (TCU) — 4:45.63
- Grace Lindberg (ASU) — 4:47.26
- Ivy Solt (KANS) — 4:49.36
- Elise Clift (ARIZ) — 4:49.37
- Emma Overall (UH) — 4:49.44
- Gabi Dyer (KANS) — 4:49.50
ASU took the top two spots in the women’s 500 freestyle as senior Deniz Ertan was the only swimmer in the final to swim under the NCAA qualifying standard of 4:43.70.
Ertan was out behind teammate Alexa Reyna, splitting 1:50.40 on her opening 200 to sit about half-a-second behind Reyna’s 1:49.85. From there, Ertan took over the lead, splitting 28 mids as Reyna moved into the 28 high range.
Ertan touched in 4:41.34, a three second add from her lifetime best 4:38.04, but a new season best time in the event. She will earn an automatic qualification to the 2026 NCAA Championships as the Big 12 winner.
Reyna touched in 4:44.01, a five second add from her lifetime best 4:39.24 from this meet last year, but it was also a new season best time for her.
TCU freshman Avery Dillon finished 3rd in 4:45.63 to round out the podium. She split 1:52.28 at the 200 mark before building into 28 high splits at the 400 mark. On her final 50, she split 27.77 which was one of the fastest final 50s in the field. This was just off her lifetime best of 4:44.57 from the Mizzou Invite in November.
MEN’S 500 FREESTYLE – Finals
- NCAA: 4:02.31 – Léon Marchand, ASU (2024)
- Big 12: 4:06.93 – Luke Hobson, Texas (2024)
- Big 12 Championship Record: 4:11.11 – Clark Smith, Texas (2017)
- 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 4:18.07
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 4:14.13
Top 8 Finishers
- Nick Chirafisi (UTAH) — 4:13.48
- Jones Lambert (UTAH) — 4:15.70
- Reece Grady (ASU) — 4:15.93
- Tanner Nelson (BYU) — 4:17.04
- Noah Mudadu (ASU) — 4:18.21
- Joel Nace (ARIZ) — 4:19.03
- Beck Parhnam (ARIZ) — 4:21.54
- Nolan Arnholt (UTAH) — 4:21.57
Utah had a huge performance in the men’s 500 freestyle, picking up the top two finishers in the event as junior Nick Chirafisi swam a massive personal best time to win the event and pick up his 1st NCAA berth.
Chirafisi touched in 4:13.48, taking three seconds off his previous best time of 4:16.63 from November. He came into the season at 4:17.74 from the 2025 Big 12 Championships, marking a four second drop this season.
He was out in 48.64 to sit near the front of a very tightly packed field. He jumped to 51s for the middle 300, splitting 51.89/51.81/51.54 to secure a solid half-second lead over ASU’s Reece Grady going into his final 100. He was 49.60 on his final 100 to earn the win by more than two seconds over teammate Jones Lambert.
Lambert touched in 4:15.70 after splitting 49.28/52.30/52.45/52.19 over the first 400 and a monster final 100 split of 49.48 with the fastest final 50 in the field of 24.24 to pass Grady and finish 2nd. He was just off his best of 4:15.47 from this meet last year.
Grady was 3rd in 4:15.93 with his splits of 49.03/51.53/51.79/51.93/51.65. Grady dropped about a second from his previous best of 4:16.80 from November of 2024.
WOMEN’S 200 IM – Finals
- NCAA: 1:48.37 – Kate Douglass, Virginia (2022)
- Big 12: 1:52.58 – Madisyn Cox, Texas (2017)
- Big 12 Championship Record: 1:52.82 – Madisyn Cox, Texas (2017)
- 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 1:57.88
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:56.69
Top 8 Finishers
- Sonia Vaishnani (ASU) — 1:57.16
- Jordan Greber (ASU) — 1:57.36
- Julia Ullmann (ASU) — 1:57.40
- Alexia Duncan (UH) — 1:59.20
- Zoe Summar (ASU) — 1:59.30
- Paige Armstrong (ARIZ) — 1:59.96
- Ella Guilfoil (ASU) — 2:00.45
- Evelyn Entrekin (UH) — 2:03.74
The women’s 200 IM final was close, but ASU’s Sonia Vaishnani emerged victorious, leading an ASU top-three in the event.
Arizona’s Paige Armstrong grabbed the lead early, splitting 25.43 on the opening 50 to sit just ahead of Julia Ullmann (25.46), Jordan Greber (25.47), and Vaishnani (25.48). 29.31 in 2nd.
The backstroke leg saw Jordan Greber take over the lead, turning in 54.30 after splitting 28.83 to sit ahead of Armstrong (29.21, 54.64), Vaishnani (29.31/54.79), and Julia Ullmann (29.34, 54.80).
Vaishnani had the fastest breaststroke split int he field by nearly a second, splitting 33.63 to take over the lead as the 2nd fastest breaststroker in the field was Greber at 34.45. Ullmann split 34.95 and Armstrong dropped back after splitting 36.02.
Vaishnani held on tight on the freestyle, splitting 28.74 to touch in 1:57.16, a personal best time by more than a second from the 1:58.13 she swam in January of last year. Greber finished 2nd in 1:57.36 after splitting 28.61 on her final 50, and Ullmann had the fastest final 50 in the field at 27.65 to touch 3rd in 1:57.40.
MEN’S 200 IM – Finals
- NCAA: 1:36.34 – Léon Marchand, ASU (2022)
- Big 12: 1:39.63 – John Shebat, Texas (2019)
- Big 12 Championship Record: 1:40.42 – Carson Foster, Texas (1:40.42)
- 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 1:44.13
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:42.65
Top 8 Finishers
- Evan VanBrocklin (UTAH) — 1:43.80
- JT Ewing (ASU) — 1:43.92
- Jordan Tiffany (ASU) — 1:43.98
- Lucien Vergnes (ASU) — 1:44.03
- Owen Chiles (CINC) — 1:44.53
- Strahinja Maslo (UTAH) — 1:44.99
- Finn Winkler (UTAH) — 1:44.99
- Michael Hochwalt (ASU) — 1:47.42
The Utah men are having an explosive session, and through the first two men’s events today, they hold the lead over the ASU men with 421 points to ASU’s 389.
Evan VanBrocklin swam the top time in the men’s 200 IM final, chasing down three swimmers on the final 50 yards of the race. He touched in 1:43.80, taking half-a-second off his lifetime best 1:44.23 from November of this season.
He was out in 21.89, turning in the lead after the fly leg. He dropped back on the backstroke, splitting 26.14 to move into 2nd. On the breaststroke, he was 30.91, turning in 4th at 1:18.94. He sat behind ASU’s Lucien Vergnes (1:17.86) and Jordan Tiffany (1:18.47), and Utah teammate Finn Winkler (1:18.89).
Van Brocklin came home in 24.86 to move into the lead and earn the win and automatic NCAA bid in the event. ASU’s JT Ewing finished 2nd in 1:43.92 after swimming the fastest closing 50 in the field of 24.77.
ASU’s Jordan Tiffany was 3rd in 1:43.98, splitting 25.51 on the freestyle leg.
WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – Finals
- NCAA: 20.37 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
- Big 12: 21.65 – Carolyn Bentz, ASU (2025)
- Big 12 Championship Record: 21.76 – Grace Cooper, Texas (2024)
- 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 22.28
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 22.02
Top 8 Finishers
- Albane Cachot (ASU) — 21.80
- Julia Wozniak (ARIZ) — 21.93
- Riley Botton (ARIZ) — 22.08
- Erin Palmer (UTAH) — 22.17
- Patricija Kondraskaite (ARIZ) — 22.26
- Molly Cullen (TCU) — 22.58
- Shane Golland (ASU) — 22.75
- Miriam Sheehan (ASU) — 22.77
ASU’s Albane Cachot held off two Arizona swimmers to set a new lifetime best 21.80 en route to her 1st individual event win of the meet. The swim took two tenths off her pre-meet best of 22.05 from the first weekend of February.
A pair of Arizona seniors in Julia Wozniak and Riley Botton finished 2nd and 3rd with Wozniak swimming 21.93 to be the only other swimmer under 22 seconds this evening. This was a new lifetime best in the event, taking a little more than a tenth off her previous best, which was also 22.05.
Riley Botton finished 3rd in 22.08 to finish out the podium for Arizona.
MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – Finals
- NCAA: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
- Big 12: 18.31 – Ilya Kharun, ASU (2025)
Big 12 Championship Record: 18.47 – Ilya Kharun, ASU (2026)- 2026 NCCA Qualifying Time: 19.43
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 19.02
Top 8 Finishers
- Ilya Kharun (ASU) — 18.46 *New Meet Record
- Remi Fabiani (ASU) — 18.68
- Adam Chaney (ASU) — 18.81
- Jonny Kulow (ASU) — 18.86
- Tommy Palmer (ASU) — 18.92
- Tolu Young (ASU) — 19.00
- Duncan Henderson (ARIZ) — 19.16
- Quin Seider (ASU) — 19.25
The ASU men delivered in the 50 freestyle final with five of them swimming under the 19 second barrier as they picked up the 1st through 6th place finishes to take over the lead.
Ilya Kharun led the field, touching in 18.46 to take one hundredth off his prelims meet record time of 18.47. This was a little more than a tenth off his lifetime best 18.31 from the 2025 NCAA Championships.
Remi Fabiani finished 2nd in 18.68, a tenth drop from his previous best of 18.79 from November. Adam Chaney was 3rd in 18.81 and Jonny Kulow was 4th in 18.86. Chaney and Kulow both have faster lifetime bests with Kulow swimming 18.56 at last year’s NCAAs and Chaney swimming 18.71 at the 2023 SEC Championships when he swam for Florida.
Men’s 3-Meter Diving Finals
Top 8 Finishers
- Luke Hernandez (ARIZ) — 427.60
- Elias Petersen (UTAH) — 425.30
- David Ekdahl (TCU) — 374.70
- Levi Hellman (WVU) — 367.90
- Ollie Cazaly (TCU) — 357.30
- Elliott Dillon (TCU) — 336.60
- Ramez Sobhy (CINC) — 320.45
- Theo Hrach (ARIZ) — 288.60
Arizona’s Luke Hernandez and Utah’s Elias Petersen were locked in a battle during the men’s 3-meter final, and ultimately Arizona’s Luke Hernandez was victorious. He scored 427.60 to come out just over two points ahead of Utah’s Petersen, who scored 425.30.
TCU’s David Ekdahl finished 3rd in 374.70, about seven points ahead of West Virginia’s Levi Hellman’s 367.90 for 2nd.
Team Scores After Day 2
Women
- ASU — 521.5
- Arizona — 423
- Houston– 302.5
- Utah– 288
- TCU — 283
- Cincinnati — 274
- Kansas — 243
- BYU — 298
- BYU — 189
- Iowa State — 191
- West Virginia — 154
Men
- ASU — 618
- Utah — 473
- Arizona — 472
- TCU — 283
- BYU — 263
- Cincinnati — 228
- West Virginia — 218
7/8 A finalists in the 50 for ASU. What percentage of their conference team tapered the 50 I wonder? Is it the highest of any team with a national qualifier this season?
I guess we’ll see over the next few days, but it’s seeming like ASU probably isn’t a top 2 team this year. Lackluster performances in the 500 free & 200 im, and you can only score so many points in the 50s and 100s. Hopefully I’m missing something; I’d love to see ASU do well.
Maybe some of the guys aren’t rested properly? If that’s the case they’d probably be faster at NCs
Like cool man, 50 is cool and all but did you not realize there are like at least nine more events. And just for the record college is typically 18-22.
ASU fall off once all of bobs influence and swimmers are gone is going to be historic.
Wow… Utah dominating the lower group of teams (Utah, TCU, byu, wvu, Cincinnati)
Let’s see if that holds. Would have thought BYU would have performed better
*Utah men dominating. The womens side has had dismal recruiting lately. BYU women (and probably a few other “lower group teams”) will beat Utah. Their only hope is the dive team… and the 4 divers could probably outscore their swimmers.
Bro how does big 12 not have a working live results page where can track scoring of the meet
anyone see the interview with Kharun? The question about how does Big 12s help you get ready for LA
Now that we’re a decent amount of time removed from Bobs departure, seems clear the Herbie is much better at developing sprinters. TU cream of the crop for IM but if I’m a sprinter not sure I’d look to Bob at this stage.
We already knew this. Bob is great at middle distance while Herbie is great with the sprints.
Together they would have been unstoppable for awhile because thy complimented each others strengths.
I can’t believe how many people think Bob had anything to do with the sprinters