2026 Big 12 Championships: Day 5 Finals Live Recap

2026 Big 12 Championships

• Dates: Tuesday, February 24–Saturday, February 28, 2026
• Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• Defending champions: Arizona State women (1x); Arizona State men (1x)
• Teams: Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Christian, Utah, West Virginia
• Men’s Championship Preview
• Women’s Championship Preview
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Video: ESPN +
• Live Recaps
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

It is time for the last session of the 2026 Big 12 Championships, and the ASU teams are holding the overall lead by a large margin coming into the final session.

Tonight’s finals session will kick off with the 200 backstroke finals where Arizona reigned supreme in the morning session, with Kayman Neal holding the top seed on the women’s side and Alex Desangles holding the top seed on the men’s side.

The 100 free will swim next and both ‘A’ finals are a state of Arizona affair, with the women’s final containing five Arizona swimmers and three ASU swimmers, while the men’s final has six ASU swimmers and two Arizona swimmers.

The fastest heat of the men’s and women’s mile will come in the middle, and ASU’s Deniz Ertan and Utah’s Nick Chirafisi are the top seeds.

The individual swimming events will wrap up with the 200 breaststrokes. Flo Peter is the top seed on the women’s side and Brayden Taivassalo is the top seed on the men’s.

The final individual event will be the women’s platform diving, and all the diving events have seen some excitement so far.

Finaly, the meet will wrap up with the 400 freestyle relay events.ASU is the top seed on both sides, but the Arizona women have been on fire, and they picked up a massive win in the 200 freestyle relay and have five of the top eight in the individual 100 free.

Women’s 200 Backstroke — Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:46.09, Claire Curzan – 2026
• Big 12 Record: 1:49.91, Tasija Karosas – 2017
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:50.09, Olivia Bray – 2023
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:54.80
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:53.31

Top 8 Finishers

1. Kayman Neal (ARIZ) — 1:52.44
2. Gerda Szilagyi (ASU) — 1:53.79
3. Elizabeth Jimenez (UH) — 1:55.08
4. Alexia Duncan (UH) — 1:55.25
5. Julia Smurzynska (ARIZ) — 1:55.39
6. Rylee Simoneaux (UH) — 1:55.52
7. Paige Armstrong (ARIZ) — 1:56.45
8. Paige Taber (TCU) — 1:56.97

The women’s 200 backstroke final was all about Arizona’s Kayman Neal. She touched in 1:52.44 to win the event by more than a second over ASU’s Gerda Szilagyi, and taking more than half-a-second off her lifetime best 1:53.05 from November of this year.

Neal was out in 5th at the 50 mark, splitting 27.12. From there, she split the fastest time on the final three 50s. She was 28.17/28.56/28.59 to close out the race for the win as the only swimmer to split sub-28 on the final 50.

Szilagyi finished 2nd overall in 1:53.79, more than a second ahead of the rest of the field. She turned in 6th at the 50 (27.15) before working her way up the rankings over the next 150 yards. She was 28.53/28.68/29.43 to grab the silver medal. She was about two tenths off her best of 1:53.56 from November

Houston finished 3rd and 4th with Elizabeth Jimenez rounding out the podium in 1:55.08. a three tenth drop from the 1:55.53 she swam last March. Last night’s 100 backstroke champion Alexia Duncan finished 4th in 1:55.25, about half-a-second away from her prelims best of 1:54.60.

Men’s 200 Backstroke — Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:34.21, Hubi Kos – 2025
• Big 12 Record: 1:36.42, John Shebat – 2019
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:38.61, Ryan Harty – 2019
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:42.14
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:40.13

Top 8 Finishers

1. Adam Chaney (ASU) — 1:38.33 **Meet Record
2. JT Ewing (ASU) — 1:39.72
3. Alex Desangles (ARIZ) — 1:41.43
4. Aiden Gerst (CINC) — 1:42.04
5. Ryan Hardy (ARIZ) — 1:42.08
6. Filip Suchanski (TCU) — 1:44.24
7. Edgar Cicanci (TCU) — 1:44.24
8. Will Meyers (ARIZ) — 1:44.38

Adam Chaney had never swum the 200 backstroke at a conference meet before tonight, and his first time swimming the event, he set a new Big 12 meet record in the event, dropping a full second to touch in 1:38.33.

Chaney, the 100 backstroke champion, got out to a quick lead, turning in 22.69 at the 50, which was about a second ahead of the rest of the field. He also had the fastest 2nd 50 at 25.13 to turn in 47.82 at the 100 meter mark.

At the 150, he dropped back into the 24 range, splitting 24.98 before coming home in 25.53, which was the fastest closing split. His previous best time was 1:39.59 from November, and before that race, his last 200 back came from November 2022.

JT Ewing finished 2nd for the Sun Devils in 1:39.72, which was two seconds ahead of the rest of the field. He split 23.63/25.23/25.23/25.63 to chase down Arizona’s Alex Desangles over the final 100 yards.

Desangles was 3rd in 1:41.43 after splitting 23.37/25.35/25.81/26.90.

Women’s 100 Freestyle — Finals

Men’s 100 Freestyle — Finals

• NCAA Record: 39.83, Jordan Crooks – 2025
• Big 12 Record: 40.83, Jonny Kulow – 2025
• Big 12 Championship Record: 41.07, Jonny Kulow – 2025
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 42.55
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 41.95

Top 8 Finishers

1. Remi Fabiani (ASU) — 40.67 **New Conference Record
2. Jonny Kulow (ASU) — 41.47
3. Tomas Lukminas (ARIZ) — 41.89
4. Quin Seider (ASU) — 41.91
5. Ralph Daleiden Ciuferri (ARIZ) — 42.16
6. Filip Senc-Samardzic (ASU) — 42.42
7. Tolu Young (ASU) — 42.64
8. Tommy Palmer (ASU) — 42.86

Remi Fabiani set a new conference record time 40.67 to win the men’s 100 freestyle, taking more than a tenth off the 40.83 record ASU teammate. Jonny Kulow set at the 2025 NCAA Championships.

Coming into this season, Fabiani’s best time in the event was 41.23 from his senior year at Cal Baptist. He has dropped more than half-a-second in the event during this season, and he set the 3rd fastest time in the country this season, coming in only behind Jere Hribar and Gui Caribe.

Fabiani split 19.40/21.27 to earn the win by eight tenths over Kulow’s 41.47 for the silver. Kulow was 19.62/21.85 to finish 2nd, about four tenths ahead of 3rd.

Arizona’s Tomas Lukminas swam 41.89 to pick up the bronze, about half-a-second off his lifetime best 41.33. He just out touched ASU’s Quin Seider, who swam 41.91 to prevent an ASU top three in the event.

Women’s 1650 Freestyle — Finals

• NCAA D1 Record: 15:03.31 – Katie Ledecky, 2017
• Big 12 Record: 15:45.95 – Erica Sullivan, 2022
• Meet Record: 15:48.65 – Evie Pfeifer, 2021
• NCAA Qualifying Time: 16:25.29
• NCAA Invite Time: 16:09.37

Top 8 Finishers

1. Deniz Ertan (ASU) — 16:06.04
2. Alexa Reyna (ASU) — 16:18.42
3. Emma Overall (UH) — 16:32.70
4. Izzy Wilson (UH) — 16:34.06
5. Ava Sutphin (ARIZ) — 16:35.28
6. Tait Haag (KANS) — 16:37.24
7. Sydney Nethercutt (UH) — 16:40.08
8. Taira Vroom (CINC) — 16:41.32

Deniz Ertan went three-for-three in her individual events at her final Big 12 Championships. On the final night of the meet, she won the 1650 freestyle in 16:06.04, which was about 13 seconds off her lifetime best 15:53.23 from November of 2023.

Ertan grabbed the lead early and never looked back, splitting 4:50.08 on the opening 500 to sit nine tenths ahead of teammate Alexa Reyna‘s 4:50.94.

She settled into to 29-mid splits for most of her race with just othree splits coming in outside of the 29.2-29.6 range. She was 4:53.58 on her 2nd 500 and 4:54.64 on her final two 500s to earn the gold, nearly lapping everyone except Reyna.

Reyna finished 2nd in 16:18.42, which was an 18 second add from her lifetime best 16:00.40. She was out right with Ertan before she dropped into the 29-high range with a few 30s thrown in as the race went on.

Tait Haag from Kansas was the top swimmer in the prelims session of the mile with the 16:37.24 lifetime best she swam, and she came in 6th overall in the event.

Men’s 1650 Freestyle — Finals

• NCAA D1 Record: 14:12.08 – Bobby Finke, 2020
• Big 12 Record: 14:22.41 – Clark Smith, 2017
• Meet Record: 14:31.29 – Clark Smith, 2016
• NCAA Qualifying Time: 15:06.60
• NCAA Invite Time: 14:48.80

Top 8 Finishers

1. Nick Chirafisi (UTAH) — 14:52.65
2. Noah Mudadu (ASU) — 15:02.39
3. Easton Mousser (BYU) — 15:04.55
4. Tanner Nelson (BYU) — 15:05.30
5. Mason Nyboer (ARIZ) — 15:09.17
6. Ryan King (ASU) — 15:13.95
7. Jones Lambert (UTAH) — 15:14.01
8. Reece Grady (ASU) — 15:14.32

Utah’s Nick Chirafisi broke 15 minutes for the first time in his career to win his 2nd big 12 title of the meet in the men’s mile. He touched in 14:52.65 to take eight seconds off his previous best time of 15:00.54 from November. Coming into the season, his best was 15:02.28 from last year’s Big 12 Championships.

Through the first 1000 yards, Chirafisi was locked in a battle with Noah Mudadu from ASU, and Easton Mouser and Tanner Nelson from BYU. At the 1000 meter mark, he turned in 2nd at 9:04.02, about half-a-second behind Mudadu’s 9:03.64 and two seconds ahead of Mousser (9:06.74) and Nelson (9:06.34).

After that turn, Chirafisi turned on the gas in a massive way, dropping from 27 mid splits to 26 high splits for the remainder of the race, quickly building a significant gap between him and the rest of the field.

Mudadu swam 15:02.39 for 2nd, a nine second add from the 14:53.49 he swam in December of 2024.

Mousser set a new personal best 15:04.55 to finish 3rd ahead of teammate Nelson’s 15:05.30 for 4th.

Arizona’s Mason Nyboer swam the top time in the prelims session of 15:09.17, which was his first best time in three years in the event, taking three tenths off the 15:09.43 he swam in March of 2023. He finished 5th overall.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke — Finals

• NCAA Record: 2:01.29, Kate Douglass – 2023
• Big 12 Record: 2:03.26, Anna Elendt – 2023
• Big 12 Championship Record: 2:03.92, Anna Elendt – 2022
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 2:11.27
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 2:09.58

Top 8 Finishers

1. Flo Peter (UH) — 2:08.11
2. Nina Vadovicova (TCU) — 2:09.47
3. Eleni Gewalt (ARIZ) — 2:10.08
4. Lucie Vasquez (ASU) — 2:10.96
5. Sonia Vaishnani (ASU) — 2:11.04
6. Grace Swoboda (ISU) — 2:11.89
7. Ryan Johnston (KANS) — 2:12.77
8. Evelyn Entrekin (UH) — 2:18.92

Houston had never won an individual Big 12 Title before this week, and now their women have won three with Flo Peter‘s 2:08.11 in the 200 breaststroke.

The first 100 of the women’s 200 breaststroke final was close, with four different swimmers coming in within half-a-second of each other. Eleni Gewalt led the field at 1:02.15, just ahead of Peter’s 1:02.20, Nina Vadovicova‘s 1:02.43, and Grace Swoboda‘s 1:02.67.

On the 3rd 50, Peter threw down the gauntlet, splitting 32.74 to be the only swimmer in the field sub 33-seconds on the 50, taking over the lead.

On her final 50, she swam 33.17, which was the fastest closing split in the field. Her final time of 2:08.11 was a six tenth drop from the 2:08.72 she swam in November of 2024.

TCU’s Vadovicova finished 2nd in 2:09.47, about half-a-second ahead of Arizona’s Eleni Gewalt, who was 3rd in 2:10.08.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke — Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:46.35, Leon Marchand – 2024
• Big 12 Record: 1:47.91, Will Licon – 2017
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:49.89, Will Licon – 2017
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:54.95
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:52.89

Top 8 Finishers

1. Andy Dobrzanski (ASU) — 1:51.92
2. Brayden Taivassalo (ASU) — 1:52.33
3. Lucien Vergnes (ASU) — 1:53.02
4. Peter Etzold (BYU) — 1:55.37
5. Felipe Goncalves (TCU) — 1:55.62
6. Benson Wong (CINC) — 1:55.81
7. Rafael Mimoso (WVY) — 1:55.84
8. Kyle Bumgardner (CINC) — 1:56.79

ASU had a massive performance in the men’s 200 breaststroke, picking up the top three finishers with Andy Dobrzanski earning the win in 1:51.92, four tenths ahead of teammate Brayden Taivassalo‘s 1:52.33 in 2nd and a second ahead of Lucien Vergnes‘ 1:53.02 in 3rd.

Dobrzanski was the 100 breaststroke champion last night, and he got out in 25.08, turning 2nd behind Vergnes’ 24.73. Vergnes maintained the lead through the 100 mark, splitting 28.49 to turn in 53.22, just a tenth ahead of Dobrzanski, who swam 28.24 to turn in 53.32.

At the 150, Dobrzanski took over the lead, splitting 28.82 to pass Vergnes’ 29.18. Taivassalo had the fastest 3rd 50 split in the field of 28.75 to put himself just behind Vergnes going into the final 50.

Dobrzanski split 29.78 at the end to touch in 1:51.92, about a second off his lifetime best 1:50.95 from January.

Taivassalo moved into 2nd, splitting 29.77 to earn the silver in 1:52.32, a tenth off his best 1:52.20. Vergnes was 3rd in 1:53.02 after coming home in 30.62. This was a new best time by about a second for Vergnes from his 1:54.07 that he set in October.

Women’s Platform Diving

Top 8 Finishers

1. Michelle McLeod (UH) — 319.75
2. Kayden Hayes (ASU) — 254.10
3. Zara Ayazi (ARIZ) — 245.60
4. Lize van Leeuwen (KANS) — 244.80
5. Callie Eagleston (UTAH) — 240.05
6. Langley Petersen (CINC) — 232.85
7. Kathryn Grant (UTAH) — 229.45
8. Abigail Sullivan (WVU) — 227.85

Houston picks up their 2nd straight individual title to win the women’s platform diving event with Michelle McLeod scoring 319.75 to dominate the event, winning by more than 60 points.

ASU’s Kayden Hayes finished 2nd in 254.10, picking up major diving points for the Sun Devils ahead of Arizona’s Zara Ayazi, who scored 245.60 for 3rd overall.

Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay — Finals

• NCAA D1 Record: 3:05.30 – Virginia (Curzan, Moesch, Canny, Curtis), 2026
• Big 12 Record: 3:09.56 – University of Texas (Adams, Cook, Ariola, Diener), 2018
• Meet Record: 3:11.29 – University of Texas (K Pash, O Bray, A Longi, K Leibel), 2023
• NCAA Qualifying Times (Qualifying/Provisional): 3:13.62/3:14.92

Top 8 Finishers

1. ASU — 3:12.86
2. Arizona — 3:13.55
3. Cincinnati — 3:18.02
4. Houston — 3:19.63
5. BYU — 3:19.65
6. TCU — 3:20.45
7. Utah — 3:21.17
8. West Virginia — 3:21.24

ASU and Arizona were locked in a battle in the women’s 400 freestyle relay, with the Arizona women leading through the first 300 yards of the race. Ultimately ASU came out on top in 3:12.86, about seven tenths ahead of the Arizona women’s 3:13.55.

Riley Botton led off for the Arizona women in 48.28, about a second ahead of ASU’s Gerda Szilagyi, who split 49.17 on the 1st 100.

The 2nd leg saw Patricija Kondraskaite take the water for Arizona, splitting 48.75 to hold off ASU’s Julia Ullmann, who split 48.22 for the Sun Devils.

Meric Demirtepe swam 3rd for the Wildcats, splitting 48.77, a tenth faster than ASU’s Grace Lindberg, who swam 48.87.

Arizona’s anchor was Julia Wozniak, and she took the water about four tenths ahead of ASU anchor Albane Cachot, the 50, 100, and 200 free champion this week. Cachot split 22.75 on her first 50 to lose some ground to Wozniak’s 22.34, but she came home in 23.86 to split 46.60, taking the victory over Wozniak, who split 25.41 and 47.75.

Cincinnati finished 3rd in 3:18.02 with Kate Mardis (49.75), Joleigh Crye (49.76), Lindi Worrell (49.19), and Taira Vroom (49.32).

Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay — Finals

• NCAA D1 Record: 2:42.30 – Tennessee (Caribe, Taylor, Blackman, Crooks), 2025
• Big 12 Record: 2:43.22 – Arizona State University (Kharun, Sammon, Palmer, Kulow), 2025
• Meet Record: 2:44.03 – Arizona State University (I Kharun, P Sammon, T Palmer, J Kulow), 2025
• NCAA Qualifying Times (Qualifying/Provisional): 2:49.36/2:50.42

Top 8 Finishers

1. ASU — 2:42.15 **New NCAA Record
2. Arizona — 2:48.86
3. Utah — 2:52.42
4. TCU — 2:54.50
5. BYU — 2:54.51
6. Cincinnati — 2:54.54
7. West Virginia — 2:55.87

In the final event of the meet, the ASU men went out with a massive bang, setting a new NCAA record time in the men’s 400 freestyle relay.

They touched in 2:42.15, taking 0.15 seconds off the former record time of 2:42.30 set by the Tennessee Volunteers at the 2025 NCAA Championships. Unlike that Tennessee relay, the ASU men did not have a single swimmer under 40 seconds in the event.

Ilya Kharun led the team off in 40.86, which was a new lifetime best time, dropping from the 41.03 he swam in January of 2025.

Adam Chaney was 41.21 on the 2nd leg for the team. Remi Fabiani had the fastest split in the field at 40.00, just one hundredth away from 39 seconds. Jonny Kulow had a -0.01 reaction time to split 40.08 on the anchor leg for the team, earning a new NCAA record.

Arizona finished 2nd with Ralph Daleiden Ciuferri leading off in 42.16. Tomas Lukminas swam 41.34 in 2nd. Orion Henderson was 42.52 in 3rd, and Taylor Luck was 42.84 in 4th. they touched in 2:48.68.

Final Team Scores

Women

1. ASU — 1660.5
2. Arizona — 1442.5
3. Houston — 1194.5
4. Cincinnati — 770
5. Kansas — 739.5
6. TCU — 733
7. Utah — 693
8. BYU — 524
9. Iowa State — 520
10. West Virginia — 409

Men

1. ASU — 1898.5
2. Arizona — 1552.5
3. Utah — 1305
4. TCU — 934
5. BYU — 843
6. Cincinnati — 802
7. West Virginia — 641