2026 NCAA Division III Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2026 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 18-21, 2026
• Location: IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, IN
• Defending Champs: MIT women (1x) & Denison men (1x)
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Results on Meet Mobile: “NCAA DIII Championships”
• Live Video
• Live Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1
• Day 2 Finals Heat Sheets

It’s the 2nd night of finals at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving National Championships in Indianapolis. Tonight we will crown champions in the 200 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 400 IM, women’s 3-meter diving, and 200 free relay.

Denison’s Jack Hill leads the men’s 200 free field in 1:35.20 from this morning; meanwhile, NYU’s Kaley McIntyre is hunting for her 4th consecutive national title as the top seed in the women’s 200 free in 1:45.29.

Defending champion and national record holder Cooper Costello of Chicago flirted with his record mark of 45.97 in prelims to snag the top seed for the men’s 100 fly in 46.06. Claremont Mudd-Scripps’ Madeleine Kan was half a second faster than she has ever been to turn in the only sub-54-second swim in prelims and secure top seed honors in the women’s 100 fly in 53.81.

It was all Violets in the men’s 400 IM as NYU’s Maksym Nechydyuk (3:48.60) and Conner Dean (3:48.99) nabbed the top two spots in the men’s 400 IM, setting up for a showdown this evening. The top 8 women’s 400 IM performers this morning were separated by just over three seconds, with Denison’s Emily Harris turning in the fastest performance this morning in 4:20.16.

The Denison men’s 200 free relay touched just over seven tenths slower than the 2012 NCAA DIII record this morning, and will look to become the 3rd relay to break a national record at these championships. NYU’s women’s 200 free relay was a second and a half faster than the field this morning, eyeing another relay national title tonight.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE

• Division III Record: 1:34.74, James McChesney (TCNJ) – 2023
• 2025 Winner: Colin Twiss (Coast Guard), 1:36.68

Top 8:

1. Jack Hill (DEN)- 1:33.94 * NCAA DIII Record
2. John Butler (CHIC)- 1:35.01
3. Charles Platt (CALV)- 1:36.00
4. Teodor Jaworski (KEN)- 1:36.60
5. George Goins (DEN)- 1:36.85
6. Nick Hensel (DEN)- 1:37.49
7. Jack Goepfrich (AMHE)- 1:37.78
8. Harry Parsons (DEN)- 1:38.78

Denison’s Jack Hill was out fast, but accompanied by Chicago’s John Butler in the opening stages as Hill turned first at the 100 in 45.44.

The next 50 was a big one for Hill (24.32), charging to a half-body length lead over Butler in 1:09.76

On the final 50, Hill found another gear (24.18), blasting off the final wall and surged home to secure a new NCAA DIII record in 1:33.94, the first sub 1:34 200 free in DIII history.

Butler managed to hold on for the runner-up finish in 1:35.01, and Calvin’s Charles Platt was 3rd in 1:36.00.

The consolation final saw NYU’s Pierce Downs, out of lane 7, battle across the pool with Chicago’s Misha Kojanov, as the Violet junior would swim over seven tenths faster than his prelims swim (1:38.09) to take the consolation final win in 1:37.34. Kojanov was close behind in 1:37.75.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE

• Division III Record: 1:44.74, Kaley McIntyre (NYU – 2026
• 2025 Winner: Kaley McIntyre (NYU), 1:44.88

Top 8:

1. Kaley McIntyre (NYU)- 1:45.90
2. Llew Landomirak 9NYU)- 1:47.92
3. Molly Haag (KEN)- 1:48.94
4. Emery Muller (NYU)- 1:49.63
5. Nina Aballea (PP)- 1:49.85
6. Mary Feliz (MIT)- 1:50.05
7. Natalie Boorjian (EMOR)- 1:51.26
8. Ellie Burkhardt (PP)- 1:52.76

Kaley McIntyre was dominant in this race, turning a body length ahead of the field after the first 50 (24.21), despite appearing to have possibly slipped off the wall at the 50 turn.

She had increased her lead to 2.5 body lengths by the 100, flipping at 50.69, over half a second faster than she was this morning (51.37).

She continued to build her lead, as by this point, NYU’s Llew Ladomirak was the only swimmer who appeared to have separated herself from the pack behind.

McIntyre, though not a record time, would secure her 4th straight 200 free national title dominantly, touching over two seconds ahead of the field in 1:45.90.

Ladomirak was the next closest to McIntyre in 1:47.92 to finish 1-2 for Kenyon. 3rd was Molly Haag, who won the 500 free last night, rounding out the top three in 1:48.94.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY

• Division III Record: 45.97, Cooper Costello (Chicago) – 2025
• 2025 Winner: Cooper Costello (Chicago), 45.97

Top 8:

1. Cooper Costello (CHIC)- 45.85 *NCAA DIII Record
2. Brayden Morford (CMU)- 46.85
3. Cami Wilson (SWAT)- 47.39
4. Noah Reice (CGA)- 47.40
5. Ethan Bonow (ASBU)- 47.74
6. Owen Hancock (GRO)- 47.79
7. Joe McChesney (TCNJ)- 47.80
8. Cam Blevins-Mohr (DEN)- 47.94

Costello was the name to watch coming in, and he did not disappoint.

Though not the greatest start to the race (21.79), Costello more than made up for it with a massive back half (24.06), after turning outside of the top two at the 50.

Costello attacked the underwater on the final turn and powered to the final touch, ultimately breaking his own NCAA DIII record in 45.85.

Brayden Morford of Carnegie Mellon was far and away the biggest threat to potentially spoil Costello‘s party, and he had probably the best start of the field, opening up as the leader in 21.82.

He was not able to match Costello’s back-half speed, ultimately finishing 2nd in 46.85. Swarthmore’s Cami Wilson got just ahead of Coast Guard’s Noah Reice (47.40) to take 3rd in 47.39.

The winner in the consolation final came out of lane 1 as Grove City senior Caleb Einolf led from start to finish, touching in 47.63, over half a second faster than he was in the prelims, where he squeaked in as the number 15 time in 48.16.

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY

• Division III Record: 52.64, Kirsten Nitz (Wheaton) – 2014
• 2025 Winner: Sydney Smith (MIT), 53.96

Top 8:

1. Madeleine Kan (CMS)- 53.57
2. Haley Zelen (CSB)- 53.88
3. Audrey Gil (CMU)- 54.39
4. Maggie Farley (WILL)- 54.42
5. Sydney Smith (MIT)- 54.71
6. Sun Young Byun (CMS)- 54.72
7. Ken Lee (JHU)- 55.11
8. Esme Van Orden (WILL)- 55.27

Kan opened up less than a tenth ahead of Haley Zelen of Saint Benedict on the first 50.

After opening up fast on the first 50 (24.76), Kan appeared to have possibly begun to tucker herself out.

Zelen looked as though she was making a late charge to overtake the Claremont senior 29.04 final 50, and with Kan’s strokes quickly shortening and getting increasingly more choppy, the door felt as though it was opening.

At the final touch, it looked as though Kan managed to get a half stroke off and get her hands on the wall first in 53.57.

Zelen finished close behind in 53.88, while Carnegie Mellon’s Audrey Gil got her hands on the wall 3rd in 54.39.

MEN’S 400 IM

• Division III Record: 3:46.62, Harrison Curley (Kenyon) – 2015
• 2025 Winner: Kirill Sidorko (Kenyon), 3:48.75

Top 8:

1. Maksym Nechydyuk (NYU)- 3:47.86
2. Conner Dean (NYU)- 3:48.03
3. Marco Minai (WSTL)- 3:50.81
4. Ethan Maske (KEN)- 3:51.23
5. Owen Vale (AMHE)- 3:51.86
6. Grant Hu (MIT)- 3:52.55
7. Evan Graham (GETT)- 3:52.83
8. Crow Thorsen (EMOR)- 3:53.91

If this morning was any indication, we were set up for a battle of two NYU Violet teammates.

From the start, it was both Maksym Nechydyuk and Conner Dean asserting themselves among the favorites early, each turning within the top four at the 100, but both trailing Emery’s Crow Thorson and 51.77.

Dean started to make his mark on the backstroke, moving to about a three-quarter of a body length lead over the field through the first 50 of backstroke. Dean would maintain that lead, turning in 1:50.25 at the halfway mark.

Even into the breaststroke, Dean (1:04.53) looked like the more controlled swimmer; it wasn’t looking like anybody could be in contention with him until the final 25 of breaststroke, as Nechydyuk (1:05.07) had consistently sat about a body length behind him throughout.

In the closing stages of this race, both Violet swimmers were giving it everything they had left.

Nechydyuk had a big first 50 (26.11) of freestyle to put himself at Dean’s hip (26.72), and it was down to who had enough left in the tank.

Dean was falling off with every stroke, while Nechydyuk seemed to be picking up twice the yardage in the same number of strokes.

It was a foot race to the finish as Nechydyuk would be a second and a half faster than Dean on the final 50 in 25.28 to take the win, leading a 1-2 finish for NYU in 3:47.86.

Dean would finish runner-up after leading for just under two-thirds of this race in 3:48.03. And Wash U (MO)’s Marco Minai would touch in the 3rd fastest time of the event in 3:50.81.

WOMEN’S 400 IM

• Division III Record: 4:11.23, Sophia Verkleeren (Williams) – 2025
• 2025 Winner: Sophia Verkleeren (Williams), 4:11.23

Top 8:

1. Ashlyn Widmer (KEN)- 4:20.61
2. Emily Harris (DEN)- 4:20.62
3. Quinn Weygandt (SWAT)- 4:20.86
4. Neely Burns (TRIN)- 4:21.72
5. Tess Boyer (WETN)- 4:22.26
6. Sophie Phelps (WILL)- 4:22.88
7. Bethany Spangler (NYU)- 4:23.51
8. Madeleine Dunn (TUFT)- 4:25.01

It was a tight field this morning in this event, as only Emily Harris and Quinn Weygandt of Swarthmore were under 4:21 in prelims.

Harris opened up the fastest of anybody in the field in 57.32, giving her a half-body length lead over the field, heading into the backstroke.

Harris‘s backstroke looked strong, building a more than three-second lead over the field in 2:01.06

The new goal was to maintain the lead she had built, as Harris kept her stroke throughout, still holding a little more than three seconds of an advantage over the field behind.

The next closest competitors to Harris were in two of the upper lanes, as Kenyon‘s Ashlyn Widmer (1:06.43 breaststroke) and Trinity’s Neely Burns (1:14.21 breaststroke) each were able to claw back on the second 50 of breaststroke to diminish the lead from Harris by nearly the full three seconds.

The freestyle felt like a roller coaster, as Harris, who had been in the lead for pretty much the entire race, began to tighten up heavily on the freestyle. This opened the door for Widmer to sneak in and take advantage, out-splitting Harris by nearly a full second on the final 50 to touch one-hundredth of a second ahead 4:20.61.

Harris would settle for the runner-up finishing in 4:20.62, and a heroic freestyle split from Quinn Weygandt (58.82) would power her into the 3rd place finishing position in 4:20.86.

WOMEN’S 1-meter Diving

• Division III Record: 515.90, Danica Roskos (TCNJ) – 2011
• 2025 Winner: Kailee Payne (Ithaca), 486.30

Top 8:

1. Nina Schwab (CARL)- 465.65
2. Makenna Mincey (BWC)- 445.30
3. Meera Kasturi (NYU)- 4:36.25
4. Ariana Khan (EMOR)- 4:30.30
5. Logan Yee (MIT)- 427.20
6. Maya Kriz (EMOR)- 420.10
7. Veronica Fong (CHIC)- 419.35
8. Ren Watt (EMOR)- 410.70

Nina Schwab was not just maintaining her lead at the top of the leaderboard; she was building it with each dive and picked up a few high-scoring dives to close out her program. She led by a solid 23 points heading into the final round and secured her national title in 465.65.

Makenna Mincey was just a touch too far behind, but still managed to pick up the 2nd place finish in 445.30.

NYU’s Meera Kasturi improved one spot from her prelims placing to finish top three with a 3rd place performance in 4:36.25.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE RELAY

• Division III Record: 1:18.06, Kenyon – 2012
• 2025 Winner: Chicago, 1:18.51

Top 8:

1. Chicago- 1:18.57
2. Denison- 1:18.63
3. NYU- 1:18.67
4. Kenyon- 1:18.88
5. Bates- 1:18.94
6. Carnegie Mellon- 1:19.35
7. Tufts- 1:19.40
8. UC Santa Cruz- 1:20.61

Kenyon got out to a fast open, as last night’s DIII National champion, Djordje Dragojlovic, opened in 19.48 to give his relay an early few tenths lead.

That momentum was carried through to the 2nd leg, Neil Abrahamson, who split 19.73 to keep Kenyon at the front of the pack. This is not to say they were running away with this one; as Denison responded on that same 2nd leg with Nick Hensel blasting a 19.22 split to get Denison into a battle for top positioning.

Denison then was able to take control as Cam Blevins-Mohr dipped under 20 seconds on his leg to put Denison in front, as Chicago was now the team that was creeping up, following Igor Benderskii’s 19.69 3rd leg.

Kenyon had slipped to a fight for the 3rd place spot as Denison’s Harry Parsons (19.65) and Chicago’s John Butler hit the water for the final legs of this relay. Butler appeared to have been shot out of a rocket, making up a ton of ground to get his hand on the wall first, splitting 19.19 on the close to secure the win for Chicago in 1:18.57.

Denison would settle for 2nd in 1:18.63, and NYU would get ahead of Kenyon on the finish, largely in part to Greg Wehbe’s 19.16 anchor split to finish in 1:18.67.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE RELAY

• Division III Record: 1:30.00, MIT – 2025
• 2025 Winner: MIT, 1:30.00

Top 8:

1. NYU- 1:29.38 *NCAA DIII Record
2. Hope College – 1:31.44
3. Kenyon- 1:31.68
4. Pomona-Pitzer- 1:32.04
5. Denison- 1:32.12
6. Emory- 1:32.62
7. MIT- 1:32.76
8. Chicago- 1:32.83

NYU opened like the favorites that they were, as Lian Jeong Engle was nearly a half-second quicker than she was this morning to get NYU into an early lead in 22.99.

As expected, NYU was building their lead with each stroke, as Maeve O’Donnell was also nearly a half second quicker than this morning in 22.04. Hope was also able to get their speed kicked up to another gear as Claudia Busse split 22.88 to marginally get themselves separated from the rest of the field.

Ladomirak was 22.54 on the 3rd leg for NYU, growing their lead as lanes 3 through 7 were in a near deadlock, with just 50 left to swim.

Kaley McIntyre showed why she is one of the best sprinters in the history of Division III, closing in 21.81 to secure the win and help her NYU relay to uncharted territory, becoming the first DIII relay ever under 1:30 in 1:29.38.

Hope was able to get ahead of the pack on the final 100 to secure a runner-up finish in 1:31.44. Kenyon rounded out the top three as the only other team under 1:32 in 1:31.68.

Women’s Team Standings Through Day 2:

1. NYU- 260
2. Emory- 188.5
3. Kenyon- 176.5
4. Denison- 114.5
5. MIT- 1-2
6. Williams- 98
7. Pomona-Pitzer- 91
8. Swarthmore- 82
9. Hope College- 75
10. Claremont/Chicago- 73

Men’s Team Standings Through Day 2:

1. Denison- 226
2. Chicago- 179
3. NYU- 169
4. Kenyon- 150
5. Emory- 134
6. Bates- 90
7. Carnegie Mellon- 69
8. TCNJ- 60
9. Williams- 58
10. Wash U. MO- 52