2026 Ivy League Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships
- Dates: Wednesday, February 25–Saturday, February 29
- Location: DeNunzio Pool, Princeton, New Jersey
- Defending Champions: Princeton men (1x)
- Teams: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale
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The Ivy League is one of the few NCAA Division I conferences that includes the 1000 free at its conference championship meet, and Harvard freshman and US National Team member William Mulgrew took advantage of the rested meet to crush the Ivy League Record in 8:38.01.
That swim also ranks him as the 8th-fastest performer in the history of the event at any level (among contained 1000 frees, not including splits en route to a 1650 free), and 9th-best when including splits (Bobby Finke).
Fastest 1000 Yard Freestylers, All-Time
- Clark Smith – 8:33.93 (2015)
- Bobby Finke – 8:34.63 (2020) – Split
- David Johnston – 8:34.82 (2023)
- Erik Vendt – 8:36.49 (2008)
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 8:36.65 (2025)
- Luka Mijatovic – 8:36.71 (2025)
- Rex Maurer – 8:37.19 (2026)
- Zalan Sarkany – 8:37.82 (2024)
- William Mulgrew – 8:38.01 (2026)
- Connor Jaeger – 8:41.09 (2014)
The old Ivy League Record of 8:46.99 was set at the 2018 Championships by Harvard’s Brennan Novak.
Splits Comparison:
| William Mulgrew | William Mulgrew | Brennan Novak | Clark Smith | |
| Previous PB | New Ivy Record | Old Ivy Record | All-Time Best | |
| 100y | 49.51 | 49.31 | 50.86 | 48.25 |
| 200y | 52.24 | 51.95 | 53.26 | 50.74 |
| 300y | 52.84 | 52.7 | 53.24 | 51.56 |
| 400y | 53.35 | 52.62 | 53.16 | 51.8 |
| 500y | 53.61 | 52.46 | 53.31 | 52.09 |
| 600y | 53.68 | 52.23 | 52.68 | 52.25 |
| 700y | 53.98 | 52.40 | 52.94 | 52.35 |
| 800y | 53.97 | 52.70 | 52.94 | 52.00 |
| 900y | 53.57 | 51.75 | 52.77 | 51.82 |
| 1000y | 51.97 | 49.89 | 51.83 | 51.07 |
| Final Time | 8:48.72 | 8:38.01 | 8:46.99 | 8:33.93 |
By 500, Mulgrew split 4:19.04/4:18.97 – an unbelievably-tight splitting pattern between the two halves that will make believers in classic splitting patterns happy.
Only two swimmers in the NCAA have been faster in the 1000 free this season – 800 and 1500 free World champion Ahmed Jaouadi of Florida (8:36.65) and the 2026 NCAA runner-up in the mile Rex Maurer of Texas (8:37.19)
Mulgrew grew up in nearby Walpole Mass, where he trained with the Shawmut Aquatic Club. He holds 28 club records there.
He was a member of the U.S. team at the 2024 Junior Pan Pac Championships and 2025 World Junior Championships.
He qualified for the US National Team in the 800 free (#6 – 7:51.09) and 1500 free (#5 – 15:05.97). Both times came from the World Junior Championships last summer in Romania, where he placed 5th in each event.
Mulgrew finished 2nd in the 500 free (4:12.03) on Thursday and is entered in the 1650 free for Saturday.
In spite of his huge distance performance, Harvard remained in 3rd place going into the final day of competition behind Princeton and Yale.
Scores After Day 3
- Princeton – 952
- Yale – 874.5
- Harvard – 785.5
- Brown – 586
- Cornell – 581
- Columbia – 580.5
- Dartmouth – 466
- Penn – 444.5
Really too bad this isn’t an NCAA event.
Mid at best
Incredible splitting
That 49.89 final 100 almost makes it seem as if he left something on the table.
Incredible swim!
Great swim