Mia West to Swim 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 IM at NCAA Champs Despite Winning ACC Title in 200 Fly

2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Wednesday, March 18 – Saturday, March 21, 2026
• McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
• Defending Champions: Virginia (5x)
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Video

Cal sophomore Mia West is set to race the 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, and 200 IM at the 2026 NCAA Championships, marking a vastly different event lineup than what she raced at the ACC Championships two weeks ago.

West is coming off an ACC Championship title in the 200 butterfly, where she swam a new lifetime best in 1:51.52. That swim shaved nearly two seconds off of her pre-meet best time that she swam in a dual meet against Stanford in late January (1:53.32). That time ranked her tied for 5th in the nation along with Tennessee’s Emily Brown this season, and it comes as a bit of a surprise that she is choosing to pass on this event.

She also raced the 400 IM at ACCs, finishing 8th overall in 4:05.10, just off of her season and career best of 4:04.91 from November’s dual with Stanford. That best time sits as the 19th fastest in the NCAA this season.

The only event that West will carry over from ACCs is the 200 IM, as she swam her fastest ever time of 1:52.30, a two-and-a-half-second improvement from her pre-championships best of 1:54.77. This massive move slots her as the #2 seed behind Louisville’s Anastasia Gorbenko in 1:51.30.

In addition to her high seed in the 200 IM, West sits as the #8 seed in the 200 free (1:41.74) and is tied for the #12 spots in the 100 back in 50.78.

The decision to swim the 200 IM over the 200 fly looks to be the correct move in hindsight, with the two races separated only by the 100 free on day four of competition. West will likely be a major relay contributor for the Golden Bears, especially in the 200 free relay (which falls on the same day as her 200 free) after splitting 20.63 on Cal’s Last Chance 200 free relay this past weekend.

This NCAA appearance marks her 2nd showing at this meet, having been part of two relays last year, helping lead Cal to a 7th-place finish in the 200 free relay (21.63 split) and a 10th-place effort in the 400 free relay (47.35 split) as a freshman.

West’s 200 free seemingly was not on the table for these championships at the turn of the new year, having only been as fast as 1:43.73 from the Minnesota Invite in December, but a two-second time drop to 1:41.74 at January’s dual with in-state foe USC. She sits just ahead of her teammate Claire Weinstein (#9) on the psych sheets, and could be a good points grab for the Golden Bears if both manage to get themselves into the championship final.

The 100 back is her longest shot to make the championship final, as she sits over four tenths out from the 8th seed time right now, a spot currently occupied by Pittsburgh’s Claire Jansen in 50.32. She is not the only Cal swimmer in the top 12 of the event, as Mary-Ambre Moluh is seeded #4 in 49.54.