Nicholas Finch Takes Down Meet Record, Ties Ivy League Record with 18.82 50 Free

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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  • Day 1 Finals
  • Day 2 Prelims | Day 2 Finals

Men’s 50 Freestyle – Finals

• Ivy League Record: 18.82, Alex Righi (Yale) – 2009
• Ivy League Meet Record: 18.90, Alex Righi (Yale) – 2009
• Pool Record: 18.90, Alex Righi (Yale) – 2009
• 2026 NCAA Cut: 19.43
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 19.02
• 2025 Champion: Nicholas Finch (Yale), 19.07

Podium:

1. Nicholas Finch (Yale), 18.82 *IVY LEAGUE, MEET, AND POOL RECORD*
2. Patrick Dinu (Princeton), 19.10
3. Sonny Wang (Harvard), 19.21
4. Zion James (Columbia), 19.31
5. Maro Miknic (Harvard), 19.38
6. Josh Toothman (Cornell), 19.54
7. Sam Eckert (Columbia), 19.59
8. Deny Nankov (Yale), 19.62

A start, a turn, no breaths, and a finish, and Yale sophomore Nicholas Finch took down a 17-year-old Ivy League meet and pool record and tied the overall Ivy League and Yale program record with a blazing 18.82 to win the 50 free on Thursday. He cleared the NCAA qualifying standard by .61 and punched his ticket to the 2026 NCAA Championships.

Yale alumnus Alex Righi, the previous owner of all those honors, was at DeNunzio Pool to watch the historic event and was the one to distribute the medal to his Yale sprint co-recordholder.

Photo courtesy Ryan Samson/Ivy League

Finch’s 18.82 is tied for 18th in the NCAA so far this season:

• Josh Liendo (Florida), 18.40
• Ilya Kharun (Arizona St), 18.40r
• Gui Caribe (Tennessee), 18.46
• Quintin McCarty (NC State), 18.55
• Jere Hribar (LSU), 18.57
• Brendan Whitfield (Virginia Tech), 18.62
• Tyler Ray (Michigan), 18.66
• Remi Fabiani (Arizona St), 18.68
• Nikita Sheremet (Louisville), 18.71
• Luke Nebrich (Missouri), 18.74
• Tommy Palmer (Arizona St), 18.74
• Luke Nebrich (Missouri), 18.74
• Lucca Battaglini (California), 18.78
• Nikoli Blackman (Tennessee), 18.80
• Jerry Fox (NC State), 18.80
• Martin Wrede (California), 18.81
• Adam Chaney (Arizona St), 18.81
• Jonny Kulow (Arizona St), 18.82
• Nicholas Finch (Yale), 18.82