Van Mathias Swims His First-Ever Sub-22 50 Free (21.76) On Final Night Of Indy Spring Cup

2026 Indy Spring Cup

• May 6-9, 2026
• IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, Indiana
• Long Course Meters (50m), Prelims/Finals
• Psych Sheets
• Livestreams (click “Live” tab)
• Live-ish Results (PDFs updated throughout the meet)
• Results PDFs: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
• Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

The fourth and final day of the 2026 Indy Spring Cup saw Indiana-trained Van Mathias throw down yet another personal best time on the season.

Racing in the final of the 50m free, Mathias clocked a time of 21.76 to get the win ahead of World Junior Record holder Nikita Sheremet (22.15) and break 22 seconds for the first time in his career.

Entering the competition, Mathias’ lifetime best was the 22.04 he posted at the TYR Pro Championships last August. While’s he’s been dropping times in the breaststroke races at nearly every meet since then, his 50m free has remained in the 22-low range.

The 25-year-old now ranks =#13 in the world so far this season, and is the #4 American on the list.

Mathias won the 50m (26.83) and 100m (59.30) breasts earlier in the meet.

Anna Peplowski was the sole woman to break the one-minute barrier in the women’s 100m back; she stopped the clock at 59.90 to grab the win ahead of Carmel Swim Club teammates Alex Shackell (1:00.92) and Ellie Clarke (1:01.39).

The times from Peplowski and Shackell were new lifetime bests. Peplowski edged out the 59.94 she swam at the Westmont Pro Series in March, while Shackell took down her nearly four-year-old 1:01.18 from the 2022 Indiana Senior Championships.

16-year-old Clarke’s PB remains the 1:00.43 she threw down at last March’s Speedo Sectionals in Indy.

Shackell was back in the water about 30 minutes later to take on the 100m fly, where she notched 58.27 to win over Indiana freshman Liberty Clark (58.82).

Shackell’s best is the 56.78 she produced at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. Clark, meanwhile, knocked a few tenths off the 59.11 she swam in prelims, having entered the meet with a best of 1:03.04 in an event she has rarely focused on.

Clark didn’t stop there, taking on the 200 IM roughly 15 minutes later and winning over Peplowski, 2:14.51 to 2:17.31.

Clark split 28.67/33.97/42.45/29.42 en route to the win, with her final 50m split over a full second faster than the 30.44 she clocked in the individual 200m free, and that is with a hand touch versus a flip turn.

She entered the meet with a personal best of 2:20.43, swum in May 2025.

Earlier in the meet, Clark won the 100m free (53.72) in a lifetime best, and took second in the 200m free (1:58.37), just behind her 1:58.18 PB from December.

OTHER EVENT WINNERS

• Indiana Swim Club’s Mira Knedla (54.80) was the sole man to dip under 55 seconds in the men’s 100m back.
• Tennessee commit Molly Sweeney, representing Carmel Swim Club, clocked 2:33.19 to win the women’s 200m breast.
• The men’s 200m breast saw Indiana freshman Josh Bey swam 2:12.94 to represent as the only swimmer under 2:14.
• Indiana freshman Grace Hoeper swam 25.47 to clear the women’s 50m free field.
• Ohio State’s Matthew Klinge (52.95) was the only swimmer to break 53 seconds in the men’s 100m fly.
• Owen McDonald of Indiana (2:02.00) won the men’s 200m IM by four hundredths over Louisville’s Gregg Enoch (2:02.04).
• Mila Nikanorov (8:31.04) of Ohio State University dominated the women’s 800m freestyle, finishing less than 3.5 seconds off her personal best and recording her fastest-ever in-season swim by nearly two seconds.
• Indiana sophomore and U.S. Olympian, Luke Whitlock (7:58.26) took a narrow victory in the men’s 800m free. Carson Hick (7:58.62) of Kentucky Aquatics gave him a push the whole way, with the two the only swimmers under 8:06.