Wisconsin’s Enzo Solitario Clocks 2nd Fastest 800 Free Relay Split Ever by a Freshman in 1:30.43

2026 Men’s Big Ten Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, February 25–Saturday, February 28
• Location: Soderholm Family Aquatic Center, Madison, WI
• Defending champions: Indiana men (4x)
• Teams: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, USC, Wisconsin
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• Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1

On the opening night of the 2026 Men’s Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships, Wisconsin freshman Enzo Solitario, swimming the 2nd leg of Wisconsin’s 800 freestyle relay, split a blazing 1:30.43, which marks the 2nd fastest split ever in the 800 free relay by a freshman, only trailing Leon Marchand‘s 2022 NCAA Championships achor leg of 1:29.96.

That split also marks the 4th sub-1:31 split by a freshman during the 2026 conference championships season, joining Texas’ Rafael Fente Damers and Auburn’s Daniel Krichevsky who both split 1:30.81, and Tennessee’s Koby Bujak-Upton, who led off the Volunteers’ 800 free relay in 1:30.77.

Outside of the NCAA Championships, only one other freshman has ever split a sub-1:31 in the 800 free relay, as Stanford’s Henry McFadden clocked 1:30.87 anchor leg split on the Cardinal’s 2024 PAC 12 Championship relay.

Fastest Sub-1:31 Freshman 800 Free Relay Splits:

1. Leon Marchand (Arizona State)- 1:29.96, 2022 NCAA Championships
2. Enzo Solitario (Wisconsin)- 1:30.43, 2026 Big Ten Championships
3. Townley Haas (Texas)- 1:30.52, 2016 NCAA Championships
4. Koby Bujak-Upton (Tennessee)- 1:30.77, 2026 SEC Championships*
5. Matthew Sates (Georgia)- 1:30.78, 2022 NCAA Championships*
6. Rafael Fente Damers (Texas)/Daniel Krichevsky (Auburn)- 1:30.81, 2026 SEC Championships
7. –
8. Luke Hobson (Texas)- 1:30.84, 2022 NCAA Championships
9. Henry McFadden (Stanford)- 1:30.87, 2024 PAC 12  Championships

*denotes leadoff split

It is worth mentioning that nobody on this list ever split sub-1:31 twice in their freshman season, though Solitario, Bujak-Upton, Fente Damers, and Krichevsky will all likely have that opportunity come the Men’s NCAA Championships.

Solitario’s split helped lead the Badgers to a runner-up finish in the 800 free relay in 6:08.87, a time that had it not been for Ohio State’s winning time of 6:06.64, would have been a new Big Ten meet record, but still bested the Wisconsin program record by nearly five seconds, lowering the 2017 mark of 6:13.78. He was also the only swimmer in the event to have swam under 1:31.

Prior to arriving in Madison, Solitario’s best time in the 200 free was 1:34.18 from the Louisiana High School Division 1 State Championships last year. Since then, he has been as fast as 1:33.16, which came at the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational in November.

This split comes in as a major drop in his career, he has only dipped under 1:34 twice, including his prelim swim at the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational in 1:33.77. That 1:33.16 only ranks him 48th in the NCAA this season, but does sit under the 2026 NCAA qualifying time of 1:33.93. Outside of those two 1:33 swims, he has no other times that are inside of that pre-college best.

Solitario has seen some improvement in his 500 free during his freshman season as well, having logged a career best 4:16.47 at the Texas Hall of Fame Invite, five and a half seconds faster than any time he had swam prior to joining the Badgers, a time that also slots him at 48th in the country this season.

Within the program, Solitario ranks 2nd in the 200 free this season behind Luukas Vainio (1:32.32), and a second and a half off the program record currently held by Jake Newmark from 2023 in 1:31.61.