2026 NAIA National Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap
The 2026 NAIA National Championships kicked off in Elkhart, Indiana, with an exciting lineup of events. 176 swimmers and divers from 26 schools competed in the men's championship, while 188 athletes from 28 schools vied for gold in the women's championship. The first day of competition saw thrilling races in the 200 Yard Medley Relay, 3-Meter Diving, and 800 Yard Freestyle Relay.
Women's 200 Yard Medley Relay
Keiser University dominated the pool, breaking the meet record with a time of 1:40.52. Natalia Janiszewska, Kate Vorontsova, Luiza Bersi, and Boglarka Zsunics combined for a record-breaking performance. SCAD's Jette Haedicke, Nikki Hahn, Valle Gonzalez Ares, and Louise Jones narrowly missed the record, finishing in 1:41.13. Keiser's lead of .63 after the backstroke leg turned into a .01 lead on the breast-to-fly exchange, thanks to Hahn's strong breaststroke leg. Bersi's butterfly leg secured Keiser's victory, outsplitting Gonzalez by 0.14 seconds.
Men's 200 Yard Medley Relay
Keiser repeated their 2025 victory, but fell short of the meet record by 1.2 seconds. Jet Fuhrmann, Noel de Geus, Isaiah Aleksenko, and Hanno Boeckmann combined for 1:25.42, winning by 2.45 seconds ahead of Cumberlands. Brandon Holder, Leon Irmer, Ruthiik Satti, and Alexander Poulsen finished in 1:27.87, securing second place.
Men's 3-Meter Diving
Keiser's Adrian Avilan dominated the 3-meter diving final, scoring 367.65 points to win by over 74 points. Evan Bennett from Aquinas moved up to second place, scoring 293.20 points. Owen Fleck from Bethel moved up a spot, finishing in third with 283.65 points.
Women's 800 Yard Freestyle Relay
Keiser University crushed the meet record, setting a new time of 7:22.55. This was their fifth consecutive win in the event. SCAD's quartet of Valle Gonzalez Ares, Lena Gerl, Jette Haedicke, and Louise Jones narrowly missed the record, finishing in 7:24.41. The Masters' Katherine Dyer, Clara Patterson, Megan Sutanto, and Kylee Sears placed third with 7:25.95.
Men's 800 Yard Freestyle Relay
Savannah College of Art and Design pulled off an upset, winning the 800 free relay with Zsombor Paksi, Jan Gastal, Zoltan Tompos, and Levente Mozsarik. Their combined time of 6:29.22 was 1.9 seconds ahead of the field. The Masters took an early lead with Izaiah Trevino-Lozano's 1:36.69 leadoff, but Keiser's Carlos Trinidad Sancho and Isaiah Aleksenko closed the gap. The race came down to the anchor leg, with Mozsarik splitting 1:35.69, beating Dylan Crane of The Masters and Jet Fuhrmann of Keiser.
Day 1 Top 10 Rankings
- Women's: Keiser (80), SCAD (68), Masters (64), St Thomas (58), Cumberlands (56), Bethel (52), Lindsey Wilson (46), Milligan (36), William Carey (34), Olivet Nazarene (28)
- Men's: Keiser (121), SCAD (64), William Carey (62), Milligan (58), Masters (56), St Thomas (54), St Ambrose (50), Aquinas College (46), Lindsey Wilson/Cumberlands (34)
