By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
If you can believe it, we’re fast approaching the midpoint of the NCAA season. I was shocked when I looked at my calendar and realized that midseason invite season starts this week with the SIU A3 Performance Invite along with the Georgia Tech and Texas Diving Invitationals. Power 4 action kicks off next week, headlined by the Georgia Fall and Texas Hall of Fame Invites.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, NCAA fans, as it was another action-packed week across the league.
News From Top Power Four Meets
The noisiest meet this past weekend was the Raleigh Rumble. NC State swept its marquee meet against Ohio State and Virginia Tech this weekend, winning not only the women’s and men’s meets but also the combined standings. The multi-day meet saw a host of unusual events including knockout 50s as well as unusual gimmicks, like letting fans cheer from lane one for an event. The usual suspects were instrumental to the Wolfpack’s wins, with Erika Pelaez, Leah Shackley, and Kennedy Noble contributing heavily for the women. Meanwhile, Quintin McCarty, Kaii Winkler, Daniel Diehl, and Aiden Hayes were key swimmers for the men.
Across the country, Ilya Kharun kept his early-season antics going, breaking three pool records as the Sun Devils toppled USC in LA. Kharun opened his meet with the second-fastest 50 butterfly split all-time, clocking an 18.79. That effort was just a hundredth off his all-time record from the 2025 NCAA Championships.
Top 10 50 SCY Fly Relay Splits In History:
50 Butterfly Split 1 18.78, Ilya Kharun (2025 NCAAs) 2 18.79, Ilya Kharun (2025 ASU vs USC) 3 18.89, Ilya Kharun (2024 Wolfpack Elite Invite) 4 18.90, Jordan Crooks (2023 SECs) 5 18.90, Ilya Kharun (2025 Eddie Reese Showdown) 6 18.97, Josh Liendo (2024 NCAAs) 7 19.05, Gui Caribe (2025 NCAAs) 8 19.08, Ilya Kharun (2025 ASU vs. Arizona) 9 19.10, Michel Arkhangelskiy (2025 ACCs) 10 19.12, Ilya Kharun (2024 ASU vs. Cal vs. Stanford)Kharun went on to break the 50 and 100 freestyle pool records, swimming 18.54/41.23. The former broke his teammate Tommy Palmer’s record of 18.88 from last season and wasn’t far from his 18.31 personal best. Later, he lowered his own 100 fly pool record for the second time this season, swimming 43.55. He broke it for the first time this season with a 43.91—now he’s just .12 seconds from his lifetime best in the event.
Kharun wasn’t the only pool record breaker at the meet though; sprint specialist Adam Chaney downed Leon Marchand’s 1:39.64 200 backstroke pool record. Chaney turned in a 1:39.59, which is a personal best by over six seconds.
Speaking of off events, Torri Huske became the 10th fastest 400 IMer in Stanford program history. Huske is one of the best 200 IMers in event history, but is best known for her butterfly and sprint freestyle abilities. She tried on the 400 IM during the annual Stanford vs. Cal Triple distance meet and clocked a lifetime best 4:04.21. Her previous best was a 4:11.26 from December 2019.
Huske swept the IM events at the meet. She turned in a lifetime best in the 100 IM as well, clocking 52.64. According to our records, this makes her the third-fastest woman in event history behind Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass. She edged out Mia West for the event win 52.64 to 52.67 and West now sits fourth on the all-time performer list. Huske beat West again in the 200 IM, 1:55.13 to 1:55.30. West’s time here was a lifetime best for her, beating her 1:57.05 from the 2025 ACC Championships.
Undefeated Women’s Programs Keep Rolling
We’ve been keeping an eye on Louisville, South Carolina, Lehigh, and Bryant through the fall, as the schools’ women’s programs are all undefeated so far this season. Each program picked up another win this weekend.
The South Carolina women delivered another landmark victory, beating in-state rivals UNC outright for the first time since 1985 (the team’s tied in 2023). Amy Riordan was the star of that 2023 meet, announcing herself with a school record 1:44.31 in the 200 freestyle. Two years later, Riordan—now having fully broke out as a conference and NCAA finalist—was once again the story of the Gamecocks vs. Tar Heels duel.
Riordan took down the South Carolina pool record in the 200 backstroke, delivering a 1:52.28, breaking her own record from last season and scaring her team record in the event. She neared her 100 backstroke team record (51.78) as well with a 52.04, and swam backstroke on the Gamecocks’ winning 200 medley relay.
The South Carolina women played to their strengths to get this historic win, once again winning all four 200s on offer at the meet. Riordan took the backstroke, while Delaney Franklin won the 200 breast (2:10.58), Jordan Agliano the 200 fly (1:56.05), and Breckin Gormley the 200 free (1:47.15). Diver Sophia Verzyl swept both boards, adding more critical points as South Carolina won 176-124.
Louisville won another in-state battle, stomping a win over the Kentucky Wildcats, 218-82. The Cardinals won 15 events on the way to the win, with many swimmers claiming multiple event wins and pool records. Louisville also easily won the men’s meet, though Kentucky freshman Falemana Tuufui swam program records in the 50 freestyle (19.25) and 200 medley relay (along with Lysander Osman, Adomas Gatulis, and Esteban Nunez Del Prado) in his third college meet.
Meanwhile, the Lehigh women kept their undefeated streak alive with a win over Seton Hall, and the Bryant women moved to 5-0 with a 194.5-105.5 win over Holy Cross.
Division III Heavyweights Clash Early
Denison and Kenyon have a long-standing rivalry, which is continually exciting in part because of how often the two teams face each other. The two Ohio teams often go head-to-head in an exciting early-season dual meet and this year is no exception, as the Kenyon women and Denison men came away victorious.
In the women’s meet, the Kenyon seniors led the charge for the Owls’ victory, with Molly Hagg (200/500 free), Lisa Torrecillas-Jouault (50/100 free), and Gwen Eisenbeis (100/200 back) each winning two events. This effort helped the Owls win by 40 points, 170 to 130.
The Denison men got rolling early in their 178-122 victory, winning the 200 medley relay. The freestyle events were a particular strength for the reigning D3 champions as junior Jack Hill won the 100/200 free (45.06/1:39.92) and sophomore George Goins claimed the 500/1000 free (4:45.81/9:42.65). Kenyon senior Djordje Dragojlovic denied Denison the freestyle event sweep, beating last season’s breakout Nick Hensel by two-hundredths in the 50 freestyle, 20.47 to 20.49.
Ivy League Check-In
The Ivy League dual meet season is now in full swing. After resounding wins this past weekend, both the Princeton men and women are now sitting atop the Ivy League Dual Meet Contest standings. Both Tiger teams are now 2-0 in Ivy League action and combined for 17 pool records at the Karl Michael and Spaulding pool in a tri-meet sweep against Dartmouth and Brown.
Princeton’s young talent showed up at the meet, led by sophomore Logan Noguchi setting two individual pool records then helping the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay break pool records. The young talent wasted no time in showing up—the Princeton men went 1-2 in the 200 medley relay to open the meet with three freshmen and three sophomores on the relays. Shortly after, freshman Alex Townsend got his college dual meet career started with a 200 fly pool record (1:46.56).
After a breakout year in the short-course yards and long-course meters pools, Mitchell Schott delivered pool records in the 200 free (1:35.66) and 200 back (1:43.41).
Complete List of Pool Records:
Women
3-meter diving: Charlotte Martinkus 340.90 200 medley relay: Delaney Herr, Eliza Brown, Sabrina Johnston, Sophia Sunwoo 1:41.68 1000 free: Chloe Kim 10:00.74 100 back: Delaney Herr 54.11 500 free: Savannah Skow 4:52.68 400 IM: Chloe Kim 4:20.42 400 free relay: Sophia Sunwoo, Sabrina Johnston, Eleanor Sun, Heidi Smithwick 3:22.56Men
50 free: Logan Noguchi 19.67 100 free: Patrick Dinu 42.63 200 free: Mitchell Schott 1:35.66 1000 free: Santiago Gutierrez 9:05.60 100 fly: Logan Noguchi 46.86 200 fly: Alex Townsend 1:46.56 200 back: Mitchell Schott 1:43.41 200 breast: Andrew Zou 1:58.62 400 free relay: Logan Noguchi, Patrick Dinu, Jake Tarara, Mitchell Schott 2:51.84 200 medley relay: Yanning Zhang, Keian Lam, Logan Noguchi, Patrick Dinu 1:26.38Quick Hits
Wisconsin sophomore Maggie Wanezek now ranks third in the NCAA 100 backstroke this season. She fired off a 50.30 lifetime best during the Badgers’ win over Minnesota. Another dual meet, another pool record in the newly reopened Sheerr Pool for the Penn women. Sophomore Kayla Fu reset the 100 fly pool record last week; this time, it was freshman Brianna Cong’s turn. Her 1:59.28 pool record in the 200 backstroke highlighted the Quakers’ 193-109 win over Columbia. In more Division III news, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) men’s swimming and diving season has been paused. The team is under review after the CMS athletics department became aware of “concerning behaviors” within the program. This is the second time in six years the CMS swimming & diving program has been investigated. The Arkansas women are 4-0 after a win against Little Rock. However, Little Rock had plenty to be pleased about after the meet as Megan Stewart led a 1-2-3 finish in the 400 IM with a program record 4:21.26. Big Ten executives are pushing member schools to move forward with a $2.4 billion private capital investment, regardless of Michigan and USC’s opposition.Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025-26 NCAA Digest: Stars Shine Before Midseason Invites Begin
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