The 2026 SCIAC Swimming & Diving Championships are set to begin on Wednesday, Feb. 18 running through Saturday, Feb. 21 at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, Calif.
Championship Central
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Men’s
Five-time reigning men’s team champion No. 22 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges will try to hang on for a sixth trophy with two-time 100-yard breaststroke champion
Evan Deedy and last year’s 200 IM winner,
Kenny Eckel, the lone returning Stags to have topped the podium in an individual event. Deedy is seeded second in the 100 Breast and lurks in 12
th on the 200 Breast list while Eckel ranks second in the 200 IM field, fifth in the 100 Breast and seventh in the 200 Breast. Rookie
Pierce McShane is the only top seed on the psych sheet for CMS at the summit of the 400 IM field, in addition to ranking fourth in the 100 Fly and seventh in the 200 Back. Another newcomer,
Jasper Shue, appears fourth on the 100 Fly and 100 Free lists as well as fifth in the 200 Free. Sophomore
Sean Su sits second in the 100 Free, third in the 200 and sixth in the 50. CMS won four of five relays last year but enter this meet seeded second in four and third in another, leaving some ground to make up on the psych sheet while defending those titles. The 500 Free could be a big event for the Stags with swimmers seeded third, fifth, sixth, 10
th, 12
th and 13
th in what could be a wide-open event as eight of the top 11 competitors are first-years.
No. 11 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges are looking to challenge for the crown just one year after CMS continued its reign by 248 points. 2025 Athlete of the Year
Kyle Huang headlines a strong squad with 10 individual top seeds plus Diver of the Year
Tommy Matheis and all five top-seeded relays. Huang repeated as the 400 IM champion and took gold in the 200 Fly plus a runner-up finish in the 200 IM and comes into this year’s meet seeded first in the 200 IM and 200 Fly and second in the 400 IM.
Adrian Clement and
Nate Levy are the top seeds in the 50/100 Free and 100/200 Breast, respectively, while
Diego Hodge tops the 100 Fly and 200 Back lists,
Henry Cannon is the 200 Free favorite and rookie
Nathan Xu is the first seed in the 100 Back. The reigning 50 and 100 Free champion,
Casey Jacobs, sits just behind Clement in the 50 Free and ranks fifth in the 100. Rookie
Max Yeoh will debut as the second-ranked swimmer in the 100 Back and fourth in the 400 IM while classmate
Quinn Delaney is second in the 200 Free.
Chapman University is eyeing a continued rise up the rankings and has both top-level talent and depth to make a push after earning votes in the February CSCAA Top-25 Poll. Standout divers
Reid Omilian and
Jake Randazzo have combined for seven All-Conference honors, with Randazzo winning Diver of the Year in 2024 and individual titles on the 1-meter board that year and 3m board in 2024. The Panthers’ 200 Free Relay team is their top seed at second, though their 200 Medley Relay is just .12 out of silver position.
Max Polovinkin enters the meet as the second seed in the 200 Breast, third in the 50 Free and seventh in the 100 Breast. Rookie
Cooper Na ranks fifth in the 50 Free and sixth in the 100 Free while 100 Fly champion
Trent Calloway lurks in sixth in addition to choosing between two of three top-15 spots in the 100, 200 and 500 Free.
Caltech’s
Marcel Liu ranks fifth in the 100 Fly after placing third in 2024 while
Simon Hu took bronze in the 200 Free and 200 Back in 2023 and enters this meet seeded ninth and 12
th, respectively. Runner-up in the 200 Fly as a rookie,
Pierre Zeineddin sits just off the podium as one of four swimmer to have swum faster than 1:50.00, with
Zachary Pestrikov close behind in sixth. Sophomore
Aaron Dumas could make the podium as the third seed in the 100 Back and sixth in the 200 Back, with
Thomas Fenton also third in the 200 Breast and ninth in the 100 Breast. The 400 Medley Relay looks to be the Beavers’ top medal chance, currently sitting third.
California Lutheran University has two competitors seeded in ‘A’ final scoring position, with
Sebi Petho seventh in the 1650 Free and double bronze medal-winner
Markus Stegbuchner at eighth in the 200 Breast as well as ranking 14
th in the 100 Breast.
Andreas Nordlund is 10
th in the 50 Free and rookie
Ian Reece is seeded 12
th in the 200 IM. Occidental College rookie champion
Connor Grant could shake up the seedings again in the 200 Free, currently ranked 10
th as well as 14
th in the 100 Free and 16
th in the 500 Free. The Tigers’ 200 Free Relay is their top-seeded quartet at fourth.
University of Redlands star
Ethan Chir ranks fourth in each of the 200 IM and 100 and 200 Breast, with a high relay ranking of seventh in the 200 Medley Relay. Whittier College could be primed for a big step up on the conference ladder thanks in large part to
Thomas Langlois, who tops the 500 and 1650 Free lists after finishing runner-up in the 1650 and third in the 500 last year plus third in the 1650 as a rookie in 2024. The junior also ranks seventh in the 200 Free and will be looking to claim Whittier’s first gold medal for either gender since Brooke Geske ‘21. The Poets have a rookie duo,
Zeke Garzon and
Bo Zheng, also seeded third and eighth, respectively, in the 1650 as well as eighth and ninth in the 500 Free. Junior college transfer
Honza Zika ranks third in the 200 and 400 IM in ddition to the 200 Fly while
Jake M.Kiss sits fifth in the 200 Back, sixth in the 400 IM and eighth in the 200 IM. Four of those names will combine on what is positioned to be Whittier’s highest-scoring relay in approximately a decade, the 800 Free Relay that is currently seeded fourth.
Shaun Concepcion returns as a multiple-time scorer on the diving boards for the University of La Verne.
Women’s
Back-to-back champion No. 6 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges are positioned to secure the first conference three-peat in a decade with top seeds in nine individual events, all five relays and multiple-time rookie SCIAC Diver of the Week
Lilly Gillespie. The Sagehens’ star power and depth are such that they boast the top four seeds in both the 50-yard freestyle and 200 Back as well as top five seeds in the 100 Back and 200 Free, with eight ranked among the Top 10 in the 200 and seven among the top 10 in the 100 Free. The SCIAC meet record holder in the 50 Free,
Francesca Coppo unsurprisingly is the favorite in that event with the second seed in the 100 Breast and third in the 100 Free. Former Newcomer of the Year
Bennett Jones is the top seed in the 200 IM and 400 IM and ranks third in the 200 Fly.
Nina Aballea was runner-up in the 100 Free and third in the 200 Free last year but enters this meet ranked atop the 100 Free with the second-fastest time (50.16) in the nation this season and a close second in the 200 Free to rookie teammate
Ellie Burkhardt, who also heads the 500 Free and will choose between the 50 and 100 Free with seeds of #3 and #2, respectively. Rookie
Cassidy Schneider sits atop the 1650 Free list and is second to Burkhardt in the 500. Newcomer of the Year and SCIAC meet record holder
Izzy Yoon again has recorded the conference’s fastest 200 Back time by almost four seconds while ranking one spot below
Amaia Sherman in the 100 Back as the only sub-56.00 performers this year. Other silver medal performances were achieved last year by 2024 200 Breast champion
Emmie Appl in the 200 and 400 IM and
Charlotte Dixon in the 200 Free and Back, with
Sabrina Wang winning the 200 Free in 2024,
Maren Rusk finishing runner-up in the 200 Free and
Asha Bansal and
Chesna Pelka each earning bronze in the 200 Fly and 100 Free, respectively.
No. 17 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges retained their share of event winners as well in seniors
Sun Young Byun,
Mackenzie Mayfield and
Katy Shaw. Mayfield and Shaw both have individual SCIAC records to their name, with Shaw having claimed six individual titles while the trio boasts 40 combined All-SCIAC honors between them. Byun is the top seed in both the 100 and 200 Fly plus ranking fourth in the 200 IM. Mayfield is runner-up in four events and will choose three to compete among both fly and IM events. Shaw will look to defend both the 500 and 1650 Free title against two first-years holding the top seeds as well as ranking sixth in the 200 Free. Rookie
Elyse Newlands is the top seed in both the 100/200 Breast in addition to the third seed in the 200 IM with classmate
Olivia Hoyla fourth in the 400 IM. Three-time diving runner-up
Meilan Uyeno is joined by rookie multiple-time SCIAC Athlete of the Week
Simone Sabeeh.
Chapman University’s likely ‘A’ final scorers include breakout sophomores
Alyssa Kooy, who ranks fifth in the 50 Free and seventh in the 100 Free, and
Cora Buelow, who is seeded sixth in the 100 Back and seventh in the 200 Back. Four Panther relays are positioned to earn bronze medals after two made the podium last year.
First-year
Victoria Lawrence is California Lutheran University’s top seed as projected runner-up in the 1650 Free to go with fifth in the 500 Free and 11
th in the 100 Fly, followed by
Julia Benko at sixth in the 200 Back and NCAA qualifier
Madi Bodhidatta who ranks seventh in the 50 Free and eighth in the 100 Fly with five All-SCIAC nods on the resume. The 200 Medley Relay is the Regals’ top seed at #3.
Occidental College’s
Kyler Brumfield made the podium in 2024 and lurks at 14
th in the 100 Back and 16
th in the 200 Back, while
Amanda George comes in seeded ninth in the 1650 Free and 12
th in the 500 Free. Caltech’s
Jana Woo and
Ava Balanon finished second and third on the 3-meter diving board last year, with Woo victorious on the board a year prior.
Elizabeth Ma is seeded highest among Beavers swimmers at seventh in the 400 IM and 11
th in the 200 IM, with
Beatrice Cai also in scoring position at 11
th in the 200 Fly and 16
th in the 100 Fly while rookie
Alyssa Kwon 13
th in the 200 IM.
Whittier College could be dangerous after climbing to seventh place last year with a pair of potential All-SCIAC breaststroke debutants. Rookie
Aira Takeuchi is the second seed in the 200 and seventh in the 100 while
Tara Hendrickson ranks third in both events. The 200 Free Relay team for the University of Redlands is seeded a team-high of fifth with
Kileigh Ackerman and
Athena Fitzgerald as #13 seeds in the 200 Back and Breast, respectively, and
Lina Matera 14
th in the 200 Back.
Jordan Clarke headlines the University of La Verne contingent seeded 15
th in the 100 Breast and 20
th in the 200 Breast.
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