MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Swimming & Diving Championships are set to return to the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota this Wednesday for four days of the 2026 conference championships.
The 2026 MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships will begin on Wednesday night with a preliminary round of the men's one-meter diving competition at 6:00 p.m. (doors open at 5:00 p.m.), followed by finals of that event, plus the men's and women's 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relays. Finals will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Morning prelim sessions will be held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, all beginning at 10:30 a.m. (doors open at 9:00 a.m.). The evening championship sessions on those days will all begin at 6:30 p.m. Doors will open on Thursday and Friday at 5:00 p.m. Saturday's mile race will begin roughly 45 minutes after the morning session. The fastest mile heat will begin the Saturday evening session. The aquatic center will be cleared following the mile races, and doors for the evening session will open again at 5:00 p.m. A complete championship schedule can be found here.
ADMISSION INFORMATION
All tickets will once again be sold and purchased online via HomeTown Ticketing. There will not be cash sales at the venue; however, spectators can purchase tickets using a mobile device at any time, including while at the venue. To purchase tickets at any time, click the MIAC's HomeTown Ticketing site.
"All-session" tickets will grant admission to all seven sessions of the Championships. Adult passes are $73, and student passes are $31. (Note: $3 HomeTown Ticketing fee included; additional convenience and credit card fees will be added during checkout.) Children ages five and under do not require a ticket. Those eligible for student tickets include individuals currently enrolled in college, high school, middle school, and elementary school. Student ID is required where applicable.
Single-session tickets are also available for purchase online only. Single-session adult tickets are $12 each, while student tickets are $6. (Note: additional HomeTown Ticketing convenience and credit card fees will be added during checkout). Children ages five and under do not require a ticket.
As a reminder, glass is strictly prohibited inside the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Please do not bring any glass water bottles or vases into the venue.
GOING PAPERLESS
Fans will again be able to download heat sheets and other meet information directly from the championship home page to their smart devices or print at home ahead of time. QR codes will be posted at the venue for fans to scan as needed, and links will be updated with the latest information as soon as it is determined after each session.
CHAMPIONSHIP APPAREL
Official championship apparel is available for online purchase via the MIAC Shop powered by UNRestricted MKTG. The online MIAC Shop features officially licensed short-sleeve t-shirts, long-sleeve t-shirts, and hooded sweatshirts to commemorate the 2026 conference championship meet. Team champion apparel will be added and available for purchase shortly after the meet.
HANDING OUT THE HARDWARE
A short awards ceremony will follow each event during the four evening sessions. The top three finishers in each event, including relays, will be named to the All-Conference Team, while individual finishers #4-6 and relay finisher #4 will receive honorable mention distinction.
Following the 2026 MIAC Championships, conference head coaches will also select the Men's and Women's Swimmers, Divers, Rookies, and Coaches of the Year. Individual awards will be announced at the meet after the final event is completed on Saturday, February 14.
NATIONAL NOTABLES
Notes
Carleton sophomore Nina Schwab (Piedmont, Calif. / Piedmont) ranks third among NCAA Division III women's divers off the 1-meter board thanks to a six-dive score of 486.00 at the Rochester Invitational on 12/4-6/25.
Saint Benedict junior Haley Zelen (Shakopee, Minn. / Shakopee) recorded three top-10 national times at the Rochester Invitational on 12/4-6/25. Zelen ranks fourth among NCAA Division III swimmers in the 100 fly (54.72) and 50 free (23.07), and ninth in the women's 100 free (50.79). Zelen also ranks fifth in the 50 fly with a time of 25.39, recorded in the Bennies' dual with St. Cloud State on 11/15/25.
DEFENDING THE CROWN
Gustavus Adolphus College won its second consecutive MIAC Women's Swimming & Diving Championship last winter. The Gusties have 12 MIAC women's swimming & diving titles overall, second only to St. Olaf's 15.
Eight competitors are previous MIAC individual champions heading into the 2026 Championships.
Carleton sophomore Nina Schwab (Piedmont, Calif. / Piedmont) is the reigning MIAC champion off the 1-meter diving board.
Carleton junior Hailey Westrup (Sartell, Minn. / Sartell) won the 3-meter diving competition at the 2025 MIAC Championships.
Gustavus sophomore Geneva Fackler (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) won a trio of MIAC titles - the 200 free, 500 free, and 1,650 free - en route to MIAC Swimmer of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors a season ago.
Macalester senior Izzy Uhlhorn-Thornton (Mill Valley, Calif. / Tamalpais) is the two-time defending MIAC champion in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke competitions.
St. Catherine senior Ella Hochstetler (Coralville, Iowa / Coralville West) swept the backstroke competitions two seasons ago at the 2024 MIAC Championships.
St. Olaf junior Katie Homme (Rochester, Minn. / Century) is the reigning conference champion in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle events.
St. Olaf sophomore Olivia Small (Wauwatosa, Wis. / Wauwatosa East) won the 200 backstroke at last year's conference championship.
St. Olaf senior Paige Steenblock (Northfield, Minn. / Northfield) is the two-time defending MIAC champion in the 400 individual medley. Steenblock also won the 200 butterfly competition at the 2025 MIAC Championships.
AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg sophomore Danielle Hobbs (Hopkins, Minn. / Bloomington Jefferson) set a personal-best time in the 50-yard freestyle at the St. Catherine Triangular on 1/30 with a time of 30.22. Hobbs also clocked in at 2:21.87 in the 200 free and 6:12.73 in the 500 free.
Carleton sophomore Nina Schwab (Piedmont, Calif. / Piedmont) won the diving competition in the Knights' dual meet at St. Olaf on 1/31. Schwab set new 6-dive and 11-dive program records off the 1-meter board with scores of 326.10 and 525.35, respectively.
Concordia senior Tinsley Porter (Brainerd, Minn. / Brainerd) won the women's 200 backstroke in the Cobbers' dual meet at Jamestown on 1/21. Porter clocked in at 2:52.30. She also placed third in the women's 400 IM (5:47.04) and helped the team to top-three results in the 200 freestyle relay (1:57.91) and 200 medley relay (2:10.51).
Gustavus sophomore Katelyn Siers (St. Cloud, Minn. / St. Cloud Tech) picked up a pair of individual event victories and a runner-up finish in addition to swimming in five relay events at the Gustie Challenge on 1/30-31. Siers won the 100 (1:01.20) and 200 (2:13.45) backstroke competitions and placed second in the 50 freestyle (24.86). She also helped the Gusties take second in the 200 freestyle relay (1:39.54), 400 medley relay (4:06.75), and 800 freestyle relay (8:35.43), and third in the 200 medley relay (1:54.71) and 400 freestyle relay (3:46.29).
Hamline sophomore Ellsa Sorenson-Wagner (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) placed second in the women's 100 back and 3rd in the women's 200 back at the Roger Ahlman Invitational on 12/5-6. Sorenson-Wagner touched the wall in 1:01.67 in the 100 back and 2:17.13 in the 200 back.
Macalester senior Emma Henry (Chesapeake, Va. / Oscar Smith) won two individual events and swam on two winning relays to lead the Scots to a 153-145 victory against Grinnell on 1/24. Henry placed first in the 50-yard freestyle (25.23) and the 200-yard backstroke (2:10.62). She also helped the Scots win the 200-yard medley relay (1:52.69) to open the meet, then clinched the dual victory with a triumph in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:45.50).
Saint Benedict junior Haley Zelen (Shakopee, Minn. / Shakopee) picked up two individual wins, a pair relay wins, and three pool records in the Bennies' dual meet with Carleton on 1/24. Zelen set a new pool record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 51.82 before authoring another pool-best with a time of 1:05.16 in the 100 breaststroke. Zelen was also part of the 200 medley relay team that set a new pool record of 1:48.35, in addition to helping CSB to a win in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:39.71.
St. Catherine senior Olivia Weil (Cedarburg, Wis. / Cedarburg) won the women's 1650 free with a time of 18:19.31 at the WildBear Invitational on 11/20-22. Weil was also the runner-up in the women's 400 IM (4:45.37) and women's 200 breast (2:26.85), and placed third in the women's 100 breast (1:08.17) and 500 free (5:22.02).
St. Olaf first-year Alayna McCormick (Grayslake, Ill. / Warren Township) broke a 27-year-old program record with a score of 464.45 points off the 3-meter board in the Oles' 163-136 dual victory at Macalester on 1/17. McCormick won the women's 3-meter event by nearly 40 points and was victorious off the 1-meter board with a score of 437.35 and a near 30-point margin of victory, qualifying for NCAA Regionals in both events.
FOR THE RECORD
The MIAC Women's Swimming & Diving Record Book contains annual Conference championship information, all-time award winners, MIAC and program record-holders, and more. The information included in the record book is based on available data, and research for additional historical documents is ongoing.