Championships Central | Day 2 Final Results (Men) | Day 2 Champions Interviews 


HOUSTON, Texas — GCU shook up the standings after the second day in the pool at the 2026 Big West Men's Swimming & Diving Championship from CRWC Natatorium in Houston, Texas.

The Lopes hold the slim lead with 319 points with Hawai'i moving to second at 302 with a firm grasp on the top two lines. Despite GCU not claiming the top spot in the Thursday events, six podium finishes in five events helped the first-year Big West affiliate up to first. 

The men's 500-yard freestyle went to UC San Diego freshman Landon Egeland in record time, breaking a mark set back in 1999 by Carl Larsen of UC Santa Barbara. Egeland touched in 4:20.98 with GCU's Jacob Pins and Tritons teammate Luigi Franco joining the podium party. 

In the 200-yard individual medley, Tom Thalau from Hawai'i prevailed, clocking 1:43.93 and adding 20 points to the team tally, while clinching a spot in 2026 NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships. Jasu Ovaskainen and Carter Dooling of GCU followed in second and third, respectively, with times of 1:46.69 and 1:47.75 to collect 33 team points.

In the 50 free, Rainbow Warrior Karol Ostrowski also captured a position in the 2026 NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championshipsclaimed the top spot and bested last year's record time by one one-hundredth of a second, touching the wall in 19.13. Alex Volkov of the Lopes finished in 19.44 seconds, and teammate Guillermo Carrey closed in 19.58 as GCU went 2-3.

During the 200-yard freestyle relay to cap the night, UH clinched victory with a time of 1:17.24, as Ostrowski, Finn Brophy, Aleks Tomaszewski and Regan Richardson teamed up. GCU's team finished second with a time of 1:17.54, while UC Santa Barbara secured third place with a time of 1:18.80. 

Juan Esteban Ramirez Tamayo captured the title in the 3-meter diving event, finishing with 393.45 points to give Hawai'i another first-place finish on the night. 

Six more event winners will be determined on Day 3 in Houston. The action begins at 10 a.m. CT/8 a.m. PT with the Championship session taking center stage starting at 6 p.m. CT/4 p.m. PT. 

Overall Team Scores - through Day 2
1. GCU - 319
2 - Hawai'i - 302
3. UC San Diego - 207
4. Cal State Bakersfield - 171.5
5. UC Santa Barbara - 166
6. Seattle U - 113.5