ATLANTA — The fourth day of the 2026 ACC Championships focused solely on the swimmers, as they will take center stage the rest of the way. Stanford men’s swimming advanced multiple swimmers to “A” finals and competed for conference titles, but could not add to their tally.
Stanford looked fast in the 500 free prelims, with Ethan Ekk leading the charge after his 4:15.20 placed him in fifth. He reached the “A” finals and shaved over four seconds off his time, but fell to Max Carlsen of NC State by nearly two seconds (4:11.07). Still, it was the second-fastest time in Stanford history, setting a new personal best by 0.03 seconds.
Also in the 500 free, Henry McFadden scored 11th overall (4:17.41) but missed the “A” by fourth-tenths of a second. Henry Morrissey won his heat (4:19.57) and scored 22nd overall.
In the 200 IM, Stanford was paced by Gibson Holmes and Omer Wiener, both of whom qualified for the “A” finals. Stanford sent five swimmers to a final (Jason Zhao and Daniel Li made the “B” final, while Zhier Fan made the “C” final), but it was Holmes and Wiener who set personal bests in the finals. Holmes took sixth (1:42.48) while Wiener finished seventh (1:43.54).
Stanford missed out on the chance for a conference title in the 50 free, but had three placers: Ethan Harrington (19.43, 16th), Jonathan Tan (19.33, 19th), and Andres Dupont Cabrera (19.50, 21st). Harrington and Tan hit another national qualifying mark with their times.
The first final of the day was the 200 free relay, with Stanford’s team of Harrington, Rafael Gu, Dupont Cabrera, and Tan placing fifth (1:15.45).
500 Free – 2. Ethan Ekk (4:11.07 finals, 4:15.20 prelims), 11. Henry McFadden (4:17.41 finals, 4:16.91 prelims), 22. Henry Morrissey (4:20.13 finals, 4:19.57 prelims), 29. Liam Custer (4:21.03 prelims)
200 IM – 6. Gibson Holmes (1:42.48 finals, 1:42.93 prelims), 7. Omer Wiener (1:43.54 finals, 1:43.09 prelims), 10. Jason Zhao (1:43.41 finals, 1:44.03 prelims), 13. Daniel Li (1:44.31 finals, 1:44.35 prelims), 23. Zhier Fan (1:45.48 finals, 1:44.99 prelims)
50 Free – 16. Ethan Harrington (19.43 finals, 19.25 prelims), 19. Jonathan Tan (19.33 finals, 19.29 prelims), 21. Andres Dupont Cabrera (19.50 finals, 19.41 prelims), 35. Rafael Gu (19.62 prelims), 50. Finn Harland (20.12 prelims), 59. Go Nagaoka (20.28 prelims), 62. Abram Mueller (20.36 prelims)
200 Free Relay – 1. NC State 1:14.02, 5. Stanford (Harrington, Gu, Dupont Cabrera, Tan) 1:15.45)
Through four days of competition, Stanford (442) trails California (459) by 17 points for the ACC title. It would be the first for either program.
The fifth day of the ACC Championships features the 400 IM, 100 fly, and 200 free, with the Cardinal getting in the pool at 6:57 a.m. PT.