ATLANTA — As the 2026 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships rolled on, Stanford appeared poised to have its first individual national champion since 2022. Another school record and another podium finish spelled the day for Henry McFadden, as Stanford remains in the hunt in Atlanta.
Stanford’s best swim of the morning prelims came from McFadden, who earned a chance to compete for a national championship in the 200 free. After a blistering split in the 800 free relay on Wednesday night, McFadden finished third in his heat, which was good for third overall, with a time of 1:30.81, breaking his own Stanford record by .02 seconds. He found a little extra late in the swim, after holding steady in sixth halfway through.
The finals in the 200 free looked like McFadden was about to shock the field. As is typical when McFadden swims, he was in sixth halfway through, knowing when to kick it into gear for the final push. That he did, as he made it up to third with just 50 yards remaining, and was closing rapidly. The top three were separated by 0.10, with McFadden finishing third in 1:30.13, his Stanford record from the morning swim falling just eight hours later. Maximus Williamson of Virginia, who entered the race eighth, took the win in 1:30.03.
Still, for McFadden, it is his best individual finish in an event at the NCAA Championships, landing All-America honors and scoring 16 points for the Cardinal.
Stanford scored points in the 400 IM, with a trio of swimmers competing. It was Josh Zuchowski who scored for the Cardinal, earning Second Team All-America status with an 11th place finish and a time of 3:38.63, just five one-hundredths of a second off his personal best from his ACC championship swim. He was fastest in the freestyle split to close it out, where he made up a ton of ground and improved from sixth in his heat to third in just 100 yards. Liam Custer (33rd) set a personal best with a 3:45.62, while Ethan Ekk (26th) was fastest in two splits (butterfly and freestyle) in his 3:42.85.
The day began in the 100 fly, with Gibson Holmes tying a personal best that he posted the last time he swam the event at the SMU Last Chance meet, timing at 45.59. Rafael Gu followed Holmes with a 45.98, both finishing outside of All-America consideration.
In the 100 breast, Stanford lined up a trio of swimmers. Daniel Li was the highest finisher with a 51.66, finishing third in his heat and 19th overall, just three places outside of All-America status. Zhier Fan followed with a 51.92, while Go Nagaoka was also third in his heat with a 52.74.
The Cardinal had another strong relay time, with the 200 free relay group of Ethan Harrington, Gu, Andres Dupont Cabrera, and Jonathan Tan timing at 1:15.68. At the conclusion of the morning swim, that was good for sixth, and eventually landed them in 14th.
On the springboard, Gunnar Grubbs came so close to advancing past the 1-meter trials. He scored 343.00, which landed him just 1.70 behind eighth place and a chance for a national championship. His ninth-place finish secures Second Team All-America honors for the freshman, the first of his career. Grubbs put himself in contention to advance after a fifth-round reverse 2 ½ somersault tuck that scored 63.00, moving him above the cutline heading into the final round of dives.
Team scores shifted significantly with the first full day of events. Texas (215.5) has moved into a battle with Florida (205) for the lead. Stanford sits in tenth with 83 points, but is within 50 points of third.
The third day of the 2026 NCAA swimming and diving championships begins at 7 a.m. PT, with six more events on tap. There will be prelims in the morning in the 100 back, 200 breast, 500 free, and 50 free. Teams will also compete in the 400 medley relay, with morning heats followed by the finals in the evening. 3-meter diving will also take place, with two Stanford divers on the springboard.