LINCOLN — Tight team races and individual stars will highlight the 2026 NSAA State Swimming & Diving Championships this weekend at the Bob Devaney Natatorium in Lincoln.
Competition begins at 10 a.m. Thursday with the girls diving championships, followed by boys diving. Swimming preliminaries are Friday, with the state swimming finals set for a noon start on Saturday. The swimming finals will be broadcast by Nebraska Public Media.
There will be plenty for swimming and diving fans to enjoy over all three days.
Start with the team race on the girls side, where three or four teams could contend for the state championship.
“It will truly take all three days to decide who walks away victorious. This meet will be so great for our sport. This is what competition is about — pushing each other to be better,” said Omaha Marian coach B.J. Christiansen.
“At times you get head-to-head at a state meet, but to have multiple teams that could walk away with the trophy is something that never happens. I see a back and forth meet where each small victory could be crucial to the team race, even touching out to earn 15th place over 16th place.”
Christiansen would know. Marian has finished first or second at state 12 consecutive times. That includes a 15-point win over Omaha Westside last season, a tie with the Warriors for the 2023 title, and a half-point win over Lincoln Southwest for the 2015 championship.
By Christiansen’s calculations, just 17 points separate pre-meet favorites Elkhorn/Elkhorn South/Elkhorn North, Lincoln East and Marian, and Omaha Westside could be in the mix with strong swims as well. Each team has its strengths, Christiansen said. Elkhorn has the firepower and relay speed, leading the state in all three relays. Lincoln East, on paper, has more scoring swims across all events. Marian has elite diving and the largest number of swims.
It’s the same story for the boys.
Perennial power Creighton Prep edged Omaha Westside by one point, 375-374, at the Metro Conference championship. Lincoln Southwest won the Heartland Athletic Conference championship with 376 points while Lincoln East and Norfolk tied for second. Lincoln East won last year’s state championship, its first since 1988, by 17.5 points over Creighton Prep.
This weekend could be the continuation of a recent run of close state finishes. Lincoln Southwest held off Creighton Prep by 4.5 points for the 2022 title, and edged the Junior Jays by 5.5 points in 2021.
“It very well could come down to a single-digit differential between first and second, just like our conference meet ended up,” said Creighton Prep coach Tom Beck. “Creighton Prep has been in more than our share of close ones for a state title. We’ve been in single digit races with Lincoln East in ’98, Westside in ’07, and Lincoln Southwest in ’21. Remembering those meets, and last week’s Metro conference meet, it does bring a much higher level of excitement to the meet.”
Prep has been in contention for titles longer than any of this weekend’s competitors have been alive. The Junior Jays have finished first or second in 19 consecutive state championships, last finishing outside of the top two in 1995.
So yeah, Creighton Prep knows how to handle the state meet pressure.
“Our guys have gone through the grinder several times in the past three years where it does help handle the situations better when you go through it again,” Beck said. “We are ready for a battle. Our depth is our strength, and every guy doing his job well and keeping a good team vibe going will determine our success.”
Individual star power will add even more spice to the team component.
Start with Millard North sophomore Leah Inman, who holds state records in the 100 and 200 freestyles, and leads the state by more than six seconds in the 500 freestyle.
While she will focus on the 200 and 500 freestyle, in addition to the 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle at state, Inman could compete in — and win — any number of events. She owns the state’s best times in all four freestyle distances and the 200 individual medley, and is in the top five in the 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly, and 100 breaststroke.
Another individual standout, Marian’s Meredith Payton, will try to lead the Crusaders to another championship after winning four gold medals at last year’s state meet. A Nebraska commit, Peyton owns the state record in the 100 butterfly, and could compete on all three of Marian’s relays.
“Meredith has been one of those rare athletes to come through our program,” Christiansen said. “You can tell how much attention to detail she has and can see it translate to her success. She has been able to share so much of her knowledge and experience with the younger girls. Her leadership style is subtle but powerful. I think the impact is greater as you can tell how much she cares and loves her teammates and the sport of swimming.”
For the boys, Lincoln High junior Colin Farr will try to win his second straight diving championship after last year becoming the first Link since 1973 to win a diving title.
Fremont’s Elliot Vech leads the state in the 100 and 200 freestyles while another Tiger, Jacob Hanson, tops the 50 freestyle list.
Boys Event Preview
Diving: After winning the school’s first diving championship since 1973 last year, Lincoln High junior Colin Farr is back to defend his title in 2026. Farr will be challenged by his brother Owen, a freshman, and a loaded field that includes four of the top five state finishers from last season. The Farr brothers have the only two seed scores over 500: Colin at 539.03, Owen at 504.25.
200 medley relay: Like last year, Lincoln East heads to state as the top seed, with a season-best time more than a second faster than No. 2 Fremont and nearly two seconds clear of Millard North. The Spartans will try to avenge last year’s race, when they finished third, just 33 hundredths back of winner Creighton Prep.
200 freestyle: Fremont’s Elliot Vech finished fourth behind three seniors last year as a sophomore, and this season comes to state as the top seed. Bellevue’s Alexander Jones is the only other entrant to go under 1:45 this season, and is within a second of Vech’s season best.
200 individual medley: Millard North’s Matt Brailita and Omaha Central’s Carter Hiley are the top two seeds. Hiley was second at state last year; Brailita finished third. Brailita’s 1:52.75 this season is two seconds faster than anyone else.
50 freestyle: Jacob Hanson of Fremont is the top seed with a time of 21.28. The top 10 swimmers here have times between 21.28 and 21.96 so anything can happen.
100 butterfly: Eje Kim of Lincoln East is the only swimmer in the field to go below 51 seconds, and his state-leading time of 48.33 is nearly three seconds faster than the next-fastest qualifier, Lincoln Southwest’s Ryan Khammaly.
100 freestyle: Like the 200 free, Fremont’s Vech is the leader here at 46.14. Omaha Westside’s Spencer Thom (46.66) is the only other entrant with time below 47 seconds.
500 freestyle: The longest race of the event is led by Bellevue’s Alexander Jones, who is 13 seconds clear of the rest of the field.
200 freestyle relay: Another gold medal chance for Fremont here, where the team of Zayne Keslar, Dominic Morrison, Jacob Hanson and Elliot Vech have the top seed at 1:25.70. That’s the only time below 1:26, though Millard North, Creighton Prep, and Westside will challenge.
100 backstroke: Kim, of Lincoln East, has a time just .03 off the state meet record of 48.72 and is the only racer in the field to go below 51 seconds this season.
100 breaststroke: Lincoln East’s Bennett Bacon finished second to teammate Carson Agnew in this event last season, and this year heads to state as the No. 1 seed. This could be a Heartland Athletic Conference battle: Of the seven swimmers to go under 1 minute this season, four are from that league.
400 freestyle relay: If the team championship comes down to this relay, fans will be in for a treat. Omaha Westside and Creighton Prep have the state’s top two times, and HAC champion Lincoln Southwest is fourth.
Girls Event Preview
Diving: Three divers with seed scores over 400 lead the way in the girls diving championships, which open the meet Thursday morning. Millard West’s Celia Hodge, who was fifth at state last season, leads the way with a 453.65. Omaha Marian’s Leila Steinhoff, third last year as a freshman, clocks in at 451.00. Omaha Burke freshman Delaney Ochsner is at 425.80.
200 medley relay: Just 52 hundredths of a second separate the top three seeds after all three battled to the wire at the Metro Conference Championship. Elkhorn/Elkhorn South/Elkhorn North lead the pack with a season best 1:45.53, followed by Omaha Marian (1:45.86) and Omaha Westside (1:46.05). Marian and Westside finished 1-2 last season.
200 freestyle: Millard North sophomore Leah Inman comes to state as the state record holder with a time of 1:47.84. But last year’s champion, Meredith Peyton of Omaha Marian, lurks as the No. 3 seed, as does No. 2 seed Jane Novinski of Grand Island, who was sixth at state last year.
200 individual medley: Omaha Marian’s Meredith Peyton leads the field by more than four seconds here, as the only entrant faster than 2:05 and one of just three to go under 2:10 this season.
50 freestyle: Freshman Millie Knudson of Bronwell Talbot/Concordia/Mercy/Roncalli is the top seed at 23.21 seconds. She’ll be challenged by an experienced group that includes Elkhorn seniors Isabelle Nordaker and Jenna Polking.
100 butterfly: Omaha Marian’s Meredith Peyton, the defending champion, set a meet record in this event last season and is the No. 1 seed again this year. Her time of 54.58 is more than a second ahead of her closest challenger, Elkhorn’s Alice Ogura.
100 freestyle: Inman is the state record-holder here too, with a time of 49.25, and won state last season as a freshman. A challenge could come from Elkhorn’s Jenna Polking, who has gone 50.89 this season.
500 freestyle: Guess what? It’s Inman again with the No. 1 seed at 5:01.75, more than six seconds faster than the next-fastest swimmer. Grand Island sophomore Jane Novinski (5:07.88) is the only other swimmer to go below 5:10 this season.
200 freestyle relay: Elkhorn/Elkhorn South/Elkhorn North has the second-fastest time in state history (1:34.51). Millard North (1:36.89), Omaha Marian (1:37.41) and Lincoln East (1:37.59) will give chase as the only other teams below 1:40 this season.
100 backstroke: Elkhorn/Elkhorn South/Elkhorn North sophomore Alice Ogura leads a young field with a time of 55.46. Of the 32 competitors in the field, only nine are seniors, with just one of those nine owning a time faster than 1 minute.
100 breaststroke: Omaha Westside’s Sadie Rogers and Lincoln Southeast’s London Klein will battle here, with the top-seeded Rogers holding a seed time less than a second faster than Klein. Omaha Marian’s Maryn Beber will push for gold here as well.
400 freestyle relay: Like the other two relays, Elkhorn/Elkhorn South/Elkhorn North (3:29.27) leads the way. Omaha Marian, Millard North, and Westside will all challenge in what could be the championship-deciding event for the girls team trophies.
