Cyclones Finish Ninth with 520 Points at Big 12 Championships

Saturday, February 28

Greensboro, N.C.

Iowa State

Big 12 Championships

Cyclones Finish Ninth with 520 Points at Big 12 Championships

02.28.2026 | Swimming and Diving

Complete Results (PDF)

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Cyclones concluded the 2026 Big 12 Championships with a ninth-place finish, totaling 520 points over five days of competition.

"When I look at where we started and where we are now, I couldn't be prouder," said head coach Matt Leach. "Last year we scored 397 points, and this year we scored 520. The last time we had an A finalist was 2023, so we went and from no A finalists to four. That growth is a credit to our seniors, our staff and the way this team stuck together all season. I'm proud of what we accomplished and excited about where we're headed."

Time Trials

Kendall Mallers swam a 24.65 in the 50 butterfly to automatically qualify for the National Invitational Championships, clearing the qualifying standard of 24.89.

200 Back

Three Cyclones represented Iowa State in the 200 back. Emma Kuhn led the group with a 2:00.63, followed by Lili Neisser in 2:03.48 and Madi Dohrn in 2:05.28.

100 Free

The Cyclones had several entries in the 100 freestyle, led by Piper Hagen's 52.06. Evelyn Mulvihill followed closely behind in 52.30, while Megan Marquardt (52.48), Keirlyn Mullica (52.52), Liv Moore (53.26), and Kendall Schindler (53.42) also competed in prelims.

200 Breast

Iowa State saw strong performances in the 200 breaststroke, advancing three swimmers to finals competition.

Grace Swoboda posted a 2:11.92 in prelims to place sixth and qualify for the A final. The swim moved her into second place on Iowa State's all-time top performers and top times lists and automatically qualified her for the National Invitational Championships after clearing the 2:13.28 standard.

Anja Peck clocked a 2:13.72 to finish 13th and advance to the B final, while Abbi Crum swam a 2:15.33 to place 20th and qualify for the C final. Matilde Geromin added a 2:18.48 in prelim competition.

In finals, Swoboda led the Cyclones with a seventh-place finish in the A final, clocking a 2:11.89 to lower her time from the morning session while keeping her No. 2 ranking in program history. Peck recorded a 2:14.23 to finish 15th overall in the B final, and Crum added a 2:16.44 in the C final to place 22nd.

1650 Free

Corinne Guist and Carlotta Gazzola represented the Cyclones in the 1650 freestyle. Gazzola posted a 16:47.64 to place 13th overall and move into sixth on Iowa State's all-time top performers and top times lists, as well as third on the program's freshman records list.

Guist added a time of 17:10.98 in the event.

Platform Diving

The Cyclones had three divers advance to the B final, including Kate Mitchell who led the group with a 215.70 in prelims to place 12th and qualify for finals. She followed with a 213.50 to finish fourth in the B final.

Ally Blumenfeld scored a 207.90 in prelims (14th) and placed eighth in the B final with a 183.30.

Maggie Bendell recorded a 205.65 in prelims (15th) before posting a 211.05 to finish fifth in the B final.

400 Free Relay

The team of Corinne Guist, Grace Swoboda, Emma Kuhn and Piper Hagen closed out the championships in the 400 free relay, finishing 10th with a time of 3:25.12.

On Deck

Iowa State will continue their postseason competition as divers who earned zone qualifying scores will compete at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships on March 9-11 in College Station, Texas. Swimmers who qualified for the National Invitational Championships will travel to Ocala, Florida, to compete March 12-14.