2026 Empire 8 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships to Take Place February 18-21 at Webster Aquatic Center

Women's Swimming and Diving | 2/16/2026 3:00:53 PM

Alfred University, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Geneseo, Hartwick College, and Nazareth University will compete at the 2026 Empire 8 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships from Wednesday, February 18 to Saturday, February 21 from the Webster Aquatic Center in Webster, NY. Preliminary swimming and diving action begins on all four days at 10 a.m. with the finals taking place at 5:30 p.m. each evening. SUNY Geneseo is looking to repeat as Empire 8 Champions.
 
At the conclusion of the meet, an Empire 8 women’s and men’s team champion will be crowned as well as a Male and Female Swimmer and Diver of the Meet. The top three finishers in each event will also be recognized.
 
Live video and results will be available throughout the four-day event. For more on this year's championship - including daily video links, heat sheets, results, and updated information - please head to the Championship Central page. 
   
SUNY Geneseo, the defending Empire 8 Champions, enter the week ranked 15th in the CSCAA Division III national poll. The Knights won 11 straight conference championships (10 SUNYAC, 1 Empire 8). The Knights, who went 11-0 in dual meets during the 2025-26 season, have tremendous depth throughout the lineup, with seven different student-athletes and all five relay teams atop the E8 leaderboards in 2025-26. All-American Brian Pabisch is the defending E8 Champion in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly in addition to three relay wins last season and enters the meet as a top contender in all three-sprint freestyle and both sprint butterfly events. He has an NCAA “B” cut qualifying time in the 50-yard freestyle (20.03 seconds). Jake Nielsen is a top contender in the sprint events as well, with a current time of 20.20 seconds in the 50-free, NCAA “B” cut qualifying time in the 100-yard freestyle (49.96 seconds). Peter Peyser, Matthew Pinzon Pacheco, Dylan Gallub, Nick Lemmo, Alex Trzaskowski and Kyle Terri  will also be in the mix to medal in the sprint events. Colin Babbit, Oliver Lutz Max Leroy and Will Fagan will represent the Knights in the distance events. Pinzon Pacheco is the current E8 leader in the 200-yard freestyle, while Edmund Wilson is the current leader in the 50-yard breaststroke. Trzaskowski is the defending league champion in the 100-yard backstroke Alex Palmer is the current E8 leader in the 200-yard individual medley and is the defending E8 Champion in the 200-yard breaststroke, while Connor Baird is defending Empire 8 Champion in both the 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard individual medley. Diver Greg Meder a former All-American in the 1-meter event, was runner-up in both E8 diving events to NCAA National Champion Trent Makowiec last season and is among the national leaders in both the 1- and 3-meter events this season. Teammates Cameron Corona, Nathan Davey, Joe Meder, Ellis Smith and Alexander Chapman will also look to earn points in the diving well.
 
Hartwick is looking for its second Empire 8 Championship in three years. The Hawks won eight dual matches in 2025-26 and boast a deep group of student-athletes. Juniors Hassan Abdelwahed and Cameron Drake have enjoyed tremendous success this season. Abdelwahed was the 2024 Empire 8 champion in the 100- and 200- breaststroke events, while Drake is the two-time defending champion in the 500- and 1,650-freestyle races and will be a top contender in both. Abdelwahed is also a strong contender in both breaststroke events in 2026. Bryce Rogers and Badr Aly are strong sprinters, while Conor Barry, Mahdi Behniaye and Kareem Mossad will compete in the individual medley races. Rogers, Matthew Cole and Barry will also look to excel in the butterfly events, while Keegan Burkhardt will represent the Hawks in the backstroke. Alexander Chapman, Aidan Page and Diego Vera will represent Hartwick in both the 1- and 3-meter diving events.
 
Alfred will look to win its second E8 title in four seasons and seventh in league history. The Saxons have a strong group of top student-athletes competing and recorded a tremendous 8-2 record in dual meets this season. The duo of first-year standouts Andre Ayala and Youssef amr Abdallatif, Ayala is the top-seed in the 500- and 1,650-freestyle events, while amr Abdallatif is the top-seed in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke. Ayala was a two-time E8 Swimmer of the Week, while amr Abdallatif earned E8 weekly accolades five times. Sophomore Carlos Gonzalez is expected to compete for medals in several events. He is ranked second in the 200-yard breaststroke and in the top-five in both the 200- and 400-yard individual medley. Uros Stojic, Calem Striker, Emmanuel Drappatz, Sean Killian and Tucker Jones will also look earn valuable points for the Saxons in the freestyle events, while Keagan Winkky and Zeke Doerner are top contenders in the butterfly. Mahmoud Elkady, Stojic and Winkky are also candidates to earn podium finishes in the breaststroke.  to Alfred’s 200-yard medley relay team has won four straight E8 titles. Divers Jaxson McQuaid and Jordan Annlee will also look to earn key points for the Saxons in both diving events.
 
SUNY Brockport will look to improve off a fourth-place finish at the 2025 Empire 8 Championships. The Golden Eagles, who are in their second season as an E8 member, finished 4-4 in dual meets this season. Erik Parkes is Brockport’s top swimmer in the butterfly and is ranked fifth in the 200-yard butterfly and sixth in the 100-yard butterfly. Matt Cole, Patrick Power, Conner Berger and RJ Krupski will contend in the backstroke events. Liam Farrell and Anthony O’Leary are strong in the breaststroke, while Alex Nicita, Jace Fredericksen and Evan Sousa will look to contribute in the distance freestyle events. Joe Keeney, Zander Benz and Carter Lundin will look to lead the way for Brockport in the sprint freestyle events. First-year Brenden Jardin-Reed will represent Brockport in both the 1- and 3-meter diving events. He has enjoyed an excellent season and is a three-time E8 Diver of the Week.
 
Nazareth is looking to earn its third Empire 8 Championship in 2026 under first year head coach R.C. Weston.  Junior Gianluca Antonini is a top contender for the Golden Flyers in the 200-, 500-yard and 1.650-yard freestyle, while Alex Baxter and Solomon Panayil will represent the Golden Flyers in the spring freestyle events. Will Maxfield will look to lead Nazareth in the butterfly events, while David Martin is Nazareth’s top contender in the individual medley and butterfly events and Sam Romanosky will compete in the breaststroke.
 
Current 2025-26 Empire 8 Top Times
50-yard freestyle – Brian Pabisch, SUNY Geneseo – :20.03 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
100-yard freestyle – Jake Nielsen, SUNY Geneseo – :44.96 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
200-yard freestyle – Matthew Pinzon Pacheco, SUNY Geneseo – 1:42.20
500-yard freestyle – Andre Ayala, Alfred – 4:34.00
1,000-yard freestyle – Andre Ayala, Alfred – 9:43.28
1,650-yard freestyle – Andre Ayala, Alfred – 16:12.49
50-yard backstroke – Edmund Wilson, SUNY Geneseo – :22.83
100-yard backstroke – Yousef amr Abdallatif, Alfred – :48.81 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
200-yard backstroke – Yousef amr Abdallatif, Alfred – 1:50.32
50-yard breaststroke – Peter Peyser, SUNY Geneseo – :25.17
100-yard breaststroke – Jake Nielsen, SUNY Geneseo – :54.15 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
200-yard breaststroke – Alex Palmer, SUNY Geneseo – 1:58.37 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
50-yard butterfly – Brian Pabisch, SUNY Geneseo – :22.41
100-yard butterfly – Brian Pabisch, SUNY Geneseo – :49.41
200-yard butterfly – Connor Baird, SUNY Geneseo – 1:52.30
100-yard individual medley – Yousef amr Abdallatif, Alfred – :52.13
200-yard individual medley – Alex Palmer, SUNY Geneseo – 1:50.13
400-yard individual medley – Connor Baird, SUNY Geneseo – 4:01.59
200-yard freestyle relay – SUNY Geneseo – 1:19.63 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time; Empire 8 Record)
400-yard freestyle relay – SUNY Geneseo – 2:59.64 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
800-yard freestyle relay – SUNY Geneseo – 6:58.80
200-yard medley relay – SUNY Geneseo – 1:28.93 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
400-yard medley relay – SUNY Geneseo – 3:19.97
1-meter diving (11-dive) – Greg Meder, SUNY Geneseo – 557.05
3-meter diving (11-dive) – Greg Meder, SUNY Geneseo – 612.65
 
For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on X (@Empire8).