DANVILLE, Ky. - The Centre men and Trinity Women lead after day one events in the race for the 2026 Southern Athletic Association (SAA) title.
Men’s Diving kicked off the day with the 1-meter competition, and Centre wasted no time setting the tone. The Colonels dominated prelims, claiming the top four spots and five of the top six overall.
That momentum carried into the finals and delivered a thrilling finish. Justin Toth captured the conference title with an impressive 514.10 points. Rowan Fitzsimmons narrowly missed the top spot after coming up just short on his final dive, finishing second with 513.15 points. Brandon Anderson placed third with 454.90 points, followed closely by Garrett George in fourth at 453.55.
The strong showing in diving produced 89 team points, giving the Colonels the overall lead at the conclusion of Day 1.
Trinity took both the 200 Medley Relay and 800 Freestyle Relay. In the 200 Medley Relay, Jack Hester, Daniel Apostolic, Nate Perez, and Trace Briones swam an impressive 1:28.57 to claim a new open and meet record.
Rhodes also swam an impressive time at 1:28.96 behind Josh Denckhoff, Jack Whitten, Jeb Brownell, and Jonas Hostetler while Sewanee took third.
In the 800 Free Relay, Nate Perez, Will Walker, Theodore Ho, and Luke Fender beat out Centre and Rhodes for the golf at 6:44.29.
Men's Standings:
1. Centre 177
2. Trinity 138
3. Rhodes 101
4. Sewanee 97
5. Berry 84
6. Southwestern 64
In the Women's 200 Medley Relay, the Tigers of Trinity set the tone in record-breaking fashion. The “A” relay team of first-year Ava Easley, Emme Penry, and Allison Ortiz and Amy Benson captured first place with a meet-record time of 1:44.27.
The quartet narrowly missed the NCAA B-cut but still delivered a remarkable performance, shaving nearly two seconds off their previous season-best mark. Centre took second with Gracie Shapard, Paxton Smythe, Taylor McNerney, and Madolyn Holmes tapping in at 1:46.02 and Rhodes trailed closely behind for third at 1:46.60.
Trinity earned an NCAA B-cut in the 800 freestyle relay, touching the wall at 7:35.24 with Neely Burns, Julia Carter, Audrey Jacobson, and Amy Benson capturing the gold medal.
Taking second in the event was Berry at 7:48.74 and Rhodes took third at 7:49.14.
Women's Standings:
1. Trinity 104
2. Rhodes 90
3. Centre 88
4. Berry 72
5. Sewanee 70
6. Southwestern 66
Day two action will begin with prelims at 10am ET on Thursday, February 12. Fans can follow the action live with links on Championship Central at SAA-Sports.com.
For more information on all things SAA, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the SAA's home on the internet at
www.saa-sports.com. Be sure to stay up to date on all ofyour Southern Athletic Association news by following @SAA_Sports on Twitter (X) and @SAA_Sports on Instagram.