Lai Sets New School Record and Jayhawks Land Fifth at Big 12 Championship

Tuesday, February 24

Greensboro, N.C.

10 a.m. CT

University of Kansas

Big 12 Championship

Lai Sets New School Record and Jayhawks Land Fifth at Big 12 Championship

2/28/2026 9:54:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

Big 12 Championship Day 5 Results 2026

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Kansas Swim and Dive finished fifth at the Big 12 Championship with 739.5 points, highlighted by a new school record set by junior Shiyun Lai on the platform diving board and 11 personal-best times. The last time the Jayhawks placed fifth at the conference championship was in 2023.

Our last day was our strongest of the meet, said head coach Clark Campbell. The milers and divers put up a ton of points and helped us move up. Overall, it wasn't a perfect championship meet, but the team showed amazing strength, finishing one of our best Big 12 Championship meets in several years. I'm so proud of every member of our team.

In the morning preliminaries, junior Bradie Ward qualified for the B final in the 200-yard backstroke. Freshman Maddison Wagner also recorded a lifetime best in the event, posting 2:01.26.

Freshman Sarah Blake set a personal record in the 50-yard freestyle preliminaries with a time of 50.68. Sophomores Maya Lambert (54.97) and Taylor Cloutman (57.10) also posted personal-best times in the 100-yard butterfly.

Junior Ryan Johnston and senior Molly Robinson earned spots in the 200-yard breaststroke finals, qualifying for the A and C finals, respectively. In platform diving preliminaries, senior Lize Lukas van Leeuwen qualified for the A final, while Lai advanced to the B final.

During the evening finals, Ward finished 10th in the 200-yard backstroke with a personal-best time of 1:56.86.

Johnston placed seventh in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:12.77), followed by Robinson, who set a personal best of 2:15.56 for 22nd.

In the 1,650-yard freestyle, sophomores Tait Haag (16:37.34) and Gabi Dyer (16:42.03) placed sixth and ninth, respectively, with freshman Ivy Solt finishing 10th in 16:43.30.

The 400-yard medley relay team, consisting of senior Caroline Blake, freshman Ivy Solt, S. Blake, and senior Hailey Farrell claimed ninth place with a combined time of 3:21.70, closing out the meet.

In the platform diving final, Lukas van Leeuwen finished fourth with 244.80 points, while Lai set a new school record with 260.55 points. Freshman Kelley Estebo (169.35) and senior Grace Zifcak (163.00) also earned personal bests in the event.

Up Next
Kansas will compete in the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in College Station, Texas, from Mar. 9 - 10. Times to be announced soon.