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United States Merchant Marine Academy

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2026 NJAC Championships Story Photo

Mariners Record Eight NCAA Cuts, Two Academy Records & One Conference Record En Route To Third-Place Finish At NJAC Championships

2/15/2026 11:37:00 PM

HAMPTON, Va. (Feb. 15, 2026) – The USMMA men's swimming & diving team had a great weekend down in Virginia at the 2026 NJAC Championships. The Mariners achieved eight NCAA cuts, set two new academy records and broke one conference record to claim third place at the four-day event held at the Hampton Aquaplex.
 
Meet Link Freshman diver Carter Kov (Goodyear, Ariz.) recorded the Mariners' two first-place finishes at the championships. He started with a bang on Thursday by setting an NJAC record on the three-meter board during the preliminaries with an NCAA qualifying score of 506.75. Later in the day, the plebe came in first place in the event with a 493.60, while senior Thomas Cable (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) placed second with an NCAA cut (484.50).
 
On Saturday it was much of the same, as the same diving duo placed 1-2 in the one-meter discipline as both scored NCAA marks with Kov recording a 467.90 and Cable achieving a 438.80.
 
Merchant Marine also achieved four NCAA B-Cuts during the races in the pool – three individually and one relay team.
 
On Day 1 back on Thursday, the 200 medley relay team of sophomore Ryan McOsker (Vienna, Va.), junior Luke Dankert (Grand Island, Neb.), freshman Keanne Hernandez (Deer Park, N.Y.) and sophomore Max Fedorenko (Chicago, Ill.) finished in third place with an NCAA B-Cut Time (1:29.23).
 
On Saturday, sophomore John Frank (Highland, Md.) hit an NCAA B-Cut in the 100 breaststroke with a lifetime-best time (55.15), en route to a fourth-place finish in the event.
 
And on Sunday, senior Teague Mayer (Boulder, Colo.) hit NCAA B-Cuts twice in the 200 backstroke with a lifetime-best by two seconds in the prelims (1:47.25), and a second-place finish in the finals (1:47.58), while Fedorenko also hit NCAA B-Cuts twice in the 100 freestyle, first during the finals, where he finished second with a (44.66), and then again leading off the 400 free relay (44.54), which was a new academy record and lifetime-best time for the sophomore.
 
There was one other academy record that was broken by the 400 medley relay team on Friday, as the quartet of Mayer, Frank, Hernandez and Fedorenko placed third in 3:18.03, beating out the old program record set last year by 0.8 seconds.
 
The "Mariner of the Meet" honors, awarded based on a team vote to an individual for their performance and contribution to the team, went to Mayer and Kov for the divers.
 
Listed below is the complete list of top-16 finishers for the Mariners over the four days.
  • Kov (493.60), Cable (484.50) and junior Charlie Williams (Vienna, Va.) with a score of 361.90 finished first, second and third, respectively, in the three-meter dive.
  • Kov (467.90) and Cable (438.80) finished first and second, respectively, in the one-meter dive with NCAA qualifying marks, while Williams came in third once again with a score of 340.05
  • Mayer and Fedorenko tied for second in the 100 back (49.45), for Fedorenko it was a lifetime-best
  • Mayer hit NCAA B-Cuts twice in the 200 back with a lifetime-best by two seconds in the prelims (1:47.25), and a second-place finish in the finals (1:47.58)
  • Fedorenko hit NCAA B-Cuts twice in the 100 free, first during the finals, where he finished second with (44.66), and then again leading off the 400 free relay (44.54), which is a new academy record and lifetime best
  • The 200 medley relay team of sophomore McOsker, Dankert, Hernandez and Fedorenko finished in third with an NCAA B-Cut Time (1:29.23)
  • The 400 medley relay team of Mayer, Frank, Hernandez and Fedorenko placed third with a new academy record by 0.8 seconds (3:18.03)
  • The 200 free relay team of Fedorenko, McOsker, Hernandez and Frank finished in third place (1:21.55)
    • McOsker had his first split under 20 seconds (19.97)
  • The 400 free relay team of Fedorenko, McOsker, Hernandez and Frank finished third (3:00.69)
  • Hardt finished third in the 200 butterfly (1:49.69), a lifetime-best by two seconds
  • The 800 free relay team of junior Ryan Lester (Heath, Texas), senior Matthew Wachendorfer (Greensboro, N.C.), freshman Nicholas Hardt (Friendswood, Texas) and Frank finished in fourth place (6:46.05)
  • Fedorenko came in fourth in the 50 free (3:18.03) and set a lifetime-best in the prelims (20.57)
  • Frank finished fourth and hit an NCAA B-Cut in the 100 breast with a lifetime-best time (55.15)
  • Hardt finished fifth in the 400 individual medley (50.96) dropping time from the prelims
  • Frank finished sixth in the 100 free with a lifetime-best time (45.90)
  • Hardt came in seventh in the 200 IM (1:52.68) and set a lifetime-best in the prelims (1:52.41)
  • Dankert finished seventh in the 100 breast (56.19)
  • Frank came in eighth in the 200 IM (1:54.82)
  • McOsker finished eighth in the 100 back (52.08)
  • Dankert finished eighth in the 200 breast (2:04.27)
  • Mayer came in ninth in the 200 IM (1:50.29), dropping three seconds from the prelims
  • McOsker finished ninth in the 100 fly (49.76), a lifetime-best time
  • Lester finished in ninth place in the 1650 free (16:21.17)
  • Hernandez finished 11th in the 200 fly (1:54.87)
  • Lester finished 12th in the 200 free (1:41.78)
  • Baser finished in 13th place in the 1650 free (16:35.12), a lifetime-best by three seconds
  • Hernandez came in 14th in the 50 free (21.40)
  • Freshman Preston Buckingham (Columbiana, Ohio) finished 14th in the 100 breast with a lifetime-best time (57.29)
  • Hernandez finished 15th in the 100 fly (50.60)
  • Junior Peyton Harbin (Rockwall, Texas) finished 15th in the 200 fly (1:56.94)
  • Lester came in 16th in the 500 free (4:42.84)
  • Dankert finished 16th in the 100 fly (50.96)
  • Freshman Wyatt Rice (Salem, N.H.) finished 16th in the 100 back (52.59)
  • Junior Abraham Shim (Rockwall, Texas) finished in 16th place in the 200 back 
The Mariners are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 21, when they travel into Manhattan to take part in the NYU Invitational beginning at 10 a.m. at the Violets' Palladium Athletic Facility.
 
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