Wilkinson Wins One-Meter Diving, Two Records Set as Tufts Men Take Lead at NESCAC's

WATERVILLE, ME (February 20, 2026) - Junior Jay Wilkinson won the one-meter diving event, while sophomore Max Gerke and the 200 freestyle relay both broke school records as the Tufts University men's swimming & diving team took over first place at the 2026 NESCAC Championships at Colby College on Friday.

Wilkinson, returning to the NESCAC meet after missing last year's due to an injury, was first in the one-meter conBtest today with a 522.70 score in the finals. The score was a Colby facility record. He had the highest total in the preliminaries as well with a 503.65 score on Friday morning. Wilkinson has now won three NESCAC individual titles, including both one-meter and three-meter when he was the conference's Diver of the Year as a freshman in 2024. Tufts junior Elias Brandt scored fifth in the one-meter event today with a 434.15 total.

Gerke, the transfer from Indiana University Indianapolis, set a new school record in the 50 butterfly with a 21.66 mark for second place in tonight's final. It erased the former record of 21.89 set by senior teammate Armaan Sikka in 2024. Freshman Isaac Shang was also fifth in tonight's 50 fly final with a lifetime best time of 21.97 seconds, while Sikka tied for sixth place (22.02). Freshman Adam Li had a career-best mark of 22.68 seconds for 18th place.

The 200 free relay foursome of Shang, junior Will Kaminski, Gerke and Sikka also entered the Tufts record book tonight with a 1:19.62 time that was third in the final. The former mark of 1:20.23 had been set in 2024. Tonight's school record is an NCAA B mark and is fifth for Division III nationally as of Friday evening. The Jumbo B 200 free relay - freshman Spencer Thompson, freshman Aidan Cole, junior Jan Springer and sophomore Campbell McFall - recorded a 1:21.65 time for 12th place.

The Jumbos are first out of the 11 teams with a score of 685 points through 10 events. Williams College is just 10.5 points behind with a 674.5 score, and Amherst College is in third place (496).

Tufts freshman Nico Ogawa placed second in the 50 backstroke final tonight. His 22.88 time in the morning preliminaries was a lifetime best in the event, and then he swam 22.93 to finish as runner-up in the final. Thompson was right behind him in the final with a 22.98 lifetime best for third place. McFall's 23.64 in the preliminaries was his career-best (he was 11th in the final at 23.77), while sophomore Sam Harris also notched a lifetime best at 24.32 in the preconsolation final.

Kaminski led Tufts in the 50 breaststroke, becoming #2 all-time in the event with his time of 25.31 seconds for seventh place in the final tonight. Junior Jack Nussbaum's 25.82 was 13th and junior Evan Wang's 26.03 was 17th in the event. Both were lifetime bests and placed both Jumbos in the all-time top 10 for the 50 breast. Freshman JJ Arbuckle swam a 25.41 non-scoring time that put him third all-time at Tufts.

The Jumbos had five score in the top 24 of the 500 freestyle finals tonight. Sophomore Ron Lyubman led the way with a 4:28.26 time that was third in the race and improved on his NCAA B mark. Junior Rafae Shafi, who was  in eighth place (4:35.81) in the final, swam a 4:30.79 NCAA B time in the prelims. Senior Nate Pfeffer in 15th (4:39.43),  junior Dan Godino in 21st (4:37.59) and freshman Harry Belbot in 24th (4:45.14) all added to the Tufts points total.

The 200 individual medley saw Tufts senior Connor Townson swim a 1:49.83 mark in the final that was fourth in the race and an NCAA B cut as well as his lifetime best which ranks him third at Tufts. Arbuckle won the consolation final in 1:50.64, his all-time best and fifth-best ever at Tufts. Sophomore Timmy Brady (1:52.09) in 16th and freshman Seth Graber (1:52.33 PR) in 18th also contributed for the Jumbos.

A busy night for the Jumbos had seven entered in the 50 freestyle. Shang's 20.56 time scored best in eighth place, while Kaminski's 20.41 to win the consolation final was the best time. McFall's 20.77 prelim was his PR and he was 16th in the final (21.01). Springer also scored in the top 20 with a 20.77 lifetime best. Sikka timed 20.42 in a non-scoring swim for his lifetime best in the event.

For the 400 medley relay on Friday, Tufts' team of Ogawa, Nussbaum, Gerke and Sikka was fourth with their 3:17.06 finish. An NCAA B mark, it is 16th nationally as of Friday night and ranks them seventh at Tufts. The B 400 medley relay of Thompson, Arbuckle, Li and Springer put together a 3:18.31 time that won the B final and was 12th at the meet. Thompson's 49.17 in the 100 backstroke to lead off was his career-best and an NCAA B mark for the event.

Day 3 of the NESCAC Championships on Saturday will feature preliminaries beginning at 10 AM and the evening finals starting at 5:45 PM.