Lopes battle in first night of Big West Championship meet

Wednesday, February 11

Houston, Texas

Grand Canyon

Big West Championships

Photo by: Nathan Peters

Lopes battle in first night of Big West Championship meet

2/11/2026 9:20:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving

Volkov sets school record, numerous personal bests set in addition

By: Nathan Peters

HOUSTON – Grand Canyon opened the 2026 Big West Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championship with a strong first day of finals, positioning itself within striking distance of the overall lead while producing multiple lifetime-best performances, top-10 program marks, and nationally qualifying swims.

In the 200-yard medley relay, GCU earned second place in 1:25.16 behind Hawai'i.

The Lopes' relay of Alex Volkov, Carter Dooling, Mario Perez, and Guillermo Carrey delivered several standout splits, particularly on the back half of the race.

Perez recorded a 20.71 split on the butterfly leg, a lifetime best by approximately .27 seconds that moved him to third all-time in program history for that relay split. Carrey anchored in 19.06—just .17 off his lifetime best—providing a strong close that secured runner-up honors against a deep conference field.

On the 1-meter diving board, GCU qualified four divers into the A-final.

Omar Elsayed led the Lopes with a second-place finish (358.65), narrowly missing the event title.

Luke Struiksma placed fifth (263.40), while Bryce Porter (224.10) and Braeden Rasmus (217.45) added additional team points in seventh and eighth, respectively.

In the 800-yard freestyle relay, GCU's quartet of Asher Havenhill, Jacob Pins, Jasu Ovaskainen, and Eli Cohen finished fourth in 6:30.33.

Although the relay did not crack the program's top 10, several individual performances stood out. Havenhill split just .13 off his lifetime best, and Pins swam faster than his previous lifetime best flat-start time (1:37.32), despite not having an official relay split available. Ovaskainen recorded a lifetime-best split of 1:36.31, improving from his prior best of 1:37.14, while Cohen posted a season-best 1:37.28—nearly 1.8 seconds faster than his previous mark.

GCU also used Wednesday's time trials to produce a series of notable performances.

Junior Joe Stevenson recorded a 55.40 in the 100 breaststroke, achieving a NICB qualifying standard and improving his lifetime best by roughly three seconds.

Ian Herota narrowly missed the 55-second barrier but still achieved a lifetime best.

Adrian delivered a season-best 50.46 in the 100 free, just .13 off his career mark.

Volkov swam 46.18 in the 100 butterfly, featuring a 20.97 opening 50 split that set a team record for that split and left him only .07 off the incidental NCAA cut of 46.11.

Colin Campbell posted a lifetime best in the 100 IM, while Alex Edquid swam 50.88—another lifetime best and NICB qualifier.

In sprint time trials, Daniel Volkov recorded a season-best in the 50 backstroke, while Perez (21.22) and Carrey (21.41) both posted strong 50 freestyle swims that met NICB qualifying standards, despite narrowly missing their absolute lifetime bests.

Through five scored events, GCU closed Wednesday in second place in the men's team standings with 118 points, trailing Hawai'i (125) but holding a clear edge over the rest of the field.

The Lopes' combination of relay depth, diving strength, and breakout swims positions them well heading into Thursday's preliminaries and finals.