Torri Huske Scores Third Win at Texas Invite; Baylor Nelson Tops Swift 200 IM
As usual, the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational has been the site of numerous top-ranked national performances. Throughout the week, the men’s home team has reaffirmed its status as the strong favorite to win a second consecutive national title while the Stanford women, led by superstar Torri Huske, have also shown out.
Huske picked up her third individual win of the meet in the 100 freestyle, putting up a time of 46.15 to win by almost a half-second. Huske was just off her best time of 46.01, which ranks her as the No. 5 performer in history. Second here went to Texas’ Eva Okaro in 46.61, quicker than any swimmer aside from the now-graduated Gretchen Walsh and Huske at last season’s NCAA Championships. Two days after swimming the nation’s fastest time in the 200 free, USC’s Minna Abraham placed third in 47.01.
Later in the session, Huske recorded a 45.49 split on the second leg of Stanford’s 400 free relay, propelling her team to a dominant victory. Annam Olasewere, Gigi Johnson and Lucy Thomas teamed up with Huske and recorded a final time of 3:07.59, a time that only Virginia surpassed at last season’s NCAA Championships. Texas placed second in 3:09.06 as Okaro clocked 46.49 on the leadoff leg, ahead of her time from the individual event, and USC was third in 3:12.12.
Stanford senior Lucy Bell finished first in the 200 IM in 1:52.65, less than two tenths behind the 1:52.47 she swam for sixth place in the event at last season’s NCAA Championships. Bell is poised for a big jump in the event this season with at least half of last season’s national A-final not returning this ever. A trio of Texas Longhorns came in behind Bell, with Campbell Chase second (1:53.48), Angie Coe third (1:54.18) and Campbell Stoll fourth (1:55.66).
The Texas women scored a surprise win as Stoll upset Caroline Bricker for the win in the 200 butterfly. Stoll finished in 1:52.13, improving on the 1:52.29 she swam for seventh place at the 2025 NCAA Championships, while Bricker went 1:53.05 for second. USC’s Justina Kozan placed third in 1:54.48.
This meet has marked a breakout performance for Wisconsin’s Maggie Wazenek, who has now secured her place among the best backstrokers in college swimming. In the 200-yard race, Wazenek had never been sub-1:50 entering the day, with a best time of 1:50.62 from the Texas Invite last year, but she clocked 1:49.15 in prelims and 1:48.39 in the final. Wazenek became the 13th-quickest swimmer ever in the event. In Austin, Pitt’s Claire Jansen (1:50.47) and Stanford’s Natalie Mannion (1:52.01) rounded out the top-three.
Texas swimmers Baylor Nelson and Will Modglin have both posted outstanding weeks thus far in Austin. Nelson entered the all-time top-10 in the men’s 400 IM while Modglin swam the fastest 50 backstroke time ever before breaking the American record in the 100 back. The teammates met in the 200 IM, and Nelson came out on top by less than three tenths, 1:40.29 to 1:40.58. Both were well ahead of any mark posted this season entering the week. Freshman Campbell McKean, better known for his achievements in the breaststroke events, took third in 1:41.06, with Texas A&M’s Logan Brown fourth (1:41.59) and Longhorns breaststroke standout Nate Germonprez fifth (1:41.62).
Garrett Gould has shown his value as a key relay piece for the Longhorns this week, and he put up a standout individual swim in the 100 free. Gould got the win in 42.02 ahead of Texas A&M’s Ben Sytsma (42.30) and Northwestern’s Stuart Seymour (42.37). Later on, Modglin and Gould provided the front half of the Longhorns’ 400 free relay, teaming with Camden Taylor and Jacob Wimberly to seal the win in 2:47.40. Texas A&M got second in 2:49.38 while the Texas “B” team placed third in 2:50.03.
The men’s 200 fly was a rare event with a non-Texas winner as USC’s Krzysztof Chmiewlewski edged out Wisconsin’s Dominic Mark Torok for the top spot. Chmielewski joined Luca Urlando and Ilya Kharun as swimmers to crack 1:40 this season with his time of 1:39.81, while Torok just missed with his 1:40.07 clocking. Texas’ Cooper Lucas finished in 1:40.40 for third. Later on, Northwestern’s David Gerchik won the 200 back in 1:40.53, beating out the Longhorns’ Kyle Peck (1:40.80) and Wisconsin’s Adam Graham (1:41.07).