Elkhart, IN.—Men's and women's swim have been leaving it all on the line at the NAIA National Championships in Elkhart.

Wednesday evening consisted of men's and women's relays to kick the weekend off. The Spire women's 200 medley relay opened with a 16^th place finish and a time of 1:54.14 while the 800 Free Relay finished in 15^th place and a time of 8:05.71.

On their first full day on Thursday, Olivia Ringle finished 34^th overall in the women's 500 free and would have a great prelims time of 5:28.09 but would subsequently not make the final race. Ayla Pierce would also battle it out in the pool yesterday with a matching 34^th place finish (2:14.22) in the 200 IM women's preliminary race. Taya Swarts in the women's 50 Free prelim would have an excellent showing with a final time of 24.53 and a 29^th place finish.

Ian Lucas would make his nationals debut in the men's 50 Free prelims yesterday afternoon, battling strong and finishing at 36^th place overall. Unfortunately, a 21.38 second finish would not be enough to send Ian to the final round in this event.

In the prelims this morning, MaryBeth Clark had a great outing with an 18^th place finish in the 100 Fly and a time of 58.30. Ayla Pierce would compete alongside her teammate in the event and secure a 25^th overall finish and a time of 58.77. Ian Lucas would have an impressive finish coming in at 13^th place and a speedy 49.43 second finish, sending himself to the final round. Taya Swarts competed in the women's 200 Free and swam her way to 31^st place overall with a final time of 2:00.57 in her final outing in the Freestyle event this season.

In the final round this afternoon, Ian Lucas finished up his 100 Fly outing this year with a phenomenal 14^th place finish in the B Final heat with a time of 49.66.

The women's 400 Medley Relay would be next up for USM and they would impressively finish 16^th in the nation. The squad consisting of Sania Cay, MaryBeth Clark, Taya Swarts, Ayla Pierce, and Olivia Ringle would finish with a time of 4:06.55 to punctuate a strong end to the relay team's weekend.

During Saturday's prelims, Taya Swarts and Sania Cay started the Spires off strong in the 100 Free event. Taya would finish in 27^th place overall with an impressive final time of 53.77 seconds. Cay would also place in the top 40 in the nation, coming in at 37^th overall with a final time of 54.88 seconds.

Ian Lucas would continue to represent the Spire men in the highly competitive 100 Free event. Ian finished strong making the top 30 list in the nation, coming in at 26^th overall with a final time of 46.45.

MaryBeth Clark would round out the preliminary round for the morning in the women's 200 Fly. Clark would have an excellent swim in her final morning event, taking an 18^th overall finish and clocking in at 2:10.75.

Moving on to the beginning of the end, the first event of the final round in the last day of the 2026 NAIA National Tournament. Ayla Pierce and Olivia Ringle would ensure to end the women's 1650 Free on a high note. Pierce would finish 2^nd overall in heat two, gliding through the water at a time of 18:31.01. Ringle would follow close behind at 4^th place overall in the second heat and clocked in at 18:38.75.

For the grand finale in Elkhart to cap off a thrilling 2025-26 season, the USM women would battle in the 400 Free Relay and rightfully earn their spot as one of the top eleven relays in the nation. The group consisting of Taya Swarts, Sania Cay, MaryBeth Clark, Ayla Pierce, and Olivia Ringle would proudly take home 11^th place capping off a new team record of 3:34.01 on the national stage.

The University of Saint Mary is thrilled for all the Spire swimmers competing at the highest level this weekend and is proud of the way you represent what it means to be a USM athlete. Congrats on an incredibly successful year in the pool!