ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland University swimmer Christopher Palvadre is set to compete in the 100-yard breaststroke at the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Hosted by Georgia Tech at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, the championships run from Wednesday, March 25, through Saturday, March 28. Palvadre is scheduled to compete on Thursday. Preliminaries begin each day at 10 a.m. (ET), followed by finals at 6 p.m. (ET).

This marks the first time in three seasons that the Oakland swimming and diving program has had an athlete qualify for the national meet. From 2021-23, Susan LaGrand earned three consecutive NCAA Championship berths, becoming the first swimmer in Oakland's Division I era to qualify back-to-back seasons.

On the men's side, it has been 10 years since the Golden Grizzlies last sent a swimmer to the NCAA Championships. In 2016, freshman Devon Nowicki qualified in the 100 breast. Seeded 18th with a 52.48 qualifying time, he moved up eight places with a 52.35 in prelims to secure a spot in the finals, where he finished sixth overall in 52.22, breaking his own school record set earlier in the day. He also competed in the 200 breast, placing 31st.

Under the NCAA's new qualification system, each swimming event features a single national qualifying time. Swimmers must both meet that standard and win their conference championship final to earn an automatic bid. At this year's Horizon League Championships, Palvadre claimed the 100 breast title in 52.20, beating the qualifying standard by 0.38 seconds.

The senior from Estonia also helped Oakland win the 400 medley relay at the Horizon League Championships, where the Golden Grizzlies set both school and league records with a time of 3:06.92. Over the course of his final season, Palvadre has recorded 27 top-three event finishes, earned one Horizon League Swimmer of the Week honor, posted the fastest 200 breast time in program history, and registered the second-fastest 100 breast time ever at Oakland.

Palvadre will be the 10th swimmer and 11th male athlete to represent Oakland at the NCAA Championships in the Division I era. He is currently seeded 34th in the 100 breast on the NCAA psych sheet.

NCAA SCHEDULE - PALVADRE
(All sessions of the championships will be available to stream on ESPN+, with ESPNU airing a two-hour highlights show at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, March 30)

Thursday, March 26 | 10 AM Prelims, 6 PM Finals
100 Breaststroke

Live results for each session in Atlanta can be found HERE or on the MeetMobile app.

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