Dukes Set Program Record on First Day of American Championship

Wednesday, February 18

Greensboro, N.C.

Prelims - 10:30 a.m. / Finals - 6 p.m.

James Madison University

Day One

Dukes Set Program Record on First Day of American Championship

2/18/2026 8:37:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

GREENSBORO, N.C. – James Madison swimming & diving set an individual program record on its first day at the 2026 American Championship inside the Greensboro Aquatic Center on Wednesday.

Senior Jamie Cornwell reset the program record for the 50 Free in the prelims before resetting it again in the finals.

The Dukes finished day one with 215 points, good for fourth behind Rice (354.5), Liberty (323) and East Carolina (218.5).

Prelims

Three Dukes qualified for the 500 Free, with sophomore Madison Wimmer finishing 11^th (4:55.18), senior Riley Nugent finishing 17^th (4:57.45) and sophomore Maddy Coombs finishing 19^th (4:59.12).
The trio of senior Ann Chappell Ellington (14^th, 2:03.71), junior Riley Bridgman (11^th, 2:02.82) and freshman Tiffany Folcomer (22^nd, 2:05.19) all qualified to swim in the finals of the 200 IM.
Cornwell swam the third fastest time prelim time in the 50 Free, setting her own JMU record with a time of 22.48. Senior Alex Volk (23.07) and freshman Emory Hill (23.26) finished 13^th and 14^th, respectively, to qualify for the B Final.

Finals

The team of freshman Maria Costa, Bridgman, Ellington and Volk placed fourth in the 200 Medley Relay to begin the night session of day one. Their combined time of 1:40.16 is the second fastest in program history for the event.
Wimmer won the B Final of the 500 Free, moving into third in program history with her personal-best time of 4:49.62. Coombs came in second in the C Final with a time of 4:55.98 and was followed by Nugent's time of 4:56.72 in fourth.
Improving on her prelim time, Cornwell collected the silver medal in the 50 Free by resetting her program record time by swimming 22.38. Volk finished fifth (23.05) in the B Final, while Hill finished seventh (23.29) in the same heat.
In the team diving event to conclude day one, the team of senior Maddie O'Mera, redshirt junior Natalie Jones and sophomore Emma LaFountain finished fifth with a score of 244.80.

Meet Notes

The three fastest 200 Medley Relay times in program history have come in the last three conference championships.
Madison Wimmer becomes the third swimmer to swim the 500 Free in under 4:50.00 in program history.
Jamie Cornwell has medaled in the 50 Free in all four seasons competing at JMU. She won bronze in her freshman year at the CCSA Championships and gold at the past two Sun Belt Championships before her silver medal at the American Championship.

Up Next
The Dukes are back in the pool for day two of the American Championship tomorrow, Feb. 19, as prelims get started at 10:30 a.m. with finals to follow at 6 p.m. (the diving consolation final will begin at 5 p.m.). Tomorrow's events include the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 200 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay and 1-meter board.