KINGSPORT, Tenn. – The Montevallo men's and women's swimming teams delivered a dominant performance at the 2026 Conference Carolinas Championships on Friday, highlighted by multiple individual titles and a relay sweep. The Falcon men moved into first place overall with 440 points, while the women sit in second with 424 points heading into the final day of competition.
Montevallo claimed six individual conference titles on the evening, beginning with Enrique Llorens in the men's 400 IM. Llorens captured gold with a time of 4:02.01, the fourth-fastest in program history, setting the tone for a strong finals session for the Falcons. Stella Newton placed sixth in the women's 400 IM with a time of 4:49.63, while Ben Johnson added a fourth-place finish in the event on the men's side.
Keara McGee followed with a victory in the women's 100 butterfly, touching in 55.58 to secure the conference crown and an NCAA B standard. That mark was also the program's third-fastest time. On the men's side, Aleksei Kolesnikov earned gold in the 100 butterfly with a B-cut time of 47.73, while Alexander Kim added a podium finish in third at 50.46 to give the Falcons two spots in the top three.
Edu Elizaran Galan added another title for Montevallo, winning the men's 200-yard freestyle in 1:40.41, the sixth-fastest mark in UM history. Jimmy Franck placed fifth at 1:42.13 to add to the Falcon point total. Alexandria Morgan added a second-place finish in the women's 200-yard freestyle, finishing in 1:54.73. Vanina Loriedo added a fourth-place finish at 1:56.51.
Hanna Persson also stood atop the podium, claiming the women's 100 breaststroke title with a winning time of 1:04.78. That marked the third-fastest time in UM history. Xoel Parcero Areoso secured a fifth-place finish in the men's 100 breaststroke at 56.68.
The Falcons showcased their depth in the backstroke events. Petra Cajkas won the women's 100-yard backstroke in 57.31 (5th fastest in UM history), with Vanina Loriedo finishing runner-up at 59.04 to secure a 1-2 finish for Montevallo. Nora Ilic (59.81) went fifth in the event as the Falcons place three in the top five. Denis Popov added a second-place finish in the men's 100 back with a 50.60.
Montevallo closed the night in commanding fashion with a relay sweep. The women's 400 medley relay team of Cajkas, Persson, McGee and Morgan captured gold in 3:50.50. The men's quartet of Denis Popov, Xoel Parcero Areoso, Kolesnikov and Kim followed with a first-place finish in 3:20.51 to cap the session and maintain the team lead.
UP NEXT: The final day of the Conference Carolinas Championships is set for tomorrow with preliminaries beginning at 9:00 a.m. CT, with finals set for 4:00 p.m.
Stay up to date with Montevallo Swimming at www.MontevalloFalcons.com and on social media by searching 'Montevallo Swimming' on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
