George Washington University Athletics
Thomas Takes on NCAA Swimming Championships in Atlanta
3/24/2026 5:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
George Washington sophomore backstroke and sprint freestyle specialist Holden Thomas is the final of the GW swimmers in the water in 2025-26, as he prepares for his first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships. The 2026 NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships will be held at McAuley Aquatic Center on the campus of Georgia Tech in Atlanta from March 25-28.
Thomas will compete in the 100-yard backstroke prelims, the first event held during Friday morning's 10:00 a.m. session. The top eight finishers from prelims will compete in Friday night's 100 back finals, which is also the first event scheduled during the 6:00 p.m. evening session. Every session of the meet will air live on ESPN+.
Thomas qualified for NCAAs after winning gold at the A-10 Championships in the 100-yard backstroke with an NCAA cut time (46.24) in the event final. Thomas' qualifying race came after he matched the GW and A-10 record in the 100 back prelims during his morning swim at A-10s (45.99).
Thomas was a standout performer at A-10s with 48.5 points as the Revolutionaries won their sixth-consecutive conference title. The 100 back wasn't the only record he set in Hampton, as the Murrysville, Pa., native also lowered the Revolutionaries' record in the 50 free (19.40), as he claimed silver in the event final.
As GW's sixth all-time men's swimming & diving student-athlete to make NCAAs, Thomas will be the first to compete in backstroke since Gustav Hokfelt in 2018. The 100 back record Thomas tied at A-10s was set previously by Hokfelt during the prelims of his NCAA Championships appearance in 2018.
Thomas, alongside teammates and NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships competitors Ava Topolewski and Olivia Paquette, is helping to match the program record for combined men's and women's representatives in a single season at the national championship meet. The 2026 group ties the total sent by GW in 2024, when Topolewski, Ava DeAngelis and Djurdje Matic each made an appearances at the national meet.
Players Mentioned
