SwimSwam McIntosh Cracks 8:10 In 800 Free, Stanford’s ACC Reversal & Conference Championship Primer

McIntosh Joins Ledecky In Sub-8:10 Club: Never ceasing to amaze, Summer McIntosh dazzled in the women's 800 freestyle for the second straight year at the Southern Zone South Sectionals in Florida, this time becoming the second woman to break the 8:10 barrier.

Also: The Stanford women reverse course after initially planning to send their NCAA qualifiers home midway through the ACC Championships, Karina Plaza sets a pair of 13-14 NAG records in the breaststroke events, and everything you need to know about the conference championship meets this week.

McIntosh Clocks 8:09.86 To Become Second Woman Sub-8:10 In 800 Free

Just over one year after handing Katie Ledecky her first head-to-head loss in the 800 freestyle in more than 13 years, Summer McIntosh made more history in the event at the Southern Zone South Sectionals in Plantation, Florida.

Last year, McIntosh clocked 8:11.39 at the meet to move into #2 all-time in the event behind Ledecky, and on Thursday, she knocked over a second and a half off that time in 8:09.86 to become the second woman under the 8:10 barrier while lowering her Commonwealth and Canadian Records in the process.

The swim for McIntosh is the 10th-fastest performance ever—prior to her 8:11.39 in 2024, Ledecky had the 29-fastest swims ever, and coming into Thursday, Ledecky still owned the 18 fastest ever.

Ledecky owns the world record at 8:04.79, set at the 2016 Olympics, and she's coming off winning the event for a fourth straight time at the Olympics last summer in Paris, where she was 8:11.04.

Despite her standout swim last February, McIntosh did not race the 800 free at the Olympics in Paris.

All-Time Top Performers, Women’s 800 Freestyle (LCM)

1. Katie Ledecky, United States — 8:04.79 (2016)
2. Summer McIntosh, Canada — 8:09.86 (2025)
3. Ariarne Titmus, Australia — 8:12.29 (2024)
4. Paige Madden, United States — 8:13.00 (2024)
5. Li Bingjie, China — 8:13.31 (2023)

The 800 free was the lone swim of the meet for the 18-year-old McIntosh, while Ledecky was also in attendance but didn't race the 800 free.

Ledecky later won the 400 free (4:01.04) and 1500 free (15:36.87), with the former marking the fastest time in the world this year and the latter being the 16th-fastest swim ever.

Stanford Women's Plans To Send Swimmers Home Early From ACCs No More

Stanford women's head coach Greg Meehan spoke with SwimSwam late last week detailing the team's plan to send its NCAA qualifiers home from the ACC Championships early in order to best prepare for the NCAA Championships in March.

However, on Monday, it was learned that the full team will stay for the entirety of this week's conference championships.

The change came after the ACC conference office became involved, with Commissioner Jim Phillips reportedly being “furious” at the decision.

When discussing the move last week, Meehan noted the lengthy travel Stanford's swimmers would have to ACCs, approximately 10 hours door-to-door from California to Greensboro, N.C., and how they've always approached the conference championships with an eye on NCAA preparation, and that wouldn't change just because they moved from the Pac-12 to ACC.

The ACC Swimming & Diving Championships kick off on Tuesday, Feb. 18 and run through Saturday, Feb. 22.

Stanford initially planned to send its NCAA qualifiers home following the preliminary session on Friday morning, but now they will stay through to the end of the meet on Saturday night.

Read more here.

Karina Plaza Resets 13-14 NAG Records In 100 & 200 Breast

SwimMAC Carolina's Karina Plaza rewrote the record books over the weekend at the North Carolina Swimming Short Course Age Group Championships in Cary, lowering a pair of NAG marks in the girls' 13-14 age group.

Plaza, 14, first became the youngest female swimmer in history to break 1:00 in the 100-yard breaststroke, clocking 59.94 to break Alexis Wenger's 13-14 NAG record of 1:00.02 set in 2015.

Plaza also broke the NCS LSC Record of 1:00.67, which was her previous best time set in March 2024 while she was 13.

The following day, Plaza, who is a freshman at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, N.C., added a second 13-14 NAG record in the 200 breast, producing a time of 2:09.40 to lower the previous mark of 2:09.58 set by Mikayla Tan last year.

Plaza dropped nearly two seconds from her previous best time and NCS Record, which stood at 2:11.34 from March 2024.

She also won the 400 IM in a massive lifetime best of 4:12.12, ranking her 10th all-time in the girls' 13-14 age group, while TAC Titans' Reina Liu, also 14, was the runner-up in that race, .02 back in 4:12.14, but won seven events on her own to highlight the girls' field.

For the boys, 14-year-old Samuel Wooten set a pair of NCS Records in the 1000 free (9:12.85) and 1650 free (15:29.25), the latter ranking him 12th all-time in the boys' 13-14 age group.

First Slate of Power Conference Championships Run This Week

The first of two weeks of NCAA conference championship action in the power conferences is set to commence with three star-powered meets on deck.

The ACC and SEC Championships, both combined gender, and the Women's Big Ten Championships will take place this week, as will the Women's Ivy League Championships and a series of other D1 championship meets.

Find all the relevant links you'll need for this week's power conference meets below:

2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships

• Dates: Tuesday, February 18–Saturday, February 22
• Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• Defending champions: UVA women (5x); NC State men (3x)
• Live Results
• Live Video: ACC NX
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide (Men)
• Fan Guide (Women)
• Teams: Boston College, Cal*, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (women swimming & diving/men diving), NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU*, Stanford*, Virginia, Virginia Tech

2025 Southeastern Conference Championships

• Dates: Tuesday, February 18–Saturday, February 22
• Location: Gabrielsen Natatorium, Athens, GA
• Defending Champions: Florida women (2x); Florida men (12x)
• Live Results
• Live Video: SEC Network+
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide (Men)
• Fan Guide (Women)
• Psych Sheets
• Teams: Alabama, Arkansas (women), Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas*, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt (women)

2025 Women's Big Ten Conference Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, February 19–Saturday, February 22
• Location: McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, OH
• Defending champions: Indiana women (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video: B1G+
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide
• Teams: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA*, USC*, Wisconsin

You can find links for all the Division I conference meets here.

You can find links to our other primers below:

• Division II conference primer
• Division III conference primer
• NAIA conference primer

Next week we'll see Men's Big Tens, Big 12s and the Men's Ivy League Championships take center stage before a few weeks off heading into the NCAA Championships.

QUICK HITS

• Shane Tusup, the former head coach and partner of Katinka Hosszu, is making his return to the pool deck as he takes over as the coach of rising Hungarian star Vivien Jackl.
• The Hawaiian family of a 17-year-old swimmer who died during a swim meet last year has filed a gross negligence lawsuit against USA Swimming, Kamehameha Swim Club, and the Kapolei Aquatic Center.
• NCAA Division III Illinois Wesleyan University parted ways with head coach Teresa Fish and assistant coach Tommy Gilbert shortly before their conference championship meet begins on Feb. 19.
• The Northwest Allen County Schools School Board in Fort Wayne, Ind., has approved a new aquatic center that will be home to the pool used for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis.
• Alex Shackell won the 100 fly and contributed on three victorious relays to help lead the Carmel High School girls to their 39th straight Indiana state title.
• The U.S. Department of Education has rescinded the Title IX guidance put in place by former President Joe Biden during the final days of his administration. The guidance had stated that revenue-sharing payments from schools to athletes must be proportionately distributed to men and women.
• Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia is cutting its swimming program at season's end due to the permanent closure of its pool.
• A bus carrying a Canadian team, Club Aquatique Régional Abitibi-Témiscamingue (CARAT), was involved in a collision on Thursday, resulting in several individuals being injured and transported to hospital.

Summer McIntosh Becomes Second Female Swimmer To Break 8:10 In The 800 Free With 8:09.86

Stanford Women Will Stay for the Entire ACC Swimming Championships, Afterall

Final 2025 SEC Championship Psych Sheets Drop; 2024 SEC 3rd Place Finisher Out of Meet

Karina Plaza Breaks 200 Breaststroke NAG Record, 1 Night After Taking Down 100 Yard Mark

Hawaii Family Sues USA Swimming, Local Pool, and Swim Club Over Daughter’s Drowning

Suspended U.S. Olympian Michael Brinegar Competes at Collegiate Club Meet for Indiana