It is a great event for team bonding and a cool kickoff to their collegiate swim season: racing at the beach at the 2026 MPSF Open Water Swimming Championships held in Marine Stadium in Long Beach, California.

Last year, the men of California Baptist University and the women of Rice University took top honors.

For the collegiate races, there are 47 swimmers in the men’s 5 km and 86 swimmers in the women’s 5 km with 22 relays.   For the open events, there are 131 swimmers ages 11 to 80 in the 1 km and 5 km events coming from teams including Clovis Swim Club, FAST, Max Aquatics, San Clemente Aquatics, Sandpipers of Nevada, Team Santa Monica.

Collegiate Entries

• Augustana College: 7 swimmers
• California Baptist University: 24 swimmers + 6 relays
• Champman University: 7 swimmers
• Grand Canyon University: 37 swimmers and 9 relays
• Quincy University: 5 swimmers
• University of Idaho: 3 swimmers
• University of Puget Sound: 7 swimmers and 1 relay
• University of San Diego: 7 swimmers
• USC: 7 swimmers
• Washington State University: 4 swimmers and 1 relay
• Westmont College: 9 swimmers and 2 relays
• Whittier College: 16 swimmers and 3 relays

2025 Men’s Team Results

1. California Baptist University 135
2. Grand Canyon University 110
3. Whittier College 101
4. Brigham Young University 94
5. Quincy University 88
6. Biola University 69
7. Chapman Universirty 53
8. UC Santa Barbara 25
9. Occidental College 2

2025 Women’s Team Results

1. Rice University 148 points
2. Washighton State University 118 points
3. California Baptist University 89 points
4. Fresno State University 74 points
5. Brigham Young University 65 points
6. New Mexico State University 62 points
7. Grand Canyon University 56 points
8. University of San Diego 38 points
9. Westmont College 32 points
10. Biola University 30 points
11. Northern Colorado, University 28 points
12. Champan Universirty 28 points
13. Whittier College 26 points
14. University of Idaho 14 points
15. Pepperdine University 13 points
16. UC Santa Barbara 7 points
17. Utah Tech University 2 points

For more information and to register, visit here. Live results will be posted here. The start lists are below.

Men’s Collegiate 5 km Start List

1. Thomas Langlois, 22 Whittier
2. Colin Campbell, 22 Grand Canyon
3. Joe Stephenson, 21 Grand Canyon
4. Batu Servi, 21 Grand Canyon
5. Jack Luken, 22 Grand Canyon
6. Luka Cavic, 22 Grand Canyon
7. Carter Rankin, 18 Grand Canyon
8. Reid Caswell, 20 USC
9. Jackson Cooper, 19 USC
10. Francisco Goya, 19 USC
11. Thomas Olsen, 20 USC
12. Ian Pickles, 21 USC
13. Gavin Legere, 20 UPS
14. Sam Lyon, 20 UPS
15. Caleb O’Donnell, 18 UPS
16. Anthony Sampson, 19 UPS
17. AJ Ceja, 21 Whittier
18. Zeke Garzon, 19 Whittier
19. Alex Song, 19 Whittier
20. Bo Zheng, 21 Whittier
21. Sam Allison, 18 Whittier
22. Yanis Benhamou, 18 Whittier
23. Matthew Glennon, 19 Whittier
24. Carter Lavold, 20 Augie-IL
25. Luke Rettig, 21 Augie-IL
26. Soares Brito, Francisco 18 Augie-IL
27. Matthew Borovik, 21 Augie-IL
28. Brody Perkins, CU
29. Wojciech Chalat, 21 QU-IL
30. Ben Swanton, 19 QU-IL
31. Gergely Torok, QU-IL

Women’s Collegiate 5 km Start List

1. Bella Cabral, 21 Whittier
2. Vivi Criscione, 21 Grand Canyon
3. Summer Dean, 22 Grand Canyon
4. Kaitlyn Logue, 20 Grand Canyon
5. Maria Eduarda Luciano, 18 Grand Canyon
6. Arianna Hoff, 18 Grand Canyon
7. Rylee Hutchinson, 17 USC
8. Alisee Pisane, 23 USC
9. Tiffany Ball, 21 Westmont
10. Willow Pezone, 21 Westmont
11. Noelle Landon, 21 Westmont
12. Ella Kingsland, 17 Westmont
13. Gabi Midgett, 18 Westmont
14. Megan Medina, 19 Westmont
15. Harper McGuire, 20 UPS
16. Laleeta Pal, 19 UPS
17. Merin Schmidt, 18 UPS
18. Kailey Flesner, 19 Whittier
19. Madison Scorgie, 20 Whittier
20. Lea Benhamou, 18 Whittier
21. Audrey Phelps, 18 Whittier
22. Giselle Koonce, 21 Augie-IL
23. Savannah Shapley, 20 Augie-IL
24. Rachael Pellegrini, 18 Augie-IL
25. Kai Flanagan, 21 CBU
26. Abigail Skinder, 19 CBU
27. Kona Flanagan, 18 CBU
28. Omer Shwartz, 21 CBU
29. Charlotte Ames, 18 USD
30. Ally Diehl, 19 USD
31. Helena Huettemeyer, 18 USD
32. Mallory Paine, 20 USD
33. Elle Ramos, 21 USD
34. Emma Welch, 19 USD
35. Sydney Wilson, 20 USD
36. Holly Lenarz, 20 Idaho
37. Marie Mason, 20 Idaho
38. Gaby Stanton, 21 Idaho
39. Sophie Phillips, CU
40. Avery Buckley, WSU
41. Tatum Janning, WSU
42. Vivien Nett, WSU
43. Sloan Zallen, WSU
44. Lilli Dempewolf, 22 QU-IL
45. Lise Pulissant, 21 QU-IL

Race Officials

I love the fact that event director Kaia Hedlund shares the names of the race officials and explicitly shares the event rules with the coaches and athletes ahead of the competition.

The officials include Krista Anderson, Kalani Caldwell, Beth Dreyfus, Sandy Kos, Jason Minch, Scott Poet, Linda Simons, Bill Sullivan, Paul Szuszkiewicz, and CJ Wanser.

MPSF Rules – Red Flag Disqualifications

Red Flag — A swimmer shall receive a Red Flag and be disqualified from further competition for:

• Accumulating two Yellow Flag infractions for any combination of rules violations. The Red Flag will be issued at the time of the second infraction.
• Failing to swim or complete the prescribed course. Swimmers who do not finish the course within the time limit shall be removed from the water, except that the Referee may allow a swimmer outside the time limit to complete the course, but not participate in any points or prizes awarded.
• Receiving assistance by pulling on the cables, line markers, buoys, or buoy lines (Note: Incidental contact shall not be a basis for disqualification).
• Receiving propulsive aid from anyone in boats or other escort craft of any kind.
• Walking or pushing off the bottom or objects thereon (Note: Pushing off at the start or walking at the finish where an onshore finish is employed is permitted).
• Receiving support from any fixed or floating object or touching or being touched by his/ her escort safety craft or the crew. (Standing on the bottom during the race shall not disqualify the swimmer. Incidental physical contact while giving food or liquid to a swimmer shall not result in disqualification). Being touched by water safety personnel will not necessarily result in disqualification.
• Unsporting conduct. Swimmers will be disqualified if they, their support craft, or support personnel, commit an act that is deemed unsporting by the Referee. Examples of unsporting conduct include intentionally striking another swimmer, refusing to re-round a turn mark, and intentional interference with another swimmer while approaching the finish.
• Violating the swimwear rules. No swimmer shall be permitted to use or wear any device which may be an aid to his/her speed, endurance, or buoyancy. Goggles, a maximum of two (2) caps, a nose clip, and earplugs may be used.

Yellow Flag — A swimmer shall receive a Yellow Flag for:

• Gaining an unfair advantage at the start. If, in the opinion of the Referee, an unfair advantage has been gained at the start, the offending swimmer will be given a Yellow Flag or a Red Flag, as determined by the Referee.
• Receiving aid from a non-competing person in the form of pacing.
• Taking an unfair advantage by slipstreaming an escort safety craft (Race judges shall instruct swimmers who are taking unfair advantage by pacing or slipstreaming with escort safety craft to move clear).
• Actions of his/her escort craft that interfere with another swimmer’s progress, or for failure of his/her craft or coach to heed the instruction of an assigned official.
• Intentional contact with another swimmer or contact that causes interference.

Disqualification Procedures

• Yellow Flag — A swimmer who commits an infraction listed in 701.5.2 shall receive a Yellow Flag. The Referee will display a Yellow Flag and a card bearing the number of the swimmer being charged with the infraction. The Referee may use a whistle to attempt to get the swimmer’s attention in order to notify the swimmer being charged with an infraction. There is no requirement for the swimmer to acknowledge the infraction.
• Red Flag — A swimmer who commits an infraction as listed in 701.5.1 shall receive a Red Flag. The Referee will display a Red Flag and a card bearing the number of the swimmer being charged with the infraction. The Referee may use a whistle to get the swimmer’s attention in order to notify the swimmer of the disqualification. The disqualified swimmer must leave the water immediately.

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