LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Henderson State opened the 2026-27 swimming season Saturday with a dominant performance from the Red Wave men, who scored 644 points and finished just two points shy of the maximum possible total at the All-Arkansas Invite.

The Henderson State men, ranked 22nd in the Division II preseason poll, finished 125 points ahead of Ouachita Baptist, which placed second with 519, while the Harding Club team finished third with 140. The Red Wave women added a third-place finish with 398 points, trailing Arkansas (552) and Little Rock (494) while finishing ahead of Ouachita Baptist (359) and Harding (105).

Henderson's men combined their team victory with five meet records, including four individual marks and one relay record.

Colin Candebat set the All-Arkansas Invite record in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 41.85 seconds, while Hunter Rytting established a new meet standard in the 200 individual medley at 1:51.76. Noel Kis added a record in the 100 butterfly, touching in 49.66.

Avery Henke added another meet record for the Red Wave in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 57.40. Henderson closed the meet by setting the 400 freestyle relay record as Candebat, Kis, Mark Hosszu, and River Paulk combined for a time of 3:01.72.

Paulk added one of Henderson's top performances of the meet in the 50 freestyle, posting an NCAA B-cut qualifying time. Henderson also entered the meet holding the All-Arkansas records in the men's 200 medley relay, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, and 100 backstroke.

On the women's side, Joanna Miller provided a pair of top-five individual finishes. Miller placed fifth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:54.34 before taking fourth in the 100 freestyle at 52.72.

Audrey Cash led the Red Wave women in the 100 butterfly, placing seventh in 59.51, with Norah Woody finishing 10th in 1:00.39 and Helen Pope 13th in 1:00.97. Emma Crowe added an eighth-place finish in the 100 backstroke at 58.36.

Henderson's women also placed third in both the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays. Crowe, Ryleigh Wells, Miller, and Emily Hand finished the 200 medley relay in 1:46.93, while Cash, Woody, Hand, and Shelby Travis recorded a 1:38.74 in the 200 freestyle relay.

The Red Wave capped the women's competition with Miller, Cash, Hand, and Travis taking fourth in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:33.41.

The season-opening meet left Henderson with the men's team title, five new men's meet records, and an NCAA B-cut as the Red Wave began the 2026-27 campaign.