The University of Arizona men’s swim and dive team traveled to Federal Way, Washington where the Wildcats competed in the Division I NCAA Championships, finishing 29th overall to wrap up the season. Arizona set a new program record in the national championship and saw six athletes earn All-American Honorable Mentions.
Day 1
The 800-yard relay was Arizona’s first competition in the championship. The team, consisting of Tomas Lukminas, Ralph Daleiden, Lars Kuljus and Miles Bottai competed on day one.
The group finished 21st out of 25 teams with a time of 6:14.14. In his first ever NCAA Championships, Lukminas recorded a 1:31.92 split in the second leg of the relay.
Day 2
Diver Gage DuBois was the only Wildcat who competed on day two, gaining a spot in the consolation finals where he placed 16th out of 48 divers with a final score of 303.60. His performance earned him CSCAA All-American Second Team honors.
Day 3
The third day of competition saw Haakon Naughton place 19th out of 45 swimmers in the 100-yard butterfly (45.09). Unfortunately, this finish was not able to put Naughton in the finals.
The 200-yard freestyle saw Lukminas and Daleiden placed 20th and 29th with times of 1:32.14 and 1:32.69 respectively. Despite the performances, neither Wildcats were able to make it to the finals.
Day 4
The final day of competition saw both divers and swimmers compete.
Naughton returned for the 200y butterfly and qualified for the consolation finals. His final time of 1:40.37 earned him 12th place along with a personal best. He also earned CSCAA All-American Second Team honors.
During the 100y freestyle trials, Lukminas finished 24th out of the 65 participating swimmers, recording a 41.98. Daleiden was another Wildcat who competed in the 100y freestyle, finishing 41st with a time of 42.43.
DuBois placed 22nd in the platform qualifiers with a 321 point finish. Despite his finish, this was not enough to carry him to the finals.
The final competition Arizona participated in was the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team included Lukminas and Daleiden along with Jadan Nabor and Hunter Ingram.
The team placed 12th overall with a crushing time of 2:47.64. This relay finish set a new program record.
In addition to this program best, the Wildcats also returned to Arizona with another round of All-American Honorable Mentions. Closing out the NCAA Championship, Arizona placed 29th overall, ending the 2024-2025 swimming and diving season.
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