TUCSON, ARIZ.— After a long stint on the road, Arizona Swimming & Diving will return to Hillenbrand Aquatic Center to take on BYU in the Cats' final home meet of 2024. The Wildcats and the Cougars will face off on Friday, Dec. 20 at 1 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 21 at 10:30 a.m.
This is the first time the Cats have met the Cougars in a competition this season.
This is the Cats' first all-squad meet since early November, when they faced USC in Los Angeles.
Arizona's swimming and diving squads have competed at various separate competitions since this stretch in Los Angeles. In late November, the Cats' swimming side had a successful showing at the Wolfpack GAC Invite, finishing the meet with multiple personal bests and podium finishes in addition to two NCAA "A" Cuts (automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships in February).
This same invite was highlighted by standout individual performances across the pool. Haakon Naughton, who put up two personal bests and two of the best times in the country for the 100 and 200 Fly. His 45.27 finish in the 100 Fly puts him at No. 4 in the Arizona record books and Naughton's 1:40.55 finish in the 200 Fly is the No. 6 time in the nation and is the second best time in program history.
Tomas Lukminas also had an impressive showing in North Carolina, taking part in both relays that earned "A" cuts and also earning an eighth-place finish in the Men's 100 Free with a 42.38.
Joel Nace, Naughton, Will Meyers and Lars Kuljus also all earned personal bests in their top-8 finishes.
On the diving side, Brooke Earley and Colin Agor just wrapped up competition at USA Diving Winter Nationals, where they both competed in the 1m and 3m events. Earley earned a 13th-place finish in the women's 3m, outperforming divers from top programs across the country.
Cougars to watch:
Sophomore Tanner Edwards currently holds the No. 5 time in the country for the 50 Fly (21.43). Arizona's Haakon Naughton is not too far behind, at the No. 11 spot (21.55).
Another Cougar with a top-20 time is Max Kleinman, who holds the No. 19 time for the Men's 100 IM (50.07). BYU's Tanner Nelson has also had an impressive performance in his career as a Cougar, having set set BYU school records in the 500 Free (4:16.56), 1000 Free (9:01.30) and 1650 Free (14:59.73) as well as the 400 IM (3:42.87). Nelson took home the Big 12 conference's "Men's swimmer of the week" Nov. 6.
On the women's side, BYU's Makenzie Miller Lung ranks at No. 22 in the nation for the 200 BR, with a 2:09.61 finish. Miller Lung also earned conference honors Nov. 6.
