Arizona Swimming has long been known for its relay speed. When the Arizona women won the NCAA Championship in 2008, they dominated by winning all five relays—most by multiple seconds. And when South Africa's men's 4x100 freestyle relay team won gold at the 2004 Olympic Games, all four swimmers had trained and competed in Tucson.

During the 2024-25 season, Arizona Swimming surged back into the national spotlight under the energetic leadership of a new coaching staff. At the 2025 NCAA Championships, the Arizona women broke through after several years without a Top 10 relay finish. Returning the exact same 200 freestyle relay team from 2024—Lexi Duchsherer, Julia Wozniak, Riley Botton and Alyssa Schwengel—the Wildcats made waves with an NCAA-leading 2.48% improvement over last season. Only 11 teams nationwide improved by more than 1%, but Arizona used that leap to rocket back into the national top 10. Adding to the excitement is that same relay team broke the pool record at rival Arizona State.
 

"I was most proud of the consistency we saw during the championship phase of the season," said Peter Richardson, assistant coach and sprint coach. "To break ASU's pool record, follow it with a Big 12 title, and then finish top 10 at NCAAs—that felt really good. But all the credit goes to the young women who truly put in the work."

The Wildcat men mirrored that relay success. After breaking the program's long-standing 800 freestyle relay record at the Big 12 Championships—led by junior Ralph Daleiden, who also set a new Big 12 meet record in the 200 freestyle—the team's momentum carried into NCAAs.

It was the 400 freestyle relay, however, that delivered a historic moment. With freshman Tomas Lukminas—one of the NCAA's top three fastest freshmen with a 41.56 flat start—leading off, the relay was anchored by standout performances from Arizona's veteran swimmers. Fifth-year senior Hunter Ingram, whose best flat start was 42.61, split a blazing 41.75 on the relay. Jadan Nabor, with a personal best of 43.21, turned in a 42.10 relay leg. Their inspired, team-first swims shattered another school record, which was previously held by some of those 2004 Olympic gold medalists.
 

"Coach Busch used to bring in the freshman class and tell them right away how important relays are," Arizona head coach Ben Loorz said. "When you walk in and out of the pool at Arizona, you knock on the sign that says 'Team Over Self.' That really tells you what this program stands for. Relays are the backbone of what we do. It's a privilege and an honor to represent the Wildcats on a relay, and I think that's why you see such massive, gutsy performances where people reach a new level. A big part of our brand here at Arizona Swimming is talent development. Simply put, our athletes get better. And the relays drive that improvement."

Statistics back up the story: both Arizona's women's and men's teams ranked in the top five among all Power Four programs in terms of year-over-year relay improvement. And this resurgence of elite relay performance is clearly fueling the program's return to national prominence.
 
 
A Deeper Dive 
Arizona had some eye-popping time drops during the 2024-2025 season. In a sport where hundredths of a second mean so much, the leap forward this season was monumental. 
 
Below are just a few highlights: 

• Women's 200 freestyle relay 
  • Senior Alexis Duchsherer's lifetime best time prior to this season was 22.47 – this season she swam a 22.01 to qualify for her first individual NCAA Championships.
  • Junior Julia Wozniak's lifetime best time prior to this season was 22.48 – her best relay split was this season was 21.56
  • Junior Riley Botton's lifetime best time prior to this season was 22.86 – her best relay split was this season was 21.44
  • Senior Alyssa Schwengel's lifetime best time prior to this season was 22.70 – her best relay split was this season was 21.55
• Men's School Record 400 freestyle relay
  • Senior Hunter Ingram swam a 41.75 relay split and his lifetime best time is 42.61 
  • Senior Jadan Nabor's lifetime best time prior to this season was 44.78 – his best relay split was this season was 42.10  
  • Freshman Tomas Lukminas season best split was 40.95 and he swam the 3^rd fastest 100 freestyle by a freshman this season in the NCAA (41.59)
• Men's School Record 800 freestyle relay 
  • Junior Ralph Daleiden broke the Big 12 Conference Record in the 200 freestyle leading off the relay in 1:31.48… nearly breaking the school record of Arizona great, Simon Burnett (1:31.20), who held the NCAA record for a decade.