Neal Secures NCAA Automatic as Wildcats Close Out Big 12 Championships Strong

Saturday, February 28

Greensboro, NC / Greensboro Aquatic Center

All Day

University of Arizona

Big 12 Championships

Neal Secures NCAA Automatic as Wildcats Close Out Big 12 Championships Strong

02/28/2026 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

SATURDAY RESULTS (PDF)

GREENSBORO, NC – Arizona Swim & Dive closed out the final day of the Big 12 Championships with an NCAA qualifying time and two major freshman honors to wrap up the meet.

Kayman Neal started finals off strong in the women's 200 backstroke, taking control of the race early and never looking back en route to a championship title and automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships.

"We had some really excellent swims tonight," said head coach Ben Loorz. "Kayman Neal led an outstanding backstroke force, and her swim was an automatic qualification for NCAAs. She just took control of the race after the first 50 and never looked back."

Neal was joined in the "A" final by Paige Armstrong and Julia Smurzynska, earning valuable points for the women's squad. The cats were also heavily represented in the men's 200 back "A" final, with Alexandre Desangles earning bronze and Will Meyers and Ryan Hardy not far behind.

The Wildcats saw depth in their team, having multiple "A" finalists in other events as well. Julia Wozniak, Riley Botton, Patricija Kondraskaite, and Maryam Sheikhalizadehkhanghah all qualified for the "A" final on the women's side, and Tomas Lukminas and Ralph Daleiden represented the men in the championship heat

Eleni Gewalt added another "A" final appearance in the 200 breaststroke, continuing her strong conference week.

Distance events rounded out the individual races, with Ava Sutphin and Mason Nyboer placing fifth in the 1650 free.

Zara Ayazi represented the women's team on the platform event, bringing home a bronze medal.

The night concluded with both Arizona 400 free relays earning silver and improving their NCAA seed times.

"The 400 freestyle relays were both improvements on our seeds for NCAAs, putting us solidly inside the top 25 for both men and women," Loorz said. "We will look to move those into scoring range over the next few weeks."

The future of the program was also on full display, with two Arizona freshmen earning three meet awards. Duncan Henderson earned Men's Swimming Newcomer of the Meet, and Luke Hernandez won Men's Diving Newcomer of the Meet and Men's Diver of the Meet.

"That's a positive sign for the future of the program, and makes us excited," Loorz added.

Arizona leaves Greensboro with new program records, NCAA automatic qualifying times, and momentum as the postseason continues.