Paws-itively Purr-fect: Four Feline Stars Shine in Weekly Conference Awards

TUCSON, ARIZ.— Four Wildcats received weekly Big 12 accolades for their performances in Arizona’s triumph over top-ranked Minnesota during the weekend. Kayman Neal, Haakon Naughton, Gage DuBois, and Brooke Earley all earned conference distinctions.

Freshman Kayman Neal was awarded the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week after her outstanding performance against the No. 23 Minnesota women’s team. Neal achieved three podium finishes in her matchup against the Golden Gophers. In her winning 200 Back swim, Neal recorded Arizona’s fastest time of the season (1:56.58), also achieving an NCAA “B” Cut in the event. Additionally, she set personal bests with her 54.02 in the 100 Back and 54.39 in the 100 Fly. In her debut season with the Wildcats, Neal holds Arizona’s top times in the 100 and 200 Back and the second-best time in the 100 Fly. 

Naughton, who was honored as the Big 12’s Swimmer of the Week, received conference recognition for the first time. He continued his season-long excellence in the Butterfly events during the Wildcats’ victory over the highly ranked Minnesota program. Naughton secured the top positions in the 100 and 200 Fly events (45.99 and 1:42.62, respectively), achieving NCAA “B” Cut times in both. He was also part of Arizona’s victorious 400 Medley Relay. Naughton currently ranks No. 9 in the NCAA and holds the No. 2 all-time record at Arizona for the 200 Fly (1:40.55). He also stands at No. 18 nationally in both the 50 and 100 Fly (21.55 and 45.27, respectively).

This marks DuBois’ fourth Big 12 Diver of the Week accolade this season. In his competition against the Golden Gophers, DuBois achieved podium finishes, including one first-place triumph, in both diving events against the top-25 ranked Minnesota program. DuBois excelled in the men’s 1m, scoring 24 points higher than the second-place competitor from Minnesota.

This is Earley’s second time receiving the Big 12 Diver of the Week title. Earley contributed 13 points for the Wildcats in Arizona’s victory over No. 23 Minnesota on Saturday, finishing first in the Women’s 1m (303.15) and second in the Women’s 3m (310.73). This performance marked Earley’s season-best dual meet in the 1m.