Nwakalor Wraps Up Record-Breaking Season at NCAA Championships

Thursday, March 20

Federal Way, WA

1 p.m. EST, prelims/ 9:00 p.m. EST, finals

University of Richmond

NCAA Championships

Nwakalor Wraps Up Record-Breaking Season at NCAA Championships

03/22/2025 | Women's Swimming & Diving

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Sophomore Melissa Nwakalor finished her season on the final day of the NCAA Championships in Washington on Saturday.

"I'm so incredibly thankful for such an amazing season and for everyone who has supported me along the way," said Nwakalor.

"I couldn't have done it without my friends, teammates, coaches and family uplifting me. I never imagined getting to this point, and I'm truly taking it all in with gratitude. Now, it's time to get back to work and see what comes next!"

Swimming in the 100 free preliminaries, Nwakalor finished sixth in her heat with a time of 49.48. She finished 70th overall.

On Thursday, Nwakalor finished 24th out of 85 participants in the 50 free. In the preliminaries, Nwakalor swam a 22.01 and finished as the top swimmer among the Mid-Major teams.

Nwakalor capped her season with multiple record-breaking performances. After breaking the record in the 50 free last season, she broke the school record and the Atlantic 10 record twice this season. At the Atlantic 10 Championships, she tied her record with a time of 21.98 and captured gold in this event.

In the 100 free, Nwakalor broke the school record twice. Breaking the school record with a time of 49.45 in the preliminaries, she set a new school record in the A-10 Championship final with a time of 48.78 to capture silver.

Nwakalor also helped capture gold and set new school records in the 200 free relay and the 400 free relay. She also aided in the gold-medal performance in the 200 medley relay and a bronze-medal performance in the 400 medley relay.

"Like every season, we start with visions of improvement. Melissa's improvement has been exceptional. We never would have guessed she'd end up top 24, but she did!" said Head Coach Matt Barany.

"Importantly, she is overly gracious to those around her. She knows making it to this stage has involved a lot of people."