LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska Wesleyan swimming continued its surge through the heart of the season as Zachary Cantorna and Lydi O'Neil were named the American Rivers Conference Men's and Women's Swimmers of the Week for the week ending Jan. 18, 2026.

It marks the second consecutive week the Prairie Wolves have swept the league's weekly swimming honors, following last week's awards to Beatrice Massa Micon and Mattia Rosatelli. 

Cantorna, a sophomore distance freestyler from Colorado Springs, Colo., earned his third A-R-C weekly award of the season after a productive weekend at the Grinnell Invitational. An exercise science major, Cantorna delivered points in three individual events, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 16:33.75.

He added scoring swims in the 500 freestyle (4:46.26) and the 200 freestyle (1:46.46), providing valuable depth across Nebraska Wesleyan's distance lineup. Cantorna also set the tone for the Prairie Wolves' 200 medley relay, opening with a 24.76 leadoff split as the team finished third overall.

On the women's side, O'Neil turned in one of the meet's most impactful performances to earn her second A-R-C weekly honor of the season. The junior sprint freestyler from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, helped Nebraska Wesleyan place second out of 11 teams at the Grinnell Invitational with a standout weekend in both individual and relay events.

O'Neil captured first place in the 50 freestyle and etched her name into the meet record book, breaking the record during the preliminaries with a time of 23.85. A psychology major, she was a cornerstone of Nebraska Wesleyan's relay success, swimming on four winning relays in the 200 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay.