The Arizona Wildcat men have picked up a verbal commitment from Olympic Trials qualifier Sam Iida, an IMer from Glenview, IL. Iida is a member of the Glenview Titan Aquatic Club, and competes for Glenbrook South during the high school season.
Over the summer, Iida qualified for his first U.S. Olympic Trials in the 400 IM, placing 27th overall at that meet. He then went on to long course Junior Nationals, where he swam new best times to place 2nd in the 200 IM (2:03.34), 3rd in the 400 IM (4:23.32), and 6th in the 200 back (2:04.62).
When Iida heads to Arizona, he’ll likely be swimming in the 200 and 400 IM, in which his bests are 1:48.33 and 3:57.12 respectively, at the Pac-12 Championship meet. Because the 500 free conflcits with the 200 IM, he may end up choosing another race as his 3rd event. One of his options is the 200 breast, where he’s got a best of 1:59.66.
Iida’s Top Times:
| Event | Best Time |
| 200 IM | 1:48.33 |
| 400 IM | 3:57.12 |
| 100 breast | 56.78 |
| 200 breast | 1:59.66 |
| 200 free | 1:40.96 |
| 500 free | 4:26.95 |
At Arizona, Iida will join an IM group that includes current juniors Nick Thorne, Rasmus Skjaerpe, and current sophomore Grant Sanders, who all placed in the top 10 in the 200 or 400 IM at last season’s Pac-12 Championship meet. Thorne went on to swim both IMs at the NCAA championships, carrying his success into the long course season to qualify for semifinals of the 200 IM at the 2016 Olympic Trials.
Is UofA done recruiting?
Nice pickup for the wildcats. Promising progression from those LC times this summer. Those are no joke!