Ilya Kharun Lights Up Scoreboard as Arizona State Opens Season Against UNLV
The first stunning times of the 2025-26 college swim season came Friday evening in Tempe, Ariz., as the Arizona State Sun Devils welcomed the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in front of a huge crowd at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. Inside, junior butterflyer Ilya Kharun put on a show.
The two-time Olympic bronze medalist, who was the NCAA champion in the 200-yard fly as a freshman, was dynamite in all four of his swims while leaing his team to a 236-60 victory, with the women coming out on top 242-57.
The ASU team of Adam Chaney, Jonathan Itzhaki, Kharun and Tolu Young blasted a time of 1:21.88 for the win in the 200 medley relay. The Sun Devils were only a second behind their fourth-place time of 1:20.87 from last year’s NCAA Championships, and combining the splits of Chaney, Andy Dobrzanski, Kharun and Remi Fabiani would have yielded a time of 1:21.04, a stunning effort for so early in the college season.
Kharun started off his day with an 18.91 butterfly split, which unofficially stands as the fifth-fastest mark in history. Only Kharun himself (on three occasions) and former Tennessee star Jordan Crooks have ever gone quicker. That relay performance set up an enormous effort in the 200 fly, where Kharun recorded the eighth-fastest time in history in a dominant effort. He came in at 1:37.94, only a hundredth off his own ASU school record. The only others to swim faster are Luca Urlando (on three occasions), Jack Conger and Nick Albiero.
Kharun then won the 100 fly in 43.91, less than a half-second shy of the 43.43 he swam for second place behind fellow Canadian standout Josh Liendo at last season’s NCAA Championships. To wrap up the evening, Kharun split 41.17 coming home on ASU’s 400 free relay, combining with Fabiani, Quin Seider and Chaney to swim a time of 2:47.01.
The Sun Devil standout is coming off a somewhat disappointing long course season by his own high standards, having missed the World Championships podium in the 200-meter fly and missed the global final entirely over 50 meters, but he issued an early-season reminder of his abilities with his incredible results Friday.
Chaney also had a huge day in his debut for ASU. The former Florida Gator won the 100 backstroke in 44.46, already an NCAA A-final-worthy time and much quicker than anything the Sun Devils managed last season. In fact, backstroke was the team’s major weakness compared to other top teams in the 400 medley relay; at the NCAA Championships, the now-graduated Jack Wadsworth led off in 45.25, a slower split than any other top-eight team, so Chaney provides a major upgrade in that spot.
ASU’s Noah Mudadu placed first in the 1000 free in 8:58.04 while Jonny Kulow, returning to college swimming fresh off his World Championships debut this summer, held on for first place during a rare appearance in the 200 free, clocking 1:34.40. Dobrzanski clocked 51.92 for the win in the 100 breaststroke (51.92) before adding a 200-yard triumph (1:54.52) ahead of Lucien Vergnes (1:54.63).
Fabiani got under 19 seconds in the 50 free, putting up a time of 18.89, and he later had a 41.74 100 free relay leadoff. Seider came out on top in the individual 100 free (42.53) while freshman Hayden Hakes pulled clear of the field in the 200 back (1:43.26), with Reece Grady topping the 500 free (4:23.20). Jordan Tiffany rounded out the slate of individual swimming winners with his time of 1:43.71 in the 200 IM while Lane Stallworth won 1-meter diving (307.80). The only event winner for UNLV was Evan Stingley in 3-meter diving (300.75).
The Sun Devil women were similarly unchallenged against UNLV, beginning with the team of Miriam Sheehan, Ginger McMahon, Julia Ullmann and Shane Golland clocking 1:37.40 in the 200 medley relay. Alexa Reyna then opened individual racing with a win in the 1000 free (9:56.74) before Jordan Greber led the way in the 200 free in 1:47.30. Sheehan topped the 100 back (52.24) and McMahon the 100 breast (1:01.25), and Denis Ertan got under 2:00 for the top spot in the 200 fly (1:59.83).
Sprint freestyle wins went to Indigo Armon in the 50 (22.80) and Golland in the 100 (49.43). Aleixia Sotomayor followed up with a first-place finish in the 200 back (1:55.44), and Lucie Vasquez was atop the 200 breast (2:13.89). Grace Lindberg was the winner of a tight 500 free in 4:50.17. Sheehan became the lone double winner with a time of 52.76 in the 100 fly, beating Ullmann by four hundredths, and Sonia Vaishnani clocked 1:58.67 in the 200 IM to round out the slate of individual winners.
Kayden Hayes placed first in 1-meter diving (264.08) as well as the 3-meter event (274.58). Ullmann, Sotomayor, Sheehan and Golland combined for a winning time of 3:8.67 in the 400 free relay.
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