The Iowa Central men's and women's swim teams will be seeking national glory at the NJCAA Championships March 4-7 in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Currently, the Tritons feature a handful of top-ranked individuals and relays, with the men (8-1 overall) sitting second overall and the women (5-3) third in the team rankings.

Last year, Iowa Central crowned its first-ever national champion with Emile Lutzeler. The men were second to Indian River State while the women placed third under the direction of head coach Joe Plane.

Billy Cruz broke the NJCAA national record in the 100 individual medley earlier this year and just missed the 50 free mark by 0.04 seconds. His time of 19.1 was tied for second-best in the nation, including NCAA Div. I swimmers, at that time. 

Cruz ranks first in the NJCAA in six events.

Lutzeler is in the Top-4 in three events, Mariano Sosa is in the Top-3 in two events and Marcelo Busch is in the Top-7 in four races. Also, the 200 free and 400 free relays are first in the nation.

In pre-released psych sheets, Cruz is first in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly, with Busch first in the 200 free and 500 free. Sosa is first in the 100 back and the Tritons have the top 200 and 400 relays.

 "Going back to 2001, Indian River has won all but one relay, and in that, they were disqualified," Plane said. "So winning even one relay would be a big deal. Since we started our program back up in 2015-16, only eight individuals have won events that weren't from Indian Rivers.

"Being seeded first in six individuals in one meet is a big deal. We are taking the maximum number of men, 18, and we need everyone to step up in order to do something special."

Leading the women will be Eve Berg, who is ranked in the Top-7 in three races. Emilie Andrin is second in all three breaststroke races, Magali Mouton is ranked in the Top-5 in three and Paula Ronda is in the Top-8 in three races. Also, the 400 medley and 800 free relays are ranked third in the country.

"We are only taking eight women and they are all slated to score points," Plane said. "We have played third for the past three years in a row. We have high expectations for how we will swim and hope to perform big with a small group."

Indian River State has won every men's national team title since 1975 and every women's crown since 1983.