Natalie Dunaway Season 2025-26

Honors & Awards

• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2025*)
• Five-Time Missouri Class 2 High School Champion
• Two-Time Missouri Class 2 High School Team Champion (2024, 2025)
• USA Swimming Scholastic All-American (2024)
  *Indicates 4.0 Semester GPA

Freshman (2025-26)
In her inaugural season as a Husker, Dunaway notched three career-best performances. 

Over the course of her season, the true freshman continually cut times from her 50 free swims. She added her best placements in a double dual against Omaha and South Dakota State (23.97) and Iowa State (24.40), where she grabbed two second-place finishes. Her career mark came during the 2026 Big Ten Championships, where she grabbed a 32nd-placing time of 22.76. Her time of 22.76 is now the sixth-fastest in NU history. 

An additional best came in the 100 free at the championships where she cut 3.80 seconds from her season-opening time of 54.22. The Kansas City freshman hit a time of 50.42 to conclude her season. 

In the final home dual of the season against Rutgers, Dunaway anchored a team of Virginia Consiglio, Amelia Riggott and Beatrix Tanko to a winning time and fifth-fastest school time of 1:39.46 in the 200 medley relay.

Before Nebraska
Natalie Dunaway helped lead Park Hill South to Missouri Class 2 state championships in both her junior and senior seasons. She swept individual titles in the 50 freestyle (23.23) and 100 freestyle (50.87), while also swimming anchor legs of the Panthers' state championship 200 free relay (state record 1:36.09) and 400 free relay (3:32.26) teams as a senior in 2025. In mid-March, Dunaway notched a personal-best 50 free time (23.07) at the Speedo Sectionals in Columbia, Mo. She added career-best times in the 100 free (50.83), 200 free (1:52.27) and the 50 fly (25.68) at sectionals.

As a high school junior, Dunaway helped Park Hill South to its first-ever state swimming championship by helping the 200 free relay to a state championship (1:36.88). She added a third-place finish in the 50 free (23.86) after swimming 23.70 in the prelims in 2024. Her best 50 free time as a junior was 23.64. Dunaway added a fifth-place individual finish in the 100 free with a season-best 52.21 in the finals. She captured her first state title as the anchor on Park Hill South's 200 free relay (1:36.88) with her 23.21. She was also the anchor on the Panthers' state runner-up 400 free relay squad (3:34.29).

As a sophomore in 2023, Dunaway took third in the 50 free (24.21) at the state meet, before finishing 11th in the 100 free (54.61). She swam the anchor leg on Park Hill South's state runner-up 200 free relay team (1:38.35) and ninth-place 400 free relay squad to help the Panthers to a state runner-up finish in the team standings.

She finished 12th in the 50 free (24.75) and 15th in the 100 free (55.21) as a freshman at the state championships in 2022. She also anchored the 200 free relay team to a fifth-place finish (1:39.96), while Park Hill South finished third in the final team standings.

A four-sport athlete, Dunaway also competed in volleyball, track and field and golf at Park Hill South. She was also a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American in 2024. 

Personal
The daughter of Bill and Dana Dunaway, Natalie was born March 6, 2007, in Kansas City. She has two older brothers, Grant and Kyle, as well as a younger sister, Mallory. Natalie plans to major in nutrition and health sciences at Nebraska. She earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in her first semester with a perfect GPA.

Career-Best Times

Event	Time	Meet (Year)
50 Free	22.76	Big Ten Championships (2026)
100 Free	50.42	Big Ten Championships (2026)
100 Fly	57.62	Hawkeye Invite (2025)