Five Wolfpack Athletes To Compete In 2016 Olympic Games
8/3/2016 9:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics, Rifle, Swimming
Four to represent swimming program, one to compete in air rifle
RALEIGH- Five student-athletes from NC State's swimming and diving and rifle programs are set to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, which is slated to start Saturday.
 Â
#PackInRio
Simonas Bilis, Soren Dahl, Ryan Held and Anton Ipsen will represent the Wolfpack's swimming and diving program, while Lucas Kozeniesky will represent the rifle team. Held and Kozeniesky are members of Team USA, while Dahl and Ipsen are Denmark natives and Bilis hails from Lithuania.
Â
Bilis will swim the 50m and 100m freestyle, Dahl will compete on Denmark's 4x200m free relay, Held qualified for the USA's 4x100m free relay, while Ipsen will swim the 400m and 1500m free and Kozeniesky will compete in the men's air rifle competition.
Â
Olympic Coverage
The swimming and air rifle portion of the Olympic Games will run on television from Aug. 6-13 and be broadcast via NBC. On most days, NBC primetime programming will air from 8 p.m. to midnight ET/PT; daytime from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET/PT; late night from 12:35 a.m. to 1:35 a.m. ET/PT; and replays from 1:35 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. ET/PT.
Â
Coverage can additionally be found on the following cable channels: Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) and USA Network. All sessions will be live streamed via NBCOlympics.com.
Â
Wolfpack Swimming and Diving
The Wolfpack's men's swimming and diving program had a successful NCAA season in the water, as the four Olympic qualifiers each played a valuable role in the team winning its second-straight ACC Championship title and finishing fourth at the NCAA Championship.
Â
Bilis, Dahl and Held were a part of the 400 freestyle relay that captured an NCAA title, marking the first relay team at NC State and among the ACC to win a national title.
 Â
Simonas Bilis
Bilis, a recent graduate of the program, finished his career as a 19-time All-American and the most decorated student-athlete in school history in the NCAA era. He holds seven school and conference records and is a 16-time ACC Champion. At the NCAA Championship the Panevezys, Lithuania, native finished in the top-three of the event standings in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle. He is the fourth swimmer ever to accomplish the feat.
Â
In addition the Bilis' illustrious career, he was named ACC Male Swimmer of the Year in 2016 for the second-straight season, becoming the fourth in league history to earn back-to-back honors.
He was the first of the Pack to qualify for Rio, as she bettered the Olympic 'A' standard in both events at the Canadian Trials in April.Â
Soren Dahl
Dahl, a senior from Copenhagen, Denmark, won ACC titles in the 400 and 800 free relays and finished in the top-three of the 100 and 200 free and 200 IM at the 2016 conference championship. In addition to helping the 400 free relay to a national title, he was a member of the 800 free relay that placed second at NCAAs.
He helped Denmark to garner an Olympic berth at the 2015 World Championships in August as a member of its 4x200m free relay, and secured his spot on the squad in April at the Danish Trials after earning a top-four finish in the 200m free.Â
Ryan Held
Held qualified for Team USA's 4x100 free relay at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month after finishing third in the event standings. He captured conference titles at the 2016 ACC Championship in the 50 and 100 free, and was a member of the Pack's four relays that won gold medals. At this year's NCAA Championship he earned All-America honors in six events in addition to the 400 free relay title. Held collectively holds 11 All-America honors and nine conference championship event titles.
Anton Ipsen
Ipsen, who hails from Birkerod, Denmark, and is a distance freestyle standout at NC State, is undefeated among the ACC in his respective events. He holds two conference titles in the 500 free and two in the 1,650 free. The junior also holds four All-America honors and school records in the endurance events.
He clinched a spot on Denmark's Olympic team in April with Dahl, as he won the 400m freestyle and finished second in the 1500m free with Olympic 'A' standard marks.
Pack Rifle
The NC State rifle team turned in one of its most successful seasons in program history, highlighted by finishing the year ranked No. 11 in the polls and having two student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships. The Wolfpack won the Southeastern Air Rifle Conference (SEARC) Championship for the fifth consecutive season and had a shooter claim the individual crown.
Â
In addition, the Pack took third place at the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships – its highest finish since joining the league in 2007. NC State enjoyed a record-breaking season, as the squad set the program record for total team score, team air rifle and smallbore. Also, the Red and White fired 10 of the top team scores in program history during the season.
Lucas Kozeniesky
Rising senior Kozeniesky became the first shooter in the history of the NC State rifle program to qualify for the Olympics by finishing first in the trials on June 5. The Fairfax Station, Va., native charted the top score in the air rifle competition on the first day of the Olympic Trials and continued to lead the field in the event until its conclusion.
Â
Earning a spot on the Olympic Team punctuates an already stellar year for Kozeniesky, as he qualified for the NCAA Championships in air rifle, and was named an All-American by the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) and the National Rifle Association (NRA). He also won the USA Shooting Individual National Championship in air rifle and was a first team all-conference selection.
Â
Kozeniesky also set the individual program records in aggregate total and smallbore, while matching the program mark in air rifle.
Â
 Â
#PackInRio
Simonas Bilis, Soren Dahl, Ryan Held and Anton Ipsen will represent the Wolfpack's swimming and diving program, while Lucas Kozeniesky will represent the rifle team. Held and Kozeniesky are members of Team USA, while Dahl and Ipsen are Denmark natives and Bilis hails from Lithuania.
Â
Bilis will swim the 50m and 100m freestyle, Dahl will compete on Denmark's 4x200m free relay, Held qualified for the USA's 4x100m free relay, while Ipsen will swim the 400m and 1500m free and Kozeniesky will compete in the men's air rifle competition.
Â
Olympic Coverage
The swimming and air rifle portion of the Olympic Games will run on television from Aug. 6-13 and be broadcast via NBC. On most days, NBC primetime programming will air from 8 p.m. to midnight ET/PT; daytime from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET/PT; late night from 12:35 a.m. to 1:35 a.m. ET/PT; and replays from 1:35 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. ET/PT.
Â
Coverage can additionally be found on the following cable channels: Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) and USA Network. All sessions will be live streamed via NBCOlympics.com.
Â
Wolfpack Swimming and Diving
The Wolfpack's men's swimming and diving program had a successful NCAA season in the water, as the four Olympic qualifiers each played a valuable role in the team winning its second-straight ACC Championship title and finishing fourth at the NCAA Championship.
Â
Bilis, Dahl and Held were a part of the 400 freestyle relay that captured an NCAA title, marking the first relay team at NC State and among the ACC to win a national title.
 Â
Simonas Bilis
Bilis, a recent graduate of the program, finished his career as a 19-time All-American and the most decorated student-athlete in school history in the NCAA era. He holds seven school and conference records and is a 16-time ACC Champion. At the NCAA Championship the Panevezys, Lithuania, native finished in the top-three of the event standings in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle. He is the fourth swimmer ever to accomplish the feat.Â
In addition the Bilis' illustrious career, he was named ACC Male Swimmer of the Year in 2016 for the second-straight season, becoming the fourth in league history to earn back-to-back honors.
He was the first of the Pack to qualify for Rio, as she bettered the Olympic 'A' standard in both events at the Canadian Trials in April.Â
Soren Dahl
Dahl, a senior from Copenhagen, Denmark, won ACC titles in the 400 and 800 free relays and finished in the top-three of the 100 and 200 free and 200 IM at the 2016 conference championship. In addition to helping the 400 free relay to a national title, he was a member of the 800 free relay that placed second at NCAAs.He helped Denmark to garner an Olympic berth at the 2015 World Championships in August as a member of its 4x200m free relay, and secured his spot on the squad in April at the Danish Trials after earning a top-four finish in the 200m free.Â
Ryan Held
Held qualified for Team USA's 4x100 free relay at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month after finishing third in the event standings. He captured conference titles at the 2016 ACC Championship in the 50 and 100 free, and was a member of the Pack's four relays that won gold medals. At this year's NCAA Championship he earned All-America honors in six events in addition to the 400 free relay title. Held collectively holds 11 All-America honors and nine conference championship event titles.Anton Ipsen
Ipsen, who hails from Birkerod, Denmark, and is a distance freestyle standout at NC State, is undefeated among the ACC in his respective events. He holds two conference titles in the 500 free and two in the 1,650 free. The junior also holds four All-America honors and school records in the endurance events.He clinched a spot on Denmark's Olympic team in April with Dahl, as he won the 400m freestyle and finished second in the 1500m free with Olympic 'A' standard marks.
Pack Rifle
The NC State rifle team turned in one of its most successful seasons in program history, highlighted by finishing the year ranked No. 11 in the polls and having two student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships. The Wolfpack won the Southeastern Air Rifle Conference (SEARC) Championship for the fifth consecutive season and had a shooter claim the individual crown.
Â
In addition, the Pack took third place at the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships – its highest finish since joining the league in 2007. NC State enjoyed a record-breaking season, as the squad set the program record for total team score, team air rifle and smallbore. Also, the Red and White fired 10 of the top team scores in program history during the season.
Lucas Kozeniesky
Rising senior Kozeniesky became the first shooter in the history of the NC State rifle program to qualify for the Olympics by finishing first in the trials on June 5. The Fairfax Station, Va., native charted the top score in the air rifle competition on the first day of the Olympic Trials and continued to lead the field in the event until its conclusion.Â
Earning a spot on the Olympic Team punctuates an already stellar year for Kozeniesky, as he qualified for the NCAA Championships in air rifle, and was named an All-American by the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) and the National Rifle Association (NRA). He also won the USA Shooting Individual National Championship in air rifle and was a first team all-conference selection.
Â
Kozeniesky also set the individual program records in aggregate total and smallbore, while matching the program mark in air rifle.
Â
Players Mentioned
SFree
/ Swimming
Free/Fly
/ Swimming
Free/Brst/Fly
/ Swimming
Free/IM
/ Swimming
/ Rifle
S2E10 Pulse Of The Pack
Monday, November 03
Ep. 3: LIGHT IT RED - The Final Chapter
Friday, October 31
S2E9 Pulse Of The Pack
Monday, October 27
Ep. 2: LIGHT IT RED
Friday, October 24