Swimming And Diving Heads To US Olympic Trials

6/23/2016 4:01:00 PM | Swimming

27 current swimmers to represent the Pack in Omaha

US Olympic Trials Schedule | Event Information | Psych Sheet

RALEIGH- Following a historic 2015-16 in the water for the Wolfpack men and women, the NC State swimming and diving team has recently shifted its focus towards the international spotlight as several of its members will look to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

From June 26-July 3, the Pack will be in Omaha, Neb., for the United States Olympic Trials inside the CenturyLink Center as the Pack has 27 current student-athletes and one alum who trains with the program that have bettered the Trial standards.

"We're pretty thrilled to be going to the U.S. Trials with a gigantic crew, especially compared to 2012. It shows how much our program has grown," said head coach Braden Holloway. "As we continue to improve, the growth has really shown in long course action, which is something we're really proud of. It's what we need to do to continue building as a program."

The number of student-athletes that have qualified for the prestigious meet has tripled since the last time, as only nine from the program qualified in 2012. As the eight-day event is considered to be the fastest meet in the world, the Pack's qualifiers will gain great experience competing at the highest level in their sport.

Not only has the program had nearly half of its Americans qualify, but select members are in great position to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team. For events 400m and longer, the top eight swimmers from preliminaries will compete in finals. For events less than 400m, the top 16 swimmers will advance to semifinals, and the top eight from semis will compete in the finals.

"We have some individuals with a great chance to swim at night in the semifinals and finals, and have some swimmers that have a strong chance to make the U.S. team," Holloway said.

"In certain events there are more qualifying spots like the 100 and 200 freestyle. They usually take up to six swimmers, and we have some guys that are in a really good position to make a run at top six."

With three international swimmers from the men's squad, Simonas Bilis, Soren Dahl and Anton Ipsen, that will represent their respective countries at the Olympic games, NC State will look to add to that number in Omaha. The program will be well represented across the board in the 26 total events scheduled for the week.

"We're not just going there to have fun, we're going there to get the job done and compete well but obviously enjoy the experience because it only comes around every four years. Knowing we're going to be there with such a high number of student-athletes makes us as a staff excited about the experience they're going to gain while showcasing our program."

Aside from the Americans that have earned Trial cuts, an additional six international swimmers have bettered their country's trial standards, while former Wolfpack standout Jonathan Boffa, who trains in Raleigh, will aim to represent Italy in Rio de Janeiro. This gives the Pack a combined 35 student-athletes that have an opportunity to compete in Rio.

U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS QUALIFIERS
Men
Joe Bonk
James Bretscher
Parker Campbell
Geoffrey Carter
Jason Deana
Ryan Held
Derek Hren
Scott Johnson
Adam Linker
Christian McCurdy
Matt O'Donnell
Justin Ress
Jacob Siar
Austin Snyder
Hennessey Stuart
Ryan Wilkinson

Women
Courtney Caldwell
Riki Bonnema
Natalie Labonge
Ashlyn Koletic
Krista Duffield
Lydia Jones
Lindsay Morrow
Kayla Brumbaum
Rachel Muller
Anna Jahns
Hannah Moore

Alum
David Williams