North Carolina State University Athletics
RIO BOUND! Held Punches Ticket To Olympic Games In 100 Free
6/30/2016 9:40:00 PM | Swimming
Held to compete for Team USA in 4x100 freestyle relay
OMAHA, Neb.- NC State swimming and diving's Ryan Held punched his ticket to the 2016 Olympic Games on Thursday evening at the United States Swimming Olympic Trials after earning a third-place finish in the 100 freestyle finals inside the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb..
A rising junior from Springfield, Ill., Held posted a time of 48.26 to earn a spot on Team USA's 4x100 freestyle relay with Nathan Adrian, Caeleb Dressel and Anthony Ervin.Â
He joins Simonas Bilis, Soren Dahl and Anton Ipsen in representing the Wolfpack in Rio de Janeiro, as this is the highest number that the program has sent to an Olympic Games.
"Congrats to Ryan, Todd DeSorbo and NC State on getting the Wolfpack back on the American team. What an unbelievable accomplishment for such a great young man," said head coach Braden Holloway.Â
"It couldn't have happened to a better kid. He's a team player and couldn't have done it without his teammates and support staff. We're so proud of Ryan for making the Olympic team and heading to Rio- it's a dream come true for him. He's obviously pretty excited and is an unbelievable moment."
The Pack also had strong showings from Hennessey Stuart, Justin Ress and Christian McCurdy in Omaha on day five. Stuart earned a spot in the men's 200 backstroke final while Ress and McCurdy earned top-16 finishes in their respective events.Â
In the 200 back Stuart finished eighth in the event standings with a time of 1:58.20Â while Ress finished 11th with a mark of 1:59.04. In the 200 IM semifinals McCurdy touched the wall at 2:02.28 to finish 14th and collect his third top-16 finish of the week.
"Congrats to Hennessey and Ress on both going best times tonight in the 200 back, and to Hennessey on moving to the top eight with a chance to make the Olympic team tomorrow. All in all it was a great day and as a staff we're thrilled with the outcomes."
After five days in Omaha NC State has produced one Olympian, had three swimmers advance to a championship final and seven to a semifinal.
The Pack will return to action at the Olympic Trials Friday, as prelims will begin at 11 am ET and the evening session will commence at 8 pm ET. Coverage for prelims can be found on NBCOlympics.com and NBCSN, while each evening session will be broadcast on NBC.
Players Mentioned
