Wolfpack Squads Continue to Find Success at NC State Invite

Friday, November 22

Greensboro, N.C.

9:30 AM PRELIMS / 5:30 PM FINALS

NC State

NC State/GAC Invitational (Day 2)

Photo by: Chris Baird

Wolfpack Squads Continue to Find Success at NC State Invite

11/22/2019 8:46:00 PM | Swimming

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Wolfpack men's and women's swimming and diving teams maintained their leads at their home invite as the second day of action at the NC State/GAC Invitational wrapped up on Friday evening.

Multiple members of the Pack posted the best times of their collegiate careers, and NC State's athletes continued to put themselves in good position to qualify for postseason competition with their times.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Sophie Hansson came within split seconds of an A cut in the 100-yard breaststroke. After going sub-one minute for the first time this season in the prelims (59.10), she lowered her season-best mark to 58.90 on her way to taking home the win.

Olivia Calegan (3rd, 1:00.20), Heather Maccausland (4th, 1:00.98) and Anna Shumate (5th, 1:01.29) also raced in the A final.

The women's squad once again packed a powerful punch in the 400-yard individual medley. The Pack went 1-2-3-4 in the prelims, with Kate Moore (4:08.09), Emma Muzzy (4:10.17), Makayla Sargent (4:10.45) and Julia Poole (4:11.58) all posting NCAA B cuts.

Muzzy and Sargent went on to drop even more time in the night session, with Muzzy taking over in the freestyle leg to win gold in 4:07.71. Jessica Horomanski also secured an NCAA B cut, with her 4:16.37 good for eighth overall in the A final.

NC State's men took up five of the eight spots in the top finals heat of the 100-yard butterfly. Nyls Korstanje placed second in 46.08, with Coleman Stewart following behind in 46.40 for third. Noah Hensley (4th, 46.46), Noah Bowers (7th, 47.57) and Luke Sobolewski (8th, 48.04) joined them in the A final to complete an impressive set of butterfly swims on the day.

In the women's 100-yard backstroke, Katharine Berkoff (2nd, 51.97) led the charge for a total of four Wolfpack women who qualified for the A final. Hensley (3rd, 47.21) secured a podium finish on the men's side of the event.

Despite opting out of swimming the event in the finals session, Eric Knowles clocked in at 3:47.80 to lead the 400-yard individual medley prelims on the men's side. Ross Dant went on to secure his NCAA provisional cut (3:51.05) in the A final with a third-place finish.

Julia Poole (1:45.04) knocked half a second off of her 200-yard freestyle personal best, and Knowles also clocked in with the best time of his career (1:35.74) as both took second place in that event. Freshman Hunter Tapp also impressed in the 200-yard freestyle, with his prelims time of 1:34.01 good for an NCAA B cut and a mark that ranks seventh in program history.

Kylee Alons (100-yard butterfly, 52.27) and Rafal Kusto (100-yard breaststroke, 54.11) were the Wolfpack's top finishers in their respective events, each placing third in the finals.

Bayne Bennett was the sole Wolfpack diver to qualify for the finals. His 289.90 in the prelims advanced him to the evening session, where he placed eighth with a score of 251.75.

RELAY HIGHLIGHTS:
The Wolfpack women secured yet another NCAA qualifying mark, this time in the 200-yard medley relay. Berkoff (24.26), Hansson (26.73), Sirena Rowe (22.95) and Alons (21.98) went 1:35.92 to kick off Friday action with a relay win. It bettered NC State's time that ranked third in the nation in the event coming into the weekend.

On the men's side, NC State took the win in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:19.32. Stewart led off in 1:34.50 and was followed by splits from Knowles (1:34.27), Tapp (1:35.54) and Hensley (1:35.01) to round out the winning relay.

UP NEXT:
The Pack will wrap up invitational action with a final day of competition on Saturday. Prelims begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The slower heats of the 1,650-yard freestyle will start mid-afternoon, with the remainder of the finals slated to go at 5:30 p.m.

WOMEN'S TOP FINISHERS:

200 medley relay: Berkoff, Hansson, Rowe, Alons (1st – 1:35.92)
400 IM: Emma Muzzy (1st – 4:07.71)
100 butterfly: Kylee Alons (3rd – 52.16)
200 freestyle: Julia Poole (2nd – 1:45.04)
100 breaststroke: Sophie Hansson (1st – 58.90)
100 backstroke: Katharine Berkoff (2nd – 51.97)
Three-meter: Madeline Kline (9th – 267.55)
800 freestyle relay: Moore, Alons, Poole, Berkoff (2nd – 7:01.74)