NC State Sweeps Home Invitational with Pair of Top Team Finishes

Saturday, November 23

Greensboro, N.C.

9:30 AM PRELIMS / 5:30 PM FINALS

NC State

NC State/GAC Invitational (Day 3)

NC State Sweeps Home Invitational with Pair of Top Team Finishes

11/23/2019 9:45:00 PM | Swimming

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Wolfpack men's and women's swimming and diving teams both took first place at the NC State/GAC Invitational to cap off a solid weekend of competition at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

The seventh-ranked Pack men won their side of the meet with 2,075 total points, beating out No. 14 Arizona State (1,827), No. 24 Wisconsin (1,302), No. 23 Auburn (1,257) and No. 15 Duke (1,197).

The No. 7 Wolfpack women posted 1,875.5 points to defeat No. 13 Auburn (1,703), No. 11 Duke (1,497.5), Arizona State (1,378) and No. 19 Wisconsin (1,190).

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Coleman Stewart brought the heat in the 200-yard backstroke as he dropped a nation-leading 1:39.98 in the A final. His mark was just barely off of the NCAA A standard. That race was packed full of NC State men, as John Healy (5th, 1:44.37), Jacob Johnson (6th, 1:45.77) and Ross Dant (7th, 1:46.69) also swam in the A final.

There were even more members of the Pack in the women's 200-yard backstroke A final, as five of NC State's six A finalists swam under last season's NCAA invite time at some point during Saturday's competition. Emma Muzzy (2nd, 1:52.22) and Katharine Berkoff (3rd, 1:52.20) led the way on the podium. Kylee Alons (4th, 1:53.20), Kate Moore (5th, 1:53.35), Mackenzie Glover (6th, 1:53.88) and Danika Huizinga (8th, 1:54.66) also saw action in the night session.

Sophie Hansson completed her double with a Saturday night victory in the 200-yard breaststroke. She clocked a time of 2:08.31, followed by Julia Poole, whose 2:09.75 was a lifetime best and bettered her mark that ranks second in program history.

Nyls Korstanje also picked up his second win of the meet, this time in the 100-yard freestyle. He went under 43 seconds in the prelims (42.43) and again in the A final (42.67), with his prelims mark ranking among the best in the nation.

The Wolfpack saw 1,650-yard freestyle action for the first time this season after sticking to 1,000-yard freestyle swims in its first two meets of 2019-20.

All five of NC State's swimmers on the men's side of the distance free race posted NCAA provisional marks, with freshman Dant leading the way with a first-place finish in 14:53.72. That mark ranks fifth in program history, as he was the only swimmer in the field to go sub-15 minutes.

Eric Knowles (2nd, 15:05.39), Curtis Wiltsey (4th, 15:12.39), Gil Kiesler (6th, 15:20.02) and Danny Erlenmeyer (7th, 15:22.85) also posted times that ranked among the top eight.

It was a similar situation on the women's side, where four members of the Pack posted NCAA B cuts in the event.

Moore (2nd, 16:01.64) moved into fourth in program history in the distance free event, dropping a minute off of her previous lifetime best in the event on the front end of a tough double on Saturday. Makayla Sargent (5th, 16:10.85) touched soon after her in the fastest heat. Freshman Kay Foley (16:28.85) also moved into the NC State all-time top 10 with her swim, and Abby Kriegler (16:30.20) and Maddie Morello (16:34.21) rounded out the Pack's attack in that event.

NC State's newcomers showed off their strength in the 200-yard butterfly. Sophomore Zach Brown won the event in 1:43.99, and freshmen Noah Henderson (1:44.85) and Noah Bowers (1:45.60) both impressed with times that put them on NC State's all-time top 10.

Madeline Kline hit another Zones mark on the weekend. The reigning ACC champion on platform posted a 246.25 in the prelims to eclipse the qualifying score and went on to place fifth in the final.

Patrick O'Brien also placed fifth in his first collegiate outing on platform with a score of 290.95.

"We had a very good day," said head diving coach Yahya Radman. "Plenty of PRs, and the most exciting parts were saved for the final. Madeline did an extremely difficult dive, and she did it with the utmost ease on 10-meter going over on her reverse 3 ½. The highlight was Patrick plugging his way into fifth place in the final. We are very excited for this young man's future with the Pack. Overall, I am excited for the future of this team and for the upcoming seasons."

RELAY HIGHLIGHTS:
The Pack ended its home invitational with a pair of NCAA qualifying marks in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Ky-lee Perry, Alons, Berkoff and Poole teamed up for a 3:13.21 second-place finish, and Korstanje, Stewart, Hunter Tapp and Noah Hensley went 2:50.50 to also place second.

UP NEXT:
Members of NC State's squad will head to the Toyota U.S. Open in Atlanta, Ga., from Dec. 4-7. Select Wolfpack divers will then compete at the USA Diving Winter Nationals Dec. 17-22 to wrap up the team's competition slate for the 2019 calendar year.

MEN'S TOP FINISHERS:

1,650 freestyle: Ross Dant (1st – 14:53.72)
200 backstroke: Coleman Stewart (1st – 1:39.98)
100 freestyle: Nyls Korstanje (1st – 42.67)
200 breaststroke: Rafal Kusto (2nd – 1:56.84)
200 butterfly: Zach Brown (1st – 1:44.78)
Platform: Patrick O'Brien (5th – 290.95)
400 freestyle relay: Korstanje, Stewart, Tapp, Hensley (2nd – 2:50.50)