NC State
NC State/GAC Invitational (Day 2)
Wolfpack Highlights Day Two of Fall Invite with NCAA Championship Qualifying Times
11/19/2021 11:06:00 PM | Swimming
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The NC State men's and women's swimming and diving teams kept up their leads during the second night of action at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
The energy among the NC State athletes was soaring, as many members of the Pack posted the best times of their collegiate careers, and the Wolfpack athletes continued to earn quite a few NCAA qualifying times.
RELAY HIGHLIGHTS:
The Wolfpack women kicked the evening into gear by their dominating performance in the 200-yard medley relay, finishing with a time of 1:34.31. The time marks the fastest in the country this season and is a new NCAA qualifying time. Katharine Berkoff's leadoff split of 23.52 seconds was the fastest in the field. Sophie Hansson continued the Pack's lead by dropping a 25.96 split in the breaststroke, just off the 25.92 she contributed to the National Championship winning relay in March. Kylee Alons added a 22.98 butterfly leg, while Heather Maccausland brought it home with her split of 21.85 seconds.
On the men's side, NC State fought until the finish to capture first place in the 200-yard medley relay. Followed closely by Arizona State's time of 1:23.98, the Pack contributed a time of 1:23.40 to claim the nation's fastest time this season. Kacper Stokowski (21.34), Rafal Kusto (23.68), Nyls Korstanje (19.69), and Noah Henderson (18.69) contributed their efforts to earn yet another NCAA A-cut.
In the women's 800-yard freestyle relay, the quartet of Annabel Crush, Abbey Webb, Julia Poole, and Kate Moore finished in second place with a time of 7:03.72, good for a new NCAA B-cut. Crush, a freshman, ledoff with a time of 1:45.00, marking the third fastest time ever in team history.
The squad of Luke Miller, Sam Hoover, Bartosz Piszczorowicz, and Hunter Tapp finished the session going 6:13.95 in the 800-yard freestyle relay, which marks the second fastest time in the nation this season and is almost three full seconds under the NCAA A standard qualifying time.
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Freshmen twins Caroline Sheble and Grace Sheble led the team's energy to skyrocket by their performances in the first individual event of the session, the 400-yard individual medley. Caroline won the B-final by almost two seconds with a season best 4:14.63. Grace punched her ticket to an NCAAs invitation with her second place finish of 4:08.91. Yara Hierath wasn't too far behind her teammate, finishing in fourth place with a time of 4:13.25, just off of her lifetime best.
In the men's 400-yard individual medley, sophomore Michael Moore took third place, swimming 3:43.85, which marks a new personal best. With that time, Moore will be heading to NCAAs in March, as he was two seconds under the NCAA invite cut. Conall Monahan finished his evening by grabbing sixth place with a time of 3:49.25.
Alons had an action-packed evening with her relay swim and two individual races. In the 100-yard butterfly, she finished in second place with a 51.64. The Wolfpack senior also swam 53.44 in the 100-yard backstroke, placing seventh. Her morning session time of 51.76 is good for a new personal best.
Luke Miller came into the evening by dropping over a second off of his lifetime best in the 100-yard butterfly with his third place finishing time of 45.59. Later on in the evening, he threw down a time of 1:32.60 in the leadoff leg of the 800-yard freestyle relay.Â
Korstanje (45.73), Noah Henderson (46.19), and Aiden Hayes (46.67) rounded out the Pack squad in the 100-yard butterfly A-final with their fourth, sixth, and seventh place finishes, respectively.
The Wolfpack women breaststrokers showed off tonight in the 100-yard event. Hansson (57.51), Andrea Podmanikova (58.06), and MacCausland (59.27) swept the podium with their 1-2-3 finish. The heat marked two NCAA A-cuts with Hansson and Podmanikova swimming well under the 58.46 standard. Just moments before, senior Maddie Smith (1:01.42) and freshman Kaylee Hamblin (1:02.14) took the first and second place spots of the B-final, finishing ninth and tenth overall.
In the men's 100-yard breaststroke, Kusto claimed fourth with his time of 53.02. Jack Moranetz gave a performance of 53.96, bringing home seventh place in the event. Arsenio Bustos took tenth (54.49) and Markus Wennborg won the C-final with his time of 55.26 seconds.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Berkoff took second place on the women's side with a time of 50.45, a new NCAA A-cut. On the men's side, Giovanni Izzo brought home a second place finish with a new personal best time of 46.32 seconds. Hayes took third (46.85), Noah Bowers finished fifth (47.30), and John Healy swam a time of 47.90 to take seventh.
DIVING:
First-year Head Coach Wes Mattice is showing his major contribution to the program with the high-scoring performances the divers put on the boards during today's session. Bayne Bennett achieved a career-high of 343.90 points on the one meter board, also earning a Winter Nationals cut. Freshman Ashton Zuburg made her name known when she moved up two spots in finals to take fourth in the women's three meter with 275.75 points.
UP NEXT:
The Pack will wrap up the midseason prelims/finals meet with one more 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, Alons, MacCausland (first place - 1:34.31)
- 400 IM: G. Sheble (4:08.91)
- 100 butterfly: Alons (51.64)
- 200 freestyle: Giesler (1:47.72)
- 100 breaststroke: Hansson (first place - 57.51)
- 100 backstroke: Berkoff (50.45)
- Three-meter: Zuburg (275.75)
- 800 freestyle relay: Crush, Webb, Poole, K. Moore (2nd – 7:03.72)
MEN'S TOP FINISHERS:
- 200 medley relay: Stokowski, Kusto, Korstanje, Henderson (first place - 1:23.40)
- 400 IM: M. Moore ( 3:43.85)
- 100 butterfly: Miller (45.59)
- 200 freestyle: Stokowski (1:34.59)
- 100 breaststroke: Kusto (53.02)
- 100 backstroke: Izzo (46.32)
- One-meter: Bennett (343.90)
- 800 freestyle relay: Miller, Hoover, Piszczorowicz, Tapp (6:13.95)
#GoPack | @packswimdive
Players Mentioned
