Pack Wraps Up Night One in Greensboro with Two Wins and Two Automatic NCAA Qualifications

Thursday, November 17

Greensboro, N.C.

9:30 AM Prelims, 5:30 PM Finals

NC State

NC State/GAC Invitational (Day 1)

The 2021 N.C. State GAC Fall Invitational at the Greensboro Aquatic Center Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021. (Lynn Hey photo)

Photo by: Lynn Hey photo

Pack Wraps Up Night One in Greensboro with Two Wins and Two Automatic NCAA Qualifications

11/17/2022 7:26:00 PM | Swimming

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The NC State Wolfpack finished Day One of the NC State Invite at the Greensboro Aquatic Center with many season best times and NCAA provisional qualifying standards.

The Wolfpack women secured NCAA automatic qualification in both relays, while freshman Celia Bidwell and sophomore David Curtiss brought home the individual wins in the 1-meter diving and 50-yard freestyle events.

RELAY HIGHLIGHTS:

200-yard freestyle relay
The Wolfpack women squad of Katharine Berkoff, Kylee Alons, Heather MacCausland, and Abby Arens kicked off the night by securing the team's first NCAA A qualification standard of the season. Berkoff led off going 22.23, with Alons (21.54) and MacCausland (22.23) swimming the second and third legs. Abby Arens anchored the squad posting a 21.88 swim to put the team in second (1:27.88).

400-yard medley relay
NC State's A relay squad consisting of Katharine Berkoff (51.32), Andrea Podmanikova (58.54), Kylee Alons (51.82), and Abby Arens (48.17) swam well under the NCAA automatic qualifying time with their second place swim (3:29.85).

On the men's side, NC State picked up a provisional NCAA qualifying time with their fourth place finish in the event (3:06.38). Quintin McCarty led off the group going 47.42 with Mason Hunter splitting 52.05 on the breaststroke leg, Luke Miller going 44.43 in the fly, and David Curtiss bringing them home with a 43.38 freestyle leg.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:

500-yard freestyle
Yara Hierath (4:44.38, sixth place) led the way for the Pack with freshman Emma Hastings right behind her (4:45.27). Brooke Travis went 4:45.12 from the B final, finishing tenth overall. All three swims were under the NCAA B cut standard, with the swim from Hastings marking a new personal best time for the rookie.

The Pack men's distance crew was led by Ross Dant's second place finishing time of 4:14.29. He was joined in the A final by teammates James Plage (4:19.02) and Will Gallant (4:19.24) who finished seventh and eight, respectively. Freshman Lance Norris dropped four seconds from his morning swim to take third place in the B final. All four swimmers posted times under the NCAA B cut standard.

200-yard IM
Sophomore Grace Sheble swam to third place in the event, where her time of 1:57.37 seconds was well under the NCAA provisional time standard. Rookie Kennedy Noble joined her in the A final, also swimming under the B cut going 1:58.31 for sixth place.

On the men's side, Giovanni Izzo blasted a 1:45.46 to easily win his D final heat. Freshman Kyle Ponsler kept the streak going with his win in the C final (1:47.18), while Michael Cotter (1:45.08), Sam Hoover (1:45.43), and Noah Bowers (1:45.95) also earned B standard times in the B final. In the championship final, Arsenio Bustos took third (1:44.45) and Michael Moore finished either (1:52.33).

50-yard freestyle
The trio of Kylee Alons, Abby Arens, and Katharine Berkoff finished fourth, fifth, and sixth in the event with Alons going 22.01, Arens 22.34, and Berkoff 22.36. The swims added three more NCAA B cuts to the tally.

To round out the individual events for the night, reigning ACC champion David Curtiss brought home the win in 18.95. Quintin McCarty came in fifth (19.50) and Noah Henderson also secured a B cut going 19.65 for sixth.

DIVING:
In the women's 3-meter event, freshman Celia Bidwell brought home the first collegiate win of her career scoring 267.20 points and securing her first NCAA Zones qualification.

Renato Calderaro scored 322.45 points on the 1-meter board to bring home second place and mark a NCAA Zone qualification for the freshman.

UP NEXT:
The NC State Fall Invite resumes competition at the Greensboro Aquatic Center Friday morning for the second day of competition. Prelims are once again set for a 9:30 a.m. start with finals beginning at 5:30 p.m.

WOMEN'S TOP FINISHERS: