NC State Secures Five Medals Thursday Night at ACC Championships

NC State Secures Five Medals Thursday Night at ACC Championships

2/16/2023 10:08:00 PM | Swimming

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The NC State men's and women's swimming and diving teams saw another exciting day of competition at the 2023 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday. The Pack had five members of the squads on the podium and looks to continue its success with two days of competition remaining.

Women's 400-yard individual medley:
Sophomore Grace Sheble fought all the way to the finish to earn a silver medal in the 400-yard individual medley. Her time of 4:04.98 seconds marks the second-fastest time in program history and a personal best time for the Richmond, Va. native. Swimming in the B final, Yara Hierath placed tenth with a personal best time (4:11.36). Caroline Sheble (4:17.10) and Brooke Travis (4:17.39) finished 21st and 22nd in the event, respectively.

Men's 400-yard individual medley:
Following the excitement built by Sheble in the previous event, Owen Lloyd took third place on the men's side, narrowly securing the spot on the podium. His finishing time (3:42.16) was a best time by three seconds and now stands as the fourth-fastest time in program history. Freshman Kyle Ponsler also posted a lifetime best (3:42.72), adding his name to the No. 16 spot on the all-time 18 & under records in the event. Will Gallant finished 12th (3:46.90) and James Plage took 18th (3:48.72).

Women's 100-yard butterfly:
Earning the first NCAA 'A' cut of her career, junior Abby Arens finished just off of the podium for fourth place (50.84), followed closely by graduate student Kylee Alons' 50.93 second race (fifth place). Sarah Watson went 53.02 for 16th, while Emma Muzzy swam the fastest time of her career for 21st (53.20).

Men's 100-yard butterfly:
With four members of the Wolfpack swimming in the championship final, NC State claimed a majority of the heat's points. Aiden Hayes led the way with a second place finish (44.66) and Nyls Korstanje joined him on the podium to claim the bronze medal (44.70). More known for his success in the backstroke events, Kacper Stokowski posted a best time to finish just off the podium in fourth (45.12). Swimming in the consolation final, Arsenio Bustos destroyed his competition to win the heat with a time (44.97) that would have placed fourth in the championship final.

Women's 200-yard freestyle:
Lowering her own program record set in the 800-yard freestyle relay on Tuesday, Abbey Webb landed just off the podium to take fourth place (1:43.84). The time marks the first time a Wolfpack woman has broken the 1:44 barrier. Joining Webb in the A final, Annabel Crush posted a time of 1:46.30 to take 8th place. Katherine Helms finished in 11th place (1:46.30) and Kay Foley finished 23rd (1:47.91) after setting a personal best time in prelims to win the first heat.

Men's 200-yard freestyle:
Bartosz Piszczorowicz, the 2019 conference champion in the event while competing for Louisville, claimed the silver medal with a personal best time of 1:32.47. In same heat, Luke Miller (1:32.89) and Noah Bowers (1:33.67) finished fourth and seventh, respectively. Hunter Tapp rounded out the night with a tenth place finish (1:33.45) to knock two seconds off of his morning time.

Men's 3-meter diving:
All diving in prelims, Renato Calderaro finished 10th (346.50), Patrick O'Brien placed 20th (294.65) and Bayne Bennett scored 280.25 points for 24th.

Up next:
The Wolfpack men and women return to competition in the morning, with prelims beginning at 9:30 a.m. and finals starting at 5:30 p.m. The ACC Network Extra is set to cover both sessions.