The N.C. State men’s swim team placed 13th overall in the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas on Saturday. For the first time in N.C. State history, both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams finished in the top 20 at Nationals in the same season, as the women finished 16th on March 22.
The 13th-place finish marks the Wolfpack men’s best showing at the NCAA Championships since earning an 11th-place result during the 1979 season.
State had a rough start to the Championships, finishing the finishing the first two days in 16th place with 56.5 points. However, the team bounced back on the final day of the competition, more than doubling its score. State finished the tournament with 113.5 points.
Head coach Braden Holloway said that he was pleased with his team’s performance and perseverance after a slow start.
“It started a little slow for us, but I’m proud of these guys,” Holloway said, “They had to fight for every single point and they didn’t give up at the beginning. After we got off to a slow start we came around and they kept fighting and leading to better sessions each day.”
At the end of the three-day competition, California was in possession of the top spot with a score of 468.5. State managed to garner the best finish by an ACC team, with Florida State finishing one sport behind the Pack at 14th with 105 points.
All nine of the Wolfpack swimmers earned either honorable mentions or first team All-American selections. State earned first team All-American honors in three different events: 400-yard and 800-yard freestyle relays and 200-yard butterfly.
Sophomore Simonas Bilis, junior David Williams, senior Jonathan Boffa and freshman Andreas Schiellerup placed third in the 400-yard medley relay, finishing with a time of 2:49.50, beating their own school record previously set at the ACC Championships.
Williams, Bilis and Boffa also received All-American honors on the 800-yard freestyle relay, accompanied by senior Matt Thomas. The relay team finished with a time of 6:18.4, putting them at eighth place in the event.
Bilis also finished third in the B-portion of the 100-yard freestyle — 11th overall — with a time of 42.42, setting an ACC record with his start time. Bilis earned an All-American honorable mention in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events and first team All-American status in the 400-yard and 800-yard freestyle relays.
“We finished on a great note, breaking the ACC record and Bilis breaking the 100-yard freestyle ACC record,” Holloway said, “It was just a great way to finish the meet, and these guys are a bunch of fighters.”
Boffa, Thomas, and fellow seniors Ian Bishop and Barrett Miesfield combined for nine total All-American honors, three of which were first team awards.
“I wanted to congratulate the seniors,” Holloway said. “They have been the driving force in this rise in the national rankings.”
Though the team is losing four great seniors, the future looks bright for the Pack, as State’s underclassmen stepped up big during the three-day event. Schiellerup, the only freshman to compete for the Pack in the Championships, earned honorable All-American status in the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relays.
Sophomore Christian McCurdy earned first team All-American honors in the 200-yard butterfly event with a time 1:42.18, placing him in fourth among all swimmers. The Irwin, Penn. native managed to improve his qualifying time by .35 seconds and was only .07 seconds behind third place.
Earlier in the season, McCurdy broke the school record in 200-yard butterfly and earned a gold medal in the event at the ACC Championships.
