N.C. State sent eight athletes to the NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships in Minneapolis on Thursday. The Wolfpack came away from the three-day event with a 16th-place finish, the team’s best showing since 1983.
The State swimming & diving program has been known for its success in relay events, and Nationals were no different. The Pack competed in four different relay events, finishing in the top 20 in each race.
“They executed all of the relays well,” said head coach Braden Holloway. “At the meets, points are hard to come by, especially with all the teams there. Knowing that there’s double points, it’s a big reason why we focus on relays so much. For them to go as fast as they did, it was a great opportunity to get some points. They provided the firepower to get as many points as we did.”
The Pack finished with a score of 48, the second-most of any ACC
team behind Virginia’s 123 points. Georgia dominated the championships, recording the top score with 528 points.
By far, the State team’s greatest accomplishment during the weekend was an eighth-place finish in the 200-yard Medley relay. The
time of 1:37.73 was good enough to garner first-team All-American
selections for the members of the relay squad: senior Zina Grogg,
junior Lauren Poli, sophomore Ashlyn Koletic and sophomore
Riki Bonnema.
The Pack had as many women swimmers earn All-American honors
this year as they had in the past 20 seasons.
Grogg was the lone senior who made the trip to Minneapolis for the
Pack. The spot on the All-America first team was icing on the cake to an
outstanding career at State, as Grogg holds the school record in 100-yard butterfly, as well as being on the relay teams that set the NCSU record in 200-yard medley and 400-yard medley.
“For her, [the All-American selection] puts a stamp on her evolution,”
Holloway said. “She’s completely different than when she got
here. She has a different mindset. She’s much stronger. She looked at
her journey and wanted to make something with it. It shows how far
someone can go when they put their mind to something.”
Two school records were broken during the course of the Championships, as the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley relay teams finished 10th and 19th place, respectively.
The 200-yard freestyle squad, led by Bonnema, was especially impressive, as the team did not include any seniors. Holloway expressed his optimism for the group next season, as all four girls will be returning.
“For them to go even faster and break the ACC record, we’re excited that we have them coming back and we can continue to work with that relay,” Holloway said. “I also feel like there’s more there. I don’t think we ever hit it perfectly, which leaves the door open to improve even more. Plus I think they’re all going to be a year stronger. The execution of that relay bodes well for next year.”
The 10th place finish, as well as the 400-yard freestyle relay team’s 11th-place result, garnered All-American honorable mentions for the members of the squads. By the end of the weekend, seven of the eight Wolfpackers had earned either All-American selections or All-American honorable mentions.
