Putting up a record-breaking 1,615 points, the NC State men’s swim & dive team took first place at the 2023 ACC Championships, their second consecutive title and eighth in the last nine years.

The Wolfpack dominated the pool from start to finish, tallying 1,173 individual swimming points, 320 relay points and 122 diving points. Senior Kacper Stokowski was NC State’s most valuable swimmer, picking up first place in the 100-yard backstroke and two additional top-five finishes.

Sophomore David Curtiss didn’t let his past haunt him in the 200-yard medley relay on day one, anchoring in 18.76 after officials disqualified him for an early takeoff in 2022. Notably, graduate student Mason Hunter gave NC State a considerable advantage, splitting 23.07 in the 50-yard breaststroke, the fastest in the field by a mere 0.02 seconds.

NC State’s second victory of the evening came after seniors Noah Bowers, Bartosz Piszczorowicz and Hunter Tapp and junior Luke Miller claimed the top spot in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Bowers led in 1:34.46, just the sixth-fastest leadoff split in the field, but Piszczorowicz, Tapp and Miller followed up with sub-1:33 splits for the Wolfpack’s third-straight conference title in the event.

In a surprise finish, freshman Renato Calderaro posted a personal-best score of 374.35 to take third in the 1-meter diving event. At the end of Tuesday night’s session, the Wolfpack took first place with 196 points, well ahead of the competition.

Continuing its dominance in the relays, NC State ended a five-year drought by taking first in the 200-yard freestyle relay on Wednesday evening. Senior Nyls Korstanje swam the fastest leg in the field — anchoring in 18.55 — but all four of the Wolfpack’s splits were sub-19 seconds.

After finishing second in the event last year, junior James Plage claimed NC State’s first individual victory of the meet in the 500-yard freestyle. Second-place finisher Baturalp Unlu of Georgia Tech touched the wall a mere 0.02 seconds after Plage, but it was enough of a margin for the distance phenom to claim his first conference title. Senior Ross Dant, who won the event last year, took sixth in 4:16.57.

Two NC State swimmers finished in the top-three of the 200-yard individual medley — sophomore Arsenio Bustos and graduate student Giovanni Izzo placed first and third, respectively, to rake in crucial points for the Wolfpack. Bustos dropped over three seconds from prelims to take his first conference title. Junior Mikey Moore and Bowers also posted top-eight finishes in the event, contributing to NC State’s cushy 252.5-point lead over Louisville by the end of day two.

About 24 hours after finishing eighth in the 500-yard freestyle, junior Owen Lloyd came back for a third-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley. With a personal best of 3:42.16 in the latter, Lloyd has likely punched a ticket for his first-ever NCAAs. Freshman Kyle Ponsler finished a little over half a second behind Lloyd, going 3:42.72 for fifth.

Although nobody could touch Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan — the junior finished in 43.93, the fastest in the country this season — NC State went 2-3-4 in the 100-yard butterfly for big points on day three. Sophomore Aidan Hayes took second in 44.66, a personal best for the Oklahoma native. Korstanje and Stokowski followed suit in 44.70 and 45.12, respectively.

Piszczorowicz picked up his second podium finish in the 200-yard freestyle, tying Unlu for second in 1:32.47. With that and two additional top-eight finishes from Miller and Bowers, NC State’s lead sat at 209 points over Louisville by the end of day three.

Junior Will Gallant cracked open the final night of competition with a first-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle. His time of 14:34.82 currently sits at second in the nation, a good sign for some major points at NCAAs this year. Dant took third in 14:45.57, and Lloyd and Plage also notched top-eight finishes.

After placing eighth in prelims, Stokowski came back in a big way to take second place in the 200-yard backstroke. One night after winning the conference title in the 100-yard backstroke, Stokowski returned to crack 1:40 and pick up one more medal before calling it a night.

NC State missed the podium in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke, but senior Patrick O’Brien captured the Wolfpack’s final individual victory in the platform diving event. Ending on a high note, NC State completed its relay sweep with a resounding win in the 400-freestyle relay — Piczczrowicz, Miller, Curtiss and senior Noah Henderson combined for a time of 2:47.32 to cement the Wolfpack’s second ACC title in as many years.

The men’s swim & dive team will return to the pool on Friday, Feb. 24 for a “last chance meet” against UNC-Chapel Hill.