Teams from all over the East Coast descended on Raleigh this weekend for the NC State club swim team’s only home meet of the season, the Raleighwood Invitational, held at Willis R. Casey Natatorium.

The student-run Wolfpack team coordinated schools such as UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Charlotte, East Carolina University, Coastal Carolina, Virginia, James Madison, Longwood, University of Central Florida, Duke, Old Dominion, Georgia College and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, which required weeks of planning for the executive board.

“I think one of the most exciting things about our team is how much of a collaborative effort it is,” senior Davis Derrico said. “It’s all student-run, with the help of parents and volunteers, so it’s really exciting that we can all say that we organized everything and execute it for the meet.”

The Wolfpack finished third overall for the men, women and combined score. James Madison University took the combined score win with 309.5 points, followed closely by the Swim Club at UVa with 305 points. 

“Our home meet went better than ever this year,” said senior Courtney Like-Mathews, the club’s co-president. “Even though we won the meet last year, the competition was tougher, and more teams and swimmers came this year. Most of our swimmers swam better this year than last year anyway. It was a long meet, but everything went smoothly.”

The Raleighwood Invitational has continued to grow during the years and pick up steam and recognition. This year’s meet was the largest in history with teams coming from as far as Florida. 

“We had a huge turn out this year,” Derrico said. “There were about 150 swimmers more than we had last year, which is really awesome. Several teams stayed the night, which feels good that they feel it’s worth it coming all the way here. Providing this meet is really good for our organization because there aren’t a lot of meets throughout the semester in the southeast region, and we definitely thank NC State for being able to participate in this and use the space and their equipment.”

The club swimmers welcomed the chance to compete in their home pool, and for some it was their first Raleighwood Invitational. 

“It’s pretty great having my first home meet,” said freshman Dan Grochmal. “It’s nice being part of the whole team. I like it better than high school because there are so many people. So many people to talk to, meet and things like that. And I’m doing a lot better than I thought too, which is always good.”

 The club swim team will continue its season with several upcoming meets to finish out the season. As the team continues to grow and train, it will also continue with its community service efforts, including the Krispy Kreme Challenge.