Fresh off of its third straight ACC title, the No. 3 NC State men’s swimming and diving team will head to the NCAA Championships this week with a real shot at bringing home the program’s first-ever national championship.
The Wolfpack finished in fourth at last year’s championship meet, its highest-ever finish, and carries lots of momentum into Indianapolis this week. Fourteen members of the team will make the trip, with the Pack being represented in 17 of the 18 swimming events on the week and one diving discipline.
State is strong and deep across the board, but particularly shines as a team in the relay events. The Wolfpack won four of the five relays at the ACC Championships, and is poised to have another dominating performance at the NCAAs.
The 800-yard freestyle relay sees State come in with the fastest time in the country, as the Pack posted a time more than two seconds quicker than any other team in the nation. The 400-yard version, which State won gold in at last year’s title meet, also sees a strong qualifying time for the Wolfpack, which came in with the second-best time.
The 200-yard free relay has the Pack sitting as the three-seed, while the 200-yard medley relay sees State enter with the second-fastest time, less than one second slower than the University of California-Berkeley at the top.
Individually, the Pack will be led by junior Olympians Ryan Held and Anton Ipsen, as well as junior Andreas Vazaios. These three will all be participating in three individual events, with all of them poised to take home medals.
Vazaios fronts a very deep 100-yard backstroke unit for the Pack, which features four members of State’s team. Vazaios enters with an “A” cut time of 45.32, placing him as the eighth-fastest swimmer in the field. Freshman Coleman Stewart, senior Andreas Schiellerup and junior Hennessey Stuart round out the group.
Stuart is the 28th seed in the 100-yard backstroke, but is much stronger in the 200-yard variety as he enters with an “A” cut time good for the fourth fastest. Sophomore Justin Ress will also swim in the 200-yard backstroke, posting a ninth place qualifying time.
Held is the Pack’s best freestyle sprinter, and leads the team in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events. Held will be the Pack’s lone member in the 50-yard heat, but enters with a strong chance to capture a medal with his “A” cut time of 18.68, good for the no. 2 seed and just .22 seconds back on fellow Olympian Caeleb Dressel of Florida.
Held will also compete in the 100-yard freestyle, along with Ress. Held posted the third-fastest qualifying time in that event, an “A” cut 41.61. Held is also the Pack’s only qualifier in the 100-yard butterfly, coming in with another “A” cut time and seeded fourth.
Rounding out the freestyle sprint events is the 200-yard heat, which will feature Ress and senior Olympian Soren Dahl for the Pack. Dahl won the event at the ACC Championships, and posted an “A” cut time of 1:32.74 to enter as the seventh-fastest swimmer in the field.
The long-distance events showcase the talent of Ipsen and senior Adam Linker. Ipsen posted an “A” cut time in both the 500 and 1,650-yard freestyle, and is one of the six fastest swimmers in the field for both. Linker is the nine-seed for the grueling 1,650.
Ipsen will also swim in the 400-yard individual medley, posting the 27th-fastest qualifying time and being the only member of the Pack to swim the event. The 200-yard IM features Vazaios and Dahl, with Vazaios holding the two-seed. Vazaios will also swim in the 200-yard butterfly.
In the breaststroke, the Pack’s one weakness, senior Derek Hren will swim in the 100-yard version as State’s only representative. Freshman James Brady will participate in platform diving for the Pack. The State contingent is wrapped up by seniors Joe Bonk and Scott Johnson, as well as junior Zack Werner, who will all travel as relay participants.
State has spent the entirety of the season ranked in the top 10, spending the majority of that time as the No. 1 team in the nation. The Pack heads into the meet ready to strike, and should compete all week with the likes of Cal and Texas for the national title.
