What happened?N.C. State finished third in the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta Nov. 16-18 in a field that included ACC squads from Florida State, Duke and the hosting Yellow Jackets.

“We were very proud of our performance because of the competition we were up against,” Stephen Mellor, who set three school records that weekend, said. “There were four ACC teams in the meet, and we finished second among them, comfortably ahead of Duke and Georgia Tech. So I feel like we had a successful weekend.”

Who’s hot?Mellor had a record-setting weekend, picking up two school records including setting a personal best in his preferred event, the 200-yard backstroke. His time beat the school record he set back in 2006, but the redshirt junior said it was an indication of things to come.

“At this time of year it’s exciting,” Mellor said. “You want to peak at the end of the season, so it’s good that I’ve already had a few personal bests. So hopefully I can keep improving. Setting records is only the bonus.”

Who’s not?The men’s diving team had a weak showing in Atlanta, with sophomore Alex Dambly finishing as State’s lone top-five finisher at fifth place in the platform. Senior Austin Hampton was fifth in the 1-meter diving, while Dambly was fourth in the 3-meter diving. Dambly said the team is working hard in practice this week.

“Coach is pretty intense. He’s pushing us, so I think we’ll do pretty good [this weekend],” he said.

What’s next?The Wolfpack will host ACC foe Virginia Tech at 1:00 p.m. Saturday. Mellor said training at home would give the Pack an edge going into the meet against the Hokies.

“We’re excited about being back in Raleigh, training together for Virginia Tech this weekend. We spent 24 hours recovering from the Georgia Tech invitational,” Mellor said. “So if we’re going to perform well this weekend, we have to be focused as a team this week.”