2021 NC State Invitational: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2021 NC State Fall Invitational

• November 18-20, 2021
• 9:30 AM Prelims / 5:30 PM Finals
• Greensboro Aquatic Center
• SCY (25y)
• Live Results
• Meet Mobile: 2021 NC State GAC Fall Invitational
• Teams: NC State, Arizona State, Army West Point, Duke, North Carolina, Penn State, Stanford, James Madison (diving only), and UNC-Wilmington (diving only)

2021 NCAA Cut Lines

The Day 3 finals session of the 2021 NC State Fall Invite will, as have Days 1 and 2, pit first year sensations against seasoned NCAA All-Americans. We’ve seen fast prelims times from Stanford rookies Regan Smith (1:52.37) in the 200 back and Torri Huske (48.22) in the 100 free, as well as NCAA champion Sophie Hansson of NC State (2:09.91) in the 200 breast and her teammate Kylee Alons (1:54.92) in the 200 fly.

NC State’s Hunter Tapp threw down a stunning 200 back of 1:41.87 in prelims; he’ll try to hold off the rest of the field in the final. Stanford first-year Andrei Minakov is looking to secure his A cut in the 100 free, having led the morning qualifiers with 42.49, just .01 faster than Arizona State’s Carter Swift.

Women’s 1650 Freestyle – Timed Finals

• NCAA A cut: 15:52.41

1. Emma Nordin, ASU – 15:47.15
2. Aurora Roghair, Stanford – 16:10.55
3. Yara Hierath, NC State – 16:13.54

Arizona State’s Emma Nordin completed her sweep of the 200-500-1650 freestyles with a personal-best time of 15:47.15 in the mile. Nordin dropped 1.2 seconds and came to the wall nearly a full 50 yards ahead of runner-up Aurora Roghair of Stanford. Roghair’s time was a PB by 23.9 seconds. NC State’s Yara Hierath clocked in at 16:13.54, about 5.6 seconds off her best time.

No one else broke 16:30. NC State’s Kay Foley (16:34.89) and Brooke Travis (16:39.94) were the only sub-16:40s of the remaining swimmers.

Men’s 1650 Freestyle – Timed Finals

• NCAA A cut: 14:37.31

1. Will Gallant, NC State – 14:49.10
2. Gordon Mason, ASU – 14:53.88
3. Grant Shoults, Stanford – 14:56.07

NC State’s Will Gallant came within .10 of his lifetime best with a 14:49.10 victory in the fastest heat of the mile. While not an automatic A cut, Gallant’s time would have scored in the top-16 at last year’s NCAA Championships. Arizona State’s Gordon Mason broke 15 seconds for the first time, taking 20.4 seconds off his previous PB with 14:53.88 for second place. Stanford’s Grant Shoults (14:56.07) came to the wall 3 seconds ahead of NC State’s Ross Dant (14:59.04) for third place.

The Wolfpack secured 5th, 6th, and 7th places as well with James Plage, Eric Knowles, and Curtis Wiltsey.

Women’s 200 Backstroke – Finals

• NCAA A cut: 1:50.50

1. Regan Smith, Stanford – 1:48.91
2. Lucie Nordmann, Stanford – 1:51.16
3. Katharine Berkoff, NC State – 1:51.62

World Record-holder (in long course meters) Regan Smith crushed the field to win the 200 back in 1:48.91, just 1.7 seconds off her lifetime best. Smith easily qualified for NCAAs with her A cut; she came within .6 of Phoebe Bacon’s winning time from 2021 NCAA Championships.

Stanford went 1-2-4 in the event, with Lucie Nordmann (1:51.16) and Taylor Ruck (1:52.09). NC State’s Katharine Berkoff (1:51.62) came in third.

Men’s 200 Backstroke – Finals

• NCAA A cut: 1:39.13

1. Leon MacAlister, Stanford – 1:40.30
2. Kacper Stokowski, NC State – 1:40.71
3. Hunter Tapp, NC State – 1:41.49

Stanford’s Leon MacAlister made it a matching set of backstroke titles with his 1:40.30 win in the 200 back. He and NC State’s Kacper Stokowski battled stroke for stroke, but MacAlister was a bit faster on both halves. He split 49.2/51.1 to Stokowski’s 49.4/51.3 to get the win.

After dropping 2.5 seconds in prelims, Hunter Tapp improved another four-tenths to finish third in 1:41.49.

Women’s 100 Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA A cut: 47.18

1. Torri Huske, Stanford – 47.39
2. Emma Wheal, Stanford – 48.70
3. Grace Countie, North Carolina – 48.73

Stanford’s Torri Huske continued to tear it up in Greensboro, adding a win in the 100 free to her 200 IM, 50 free, and 100 fly titles. Huske shot off the block and took the lead immediately, splitting 22.4/24.9 to stop the clock in 47.39.

Behind Huske, there was a mad rush for second place, with her teammate Emma Wheal, North Carolina’s Grace Countie, and NC State’s Abbey Webb all finishing within .04 of each other. Wheal (23.1/25.5) was out first, trailing Huske by .7. Both Countie (23.4/25.3) and Webb (23.8/24.9) were home faster, but Wheal’s early lead gave her the edge at the finish.

Men’s 100 Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA A cut: 41.71

1. Andrei Minakov, Stanford – 41.89
2. Grant House, ASU – 42.07
3. Carter Swift, ASU – 42.44

Stanford freshman Andrei Minakov won his second event of the weekend with a 41.89 in the 100 free, nearly achieving the NCAA A cut. Arizona State swept second, third, and fourth places with Grant House (42.07), Carter Swift (42.44), and Cody Bybee (42.71).

Minakov split 20.3/21.5 and was the lone sub-42 of the final.

Bybee (20.2/22.4) and Swift (20.3/22.1) were out with Minakov -in fact, Bybee led at the 50- but it was House’s (20.4/21.6) second half that propelled him past his teammates.

Spots 5-8 were taken up by NC State’s Luke Miller (42.82), Nyls Korstanje (42.84), Noah Henderson (42.96), and Sam Hoover (43.16).

Women’s 200 Breaststroke – Finals

• NCAA A cut: 2:06.58

1. Sophie Hansson, NC State – 2:05.10
2. Sally Foley, Duke – 2:08.30
3. Andrea Podmanikova, NC State – 2:09.02

Defending NCAA champion Sophie Hansson of NC State added a 200 title to her victory in the 100 for a clean sweep of the breaststroke events. She was .46 faster than she’d been in prelims at 2021 NCAAs with her 2:05.10. Duke’s Sally Foley kept the Wolfpack from taking the first four spots by clocking a 2:08.30 for second place.

The next three finishers were all from NC State: Andrea Podmanikova (2:09.02), Heather MacCausland (2:09.29), and Julia Poole (2:09.79).

Men’s 200 Breaststroke – Finals

• NCAA A cut: 1:52.28

1. Daniel Roy, Stanford – 1:52.54
2. David Schlicht, ASU – 1:54.57
3. Daniel Raisanen, Penn State – 1:54.58

Stanford’s Daniel Roy won the 200 breast with 1:52.54, only .7 off his fifth-place finish time at 2021 NCAAs. Roy was 54.3/58.2, getting a slight advantage from the outset and building his lead with each 50.

Arizona State’s David Schlicht beat Penn State’s Daniel Raisanen by one-hundredth for second place, 1:54.57 to 1:54.58. Raisanen, who had finished second in the 100 breast, .25 ahead of Roy, went 54.5/1:00.0, while Schlicht was 54.6/59.97.

Women’s 200 Butterfly – Finals

• NCAA A cut: 1:53.20

1. Regan Smith, Stanford – 1:52.48
2. Lillie Nordmann, Stanford – 1:54.43
3. Kylee Alons, NC State – 1:54.44

Regan Smith made the 200 back/200 fly double look easy. Securing yet another NAAA A cut, the Stanford first-year went 1:52.48 to win the 200 fly by two body lengths.

For the second event in a row, the runner-up was determined by .01. This time, Lillie Nordmann of Stanford, whose sister had been runner-up to Smith in the back, got her hand to the wall just ahead of NC State’s Kylee Alons, 1:54.43 to 1:54.44.

Men’s 200 Butterfly – Finals

• NCAA A cut: 1:40.44

1. Leon Marchand, ASU – 1:40.86
2. Alexander Colson, ASU – 1:41.38
3. Aiden Hayes, NC State – 1:42.02

Still getting used to short course yards, Arizona State first-year Leon Marchand is dropping time left and right. After going 1:43.76 in the dual meet with USC, he popped a 1:44.88 in prelims this morning to qualify sixth for the final. Tonight, he ripped a 1:40.86, coming within .42 of the NCAA A cut. Had he gotten that one, he would have had three: 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 fly. His 200/400 IM times lead the nation so far this year, and his 200 fly time would have earned a spot in the A final at NCAAs last year. Turns out he is a pretty good fit for ASU and Bob Bowman.

Marchand’s teammate Alexander Colson secured second place, only half a second behind the leader, with 1:41.38. NC State first-year Aiden Hayes (1:42.02) kept the Sun Devils from sweeping the podium. ASU’s Andrew Gray touched fourth with 1:43.39.

Women’s 10 Meter Diving – Finals

1. Aliyah Watson, Duke – 307.65
2. Margo O’Meara, Duke – 252.35
3. Emily Rakestraw, Duke – 233.45

Duke swept the podium in platform diving. Aliyah Watson earned 307.65 points for first place, while teammates Margo O’Meara and Emily Rakestraw came in second and third with 252.35 and 233.45 points, respectively. O’Meara won both the 1m and 3m diving events.

NC State divers Helene Synnott and Ashton Zuburg placed fourth and fifth.

Men’s 10 Meter Diving – Finals

1. Jonah Cey, Penn State – 317.95
2. Seamus Harding, Duke – 312.95
3. Bayne Bennett, NC State – 288.65

Penn State diver Jonah Cey won the men’s platform event with 317.95 points, just 5 points ahead of Duke’s Seamus Harding. Harding was third in 3m and sixth in 1m diving, while Cey was ninth on the 1m board and seventh in 3m.

NC State’s Bennett Bayne, who had won the 1m and been runner-up on the 3m board, finished third with 288.65 points. His teammates Patrick O’Brien (286.70) and Matt Sexton (285.60) were just on his heels in fourth and fifth.

Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA A cut: 3:14.50

1. Stanford “A” – 3:10.72
2. NC State – 3:12.12
3. Stanford “B” – 3:15.74

Both Stanford and NC State cleared the A standard but Stanford beat the Wolfpack by 1.4 seconds with 3:10.72; Emma Wheal (48.94), Taylor Ruck (47.49), Anna Shaw (48.02), and Torri Huske (46.27) contributed to the effort.

The Wolfpack combined for 3:12.12, using Katharine Berkoff (48.00), Abbey Webb (48.49), Kylee Alons (47.35), and Annabel Crush (48.28). NC State had led through the 300 but Huske passed Crush at the 350 and never looked back.

Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA A cut: 2:50.99

1. Arizona State – 2:47.43
2. NC State – 2:48.46
3. Stanford – 2:49.09

Arizona State won the closely contested 400 free relay with Jack Dolan (42.26), Carter Swift (41.78), Cody Bybee (42.31), and Grant House (41.08) combining for 2:47.43. With that time, they would have placed third in the final at last year’s NCAA Championships.

NC State’s Luke Miller (42.48), Nyls Korstanje (42.05), Kacper Stokowski (42.49), and Hunter Tapp (41.44) came in second with 2:48.46.

Stanford fielded 100 free winner Andrei Minakov (41.69), who was .20 faster than he’d been in the individual event, Luke Maurer (42.74), Jonny Affeld (42.42), and Leon MacAlister (42.24) for a combined 2:49.09.

NC State’s B squad (Sam Hoover, Bartosz Piszczorowicz, David Curtiss, and Noah Henderson) also made the A cut with 2:50.66.

Final Team Scores – Women

1. NC State – 1990.50
2. Stanford – 1722
3. Duke – 1318
4. North Carolina – 1045.50
5. Arizona State – 980
6. Penn State – 856
7. Army West Point – 307
8. George Washington – 146
9. UNC-Wilmington – 96
10. James Madison – 37

Final Team Scores – Men

1. NC State – 2207
2. Arizona State – 1654
3. Stanford – 1476.50
4. Duke – 987
5. Penn State – 893.5
6. North Carolina – 796
7. Army West Point – 453
8. George Washington – 51
9. UNC-Wilmington – 48