2023 NC State/GAC Invitational
- November 16-18, 2023
- Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
- Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims Finals
- Prelims start at 9:30 AM Eastern, Finals at 5:30 PM Eastern
- Participating teams: #1M/#15W Arizona State, #4M/#7w NC State, #8M/#18W Virginia Tech, Army, #16W Duke
- Meet Results
- Day 1 Relay Lineups
- Full Day 1 Prelims Results (PDF)
The 2023 NC State Fall Invitational at Greensboro Aquatic Center got off to a quick start this morning, with prelims swims that were either lifetime bests or season bests. Those included Arizona State’s Deniz Ertan and NC State’s Owen Lloyd in the 500 free; Ieva Maluka (ASU), Kennedy Noble (NCS), and Hubert Kos (ASU) in the 200 IM; and NC State’s Katharine Berkoff and Quintin McCarty and ASU’s Jack Dolan in the 50 free.
We will begin the Day 1 finals session with timed finals of the 200 free relay before jumping into the C, B, and A finals of the three individual events. Tonight’s session will conclude with timed finals of the 400 medley relay.
Women’s 200-Yard Freestyle Relay — Timed Finals
- NCAA Record: 1:23.87 — Virginia (K. Douglass, G. Walsh, L. Cuomo, A. Walsh) (2023)
- 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:28.43
- 2024 NCAA ‘B’ Standard: 1:29.21
Podium:
- NC State “A”, 1:27.50
- Virginia Tech “A”, 1:29.72
- Arizona State “A”, 1:29.77
- NC State “B”, 1:29.95
- Duke “A”, 1:30.21
- Duke “B”, 1:32.37
- NC State “C”, 1:32.41
- Arizona State “B”, 1:32.48
NC State’s A squad of Katharine Berkoff (21.63), Abby Arens (22.01), Casaundra Moses (22.20), and Miriam Sheehan (21.66) smoked the field by 2.2 seconds to with the first event of the evening with a new meet record of 1:27.50.
Virginia Tech (Carmen Weiler Sastre, Caroline Bentz, Emily Claesson, and Anna Summers) edged Arizona State (Erin Mulligan, Indigo Armon, Molly Batchelor, and Marte Lovberg) by .05 for 2nd place, 1:29.72 to 1:29.77.
Men’s 200-Yard Freestyle Relay — Timed Finals
- NCAA Record: 1:13.35 — Florida (J. Liendo, A. Chaney, E. Friese, M. McDuff) (2023)
- 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:16.80
- 2024 NCAA ‘B’ Standard: 1:17.38
Podium:
- Arizona State “A”, 1:14.64
- NC State “A”, 1:16.00
- Virginia Tech “A”, 1:17.55
- NC State “B”, 1:17.66
- Arizona State “B”, 1:18.50
- Virginia Tech “B”, 1:20.31
- Army West Point “A”, 1:20.50
- Duke “A”, 1:20.81
Arizona State broke the meet record, the pool record, and their own program record, which had stood at 1:14.85 since 2022, with a demonstrative 1:14.64 to win the men’s race. Jack Dolan (18.90), Ilya Kharun (18.51), Cam Peel (18.96), and Jonny Kulow (18.27) contributed to the win. The quartet would have scored 4th at NCAAs last season. As it was, ASU came in 5th in that race with 1:15.06.
NC State (Drew Salls, Quintin McCarty, Luke Miller, and Noah Henderson) came to the wall in 2nd place, a body length behind ASU and nearly a body length in front of Virginia Tech (Youssef Ramadan, Carles Coll Marti, Brendan Whitfield, and Mario Molla Yanes).
Women’s 500-Yard Freestyle — Finals
- NCAA Record: 4:24.06 — Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
- 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 4:37.89
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 4:41.09
Podium:
- Lindsay Looney (ASU), 4:38.97
- Deniz Ertan (ASU), 4:40.32
- Chase Travis (VT), 4:41.73
- Emma Hastings (NCS), 4:42.39
- Yara Hierath (NCS), 4:44.58
- Molly Batchelor (ASU), 4:46.10
- Alexa Reyna (ASU), 4:46.59
- Catherine Purnell (DUKE), 4:47.46
Swimming out of lane 7, Arizona State senior Lindsay Looney blasted a 4:38.97 to win the A final by 1.4 seconds ahead of teammate Deniz Ertan (4:40.32). Looney’s time was 1.8 seconds faster than her B-final performance at last year’s NCAA Division I Championships, and it would have landed her in the A final had she swum it in prelims. Ertan took 2.1 seconds off her prelims time.
Chase Travis of Virginia Tech came in 3rd with 4:41.73, nearly 1 second faster than her best performance last season. NC State came in 4th and 5th with Emma Hastings (4:42.39) and Yara Hierath (4:44.58)
The Wolfpack went 1-2 in the B final with Keelan Cotter (4:45.75) and Brooke Travis (4:47.67).
Elli Straume (ASU) and Yi Xuan Chang (Duke) had huge drops of 7.5 and 8.3 seconds, respectively, to finish 1-2 in the C final with 4:47s.
Men’s 500-Yard Freestyle — Finals
- NCAA Record: 4:06.32 — Kieran Smith, Florida (2020)
- 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 4:10.74
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 4:14.36
Podium:
- Julian Hill (ASU), 4:12.37
- Daniel Matheson (ASU), 4:14.91
- Owen Lloyd (NCS), 4:16.44
- Lance Norris (NCS), 4:17.13
- Sam Flack (NCS), 4:18.43
- Ross Dant (NCS), 4:19.79
- Nico Garcia (VT), 4:20.39
- James Plage (NCS), 4:20.47
ASU’s Julian Hill broke the meet record and came with .16 of his lifetime best with a 4:12.37 to win the A final of the men’s 500 free. Teammate Daniel Matheson gave the Sun Devils a 1-2 sweep with his 4:14.91. NC State took the next four spots with Owen Lloyd (4:16.44), Lance Norris (4:17.13), Sam Flack (4:18.43), and Ross Dant (4:19.79).
Arizona State also went 1-2 in the B final with Jack Wadsworth (4:20.71) and Jake Mason (4:21.46).
Army West Point’s Brice Barrieault took the C final in 4:27.07 while his teammate Clayton Bernauer edged Duke’s Austin Simpson by .03 for 2nd place (4:27.83).
Women’s 200-Yard Individual Medley — Finals
- NCAA Record: 1:48.37 — Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
- 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:53.66
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:56.90
Podium:
- Ieva Maluka (ASU), 1:55.46
- Sarah Foley (DUKE), 1:56.13
- Caroline Bentz (VT), 1:58.51
- Charli Brown (ASU), 1:58.52
- Catherine Belyakov (DUKE), 1:58.54
- Martina Peroni (DUKE), 1:58.73
- Catherine Helms (NCS), 1:59.06
- Aurelie Migault (AWP), 1:59.19
ASU’s Ieva Maluka took another 2-tenths off her new personal-best time, which she established in prelims with a 2-second drop, to win the 200 IM in 1:55.46. Duke’s Sarah Foley, who placed 8th in this event at NCAAs last year, was half a body length back in 2nd place with 1:56.13.
Caroline Bentz from Virginia Tech 1:58.51 eked out a 3rd-place finish by coming to the wall .01 ahead of ASU’s Charli Brown and .04 ahead of Duke’s Cahterine Belyakov.
Zoe Summar from ASU won the B final in 1:58.43, a lifetime best by 4-tenths, over Duke’s Molly Donlan (1:59.43). It was Donlan’s first time under 2 minutes.
ASU’s Ginger McMahon, who scratched into the C final when NC State’s Kennedy Noble chose not to race in the A final, won the heat with 2:02.74, dropping 2.6 seconds from her seed time.
Men’s 200-Yard Individual Medley — Finals
- NCAA Record: 1:36.34 — Léon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
- 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:41.03
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:43.14
Podium:
- Hubert Kos (ASU), 1:39.26
- Owen McDonald (ASU), 1:41.60
- David Schlicht (ASU), 1:42.25
- Carles Coll Marti (VT), 1:43.12
- Cale Martter (ASU), 1:43.62
- Alexander Colson (ASU), 1:45.53
- Mikey Moore (NCS), 1:45.97
- Noah Bowers (NCS), 1:47.17
ASU’s Hubert Kos took 2.4 seconds off his previous best time to win the 200 IM with 1:39.26. In the process, he broke teammate Léon Marchand’s meet record from last year (1:40.80) and Caio Pumputis’ pool record (1:41.28) and came to the wall 2.34 seconds ahead of teammate Owen McDonald (1:41.60). That 1:39.26 would have placed 4th at last year’s NCAA Championships, behind only Marchand (1:36.34) and Cal’s Destin Lasco (1:38.10) and Hugo Gonzalez (1:39.00).
David Schlicht (1:42.25) made it a Sun Devil sweep, while Carles Coll Marti from Virginia Tech kept ASU from going 1-2-3-4-5 with his 4th-place finish in 1:43.12.
Army West Point’s Kohen Rankin edged Virginia Tech’s Mario Molla Yanes by .01 to win a very tight B final with 1:46.88. That was a PB by 2.2 seconds for Rankin. Conall Monahan of NC State (1:46.93) and Andrew Li of Duke (1:47.02) followed closely.
Duke’s Michael Jiang won the C final handily with 1:46.98.
Women’s 50-Yard Freestyle — Finals
- NCAA Record: 20.79 — Maggie MacNeil, Louisiana State (2023)/Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2023)
- 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 21.63
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 22.15
Podium:
- Katharine Berkoff (NCS), 21.52
- Abby Arens (NCS), 22.18
- Miriam Sheehan (NCS), 22.26
- Erin Milligan (ASU), 22.34
- Carmen Weiler Sastre (VT), 22.45
- Tatum Wall (DUKE), 22.57
- Meghan Donald (NCS), 22.70
- Casaundra Moses (NCS), 22.98
NC State’s Katharine Berkoff clipped her personal best by .02 en route to winning the women’s 50 free in 21.52. She erased Torri Huske’s meet record of 22.70 from 2021. Berkoff is now just .02 off the NC State record of 21.50, set by Kylee Alons in 2021.
Teammates Abby Arens (22.18) and Miriam Sheehan (22.26) completed the Wolfpack podium sweep, while Erin Milligan of ASU came to the wall 4th in 22.34.
Duke’s Ali Pfaff edged Tyler Driscoll of NC State, 22.63 to 22.64 to win the B final.
Indigo Armon of ASU took the C final in 23.08.
Men’s 50-Yard Freestyle — Finals
- NCAA Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
- 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 18.82
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 19.21
Podium:
- Quintin McCarty (NCS), 18.80
- Ilya Kharun (ASU), 18.93
- Youssef Ramadan (VT), 18.97
- Jack Dolan (ASU), 18.99
- Jonny Kulow (ASU), 19.00
- Drew Salls (NCS), 19.21
- Noah Henderson (NCS), 19.53
- Cam Peel (ASU), 19.60
NC State’s Quintin McCarty led the pack to win a 50 free final in which the top 4 finishers all swam under the 19-second barrier and the top 5 finishers all broke the meet record. McCarty was .05 short of Ryan Held’s pool record of 18.75 from 2018.
Arizona State’s Ilya Kharun clipped Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan, 18.93 to 18.97, for 2nd place. Jack Dolan, the Sun Devils’ record-holder in this event, came in 4th with 18.99, beating his teammate Jonny Kulow by .01.
NC State’s Jerry Fox (19.64) took the B final ahead of ASU’s Patrick Sammon (19.79) and Owen Harlow of Army West Point (19.90).
The C final went to ASU’s Tiago Behar in 19.85. William Hayon and Mario Molla Yanes of Virginia Tech touched 2nd and 3rd with 20.19 and 20.25.
Women’s 400-Yard Medley Relay — Timed Finals
- NCAA Record: 3:21.80 — Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, K. Douglass, A. Canny) (2023)
- 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 3:31.38
- 2024 NCAA ‘B’ Standard: 3:33.48
Podium:
- NC State “A”, 3:28.27
- Duke “A”, 3:31.33
- Arizona State “A”, 3:33.14
- Duke “B”, 3:36.20
- NC State “B”, 3:36.57
- Arizona State “B”, 3:38.48
- Virginia Tech “A”, 3:39.62
- Army West Point “B”, 3:39.94
NC State’s Kennedy Noble (50.79), Abby Arens (58.01), Miriam Sheehan (52.61), and Katharine Berkoff (46.86) combined for 3:28.27 to win the final women’s event of the evening. While the Wolfpack were 3.6 seconds off their 2nd-place time from 2023 NCAAs, they were still fast enough to make top-8.
Duke finished in 2nd place with 3:31.33, a time that would have scored at NCAAs last year. Ali Pfaff (52.54), Kaelyn Gridley (58.14), Aleyna Ozkan (51.49), and Sally Foley (49.16) contributed to the effort.
Arizona State came in 3rd with Ieva Maluka (52.92), Zoe Summar (59.88), Lindsay Looney (52.40), and Erin Milligan (47.94).
Men’s 400-Yard Medley Relay — Timed Finals
- NCAA Record: 2:58.32 — Florida (A. Chaney, D. Hillis, J. Liendo, M. McDuff) (2023)
- 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 3:04.96
- 2024 NCAA ‘B’ Standard: 3:06.84
Podium:
- Arizona State “A”, 3:01.60
- Arizona State “B”, 3:04.10
- NC State “A”, 3:04.82
- Virginia Tech “A”, 3:07.28
- Arizona State “C”, 3:07.92
- NC State “C”, 3:09.71
- NC State “B”, 3:10.21
- Virginia Tech “B”, 3:13.93
Arizona State went 1-2 in the men’s medley relay, with Jack Dolan (45.53), David Schlicht (51.77), Ilya Kharun (43.35), and Jonny Kulow (40.95) destroying the meet (3:04.02) and pool (3:02.80) records with 3:01.60. While the quartet was 2.4 seconds off the school record set by Dolan, Marchard, Max McCusker, and Kulow at last year’s NCAAs –where they finished 3rd with 2:59.18– they would have been 6th with this time.
The Sun Devils displayed their depth with Hubert Kos (44.58), Andy Dubrzanski (52.08), Alexander Colson (45.23), and Patrick Sammon (42.21) combining for 3:04.10 to take 2nd.
NC State’s JT Ewing (46.32), Sam Hoover (52.44), Luke Miller (44.28), and Quintin McCarty (41.78) beat the next wave of finishers to the wall with 3:04.82.
ASU will toast that 400 medley relay record with a healthy Marchand and others dropping time at NCAAs, though Florida will be there again too. Lots to look forward to!
Shoulda put that boy Hubert on the A
Also 43.3 from Kharun 🥶
That 44.58 from Hubi is also faster than Dolan’s lifetime best I think (44.62).
It’s also a lot faster than Hubi’s former PB (:45.99 in ASU’s last dual (v USC)), which, in terms of Bowman’s choice of leadoff on the A, was substantially slower than Dolan’s best going into the relay.
Oh yeah, not disputing Bowman’s choice. Just interesting to note for future relays.
Why did we let him become Canadian?
Kharun was such a huge pickup for Arizona. Canadians really are make or breaking the NCAA, and have been doing so for a few years now.
Yeah 1 good Canadian goes a long way. Eh….
Really does! Josh Liendo, Ilya Kharun, and Maggie Mac Neil are definitely foremost among them. I wonder if McIntosh will go NCAA…
Kos could win a medal if he swims the 200 IM in Paris
200 IM semi on the same day with 200 back. Not an ideal schedule.
Yea 🙁 Even Lochte struggled with that double.
Kos is also very good in the 400 IM
18.93 FROM KHARUN?!? This kid is insane. No one else can go that fast AND has his range up to the mile, open water, and fly.
Is there a scenario in which Leon doesn’t swim IM at NCAA’s? He swims the 100, 200 breast and one of the flies. With Foster and Gonzalez out of the picture, the only one for Kos to beat would be Lasco in the 200IM, and I don’t think Leon is at risk of losing anything (that’s not a 50 of a stroke, or backstroke) – assuming Leon wins all of his events, and even if Kos fails to defeat Lasco, a silver is worth more than a bronze in the 200IM, and Kos should have no trouble winning the 400IM.
I understand the only reason Leon did not swim today is because he is sick. So do not read to much into what he swims or does not swim this meet.
I know. This idea has nothing to do with this current situation. To reiterate myself:
…and I don’t think Leon is at risk of losing anything (that’s not a 50 of a stroke, or backstroke) – assuming Leon wins all of his events…
Does he swim the 500 on day 1? ASU doesn’t have a guarantee A finalist in that one.
But it would feel strange for him to skip a win in the 200 IM.
I agree, he is an IMer first and foremost, but to better the chances of ASU winning NCAA’s, he might have to.
Honestly it might depend on if Hafnaoui comes back. If he’s out Marchand is basically a lock to win the 500. ASU needs to be careful with the lineup games they play though. The absolute worst case scenario for them would be moving Marchand into an off event that he doesn’t win
Is it not allowed to do doubles at NCAA’s? Or is it just not recommended?
It’s allowed. Most top swimmers have to do doubles because of relays. The trick is that if you do two individuals, you wind up with a triple.
And Leon’s indispensable in any ASU relay… (although I don’t remember if he swims the 200 free relay usually).
I don’t see a double that makes sense regardless
I would bet on Marchand going 4:03-4:04 way before I would bet on Hafnaoui beating Marchand (or going that kind of time).
Honest question – are Hafnaoui’s turns/underwaters anything remarkable? Feel like he gets a lot of hype here from his LCM accolades. 19 turns to navigate though.
Hadn’t thought of that. Considering what Kos just did in the 200 IM, I could see Bowman having Marchand swim the 500
I doubt Marchand will swim the 500 over the 2 IM. Lasco is still swimming and is still faster than Kos.
True, although Lasco was 3,5 seconds faster than Kos two days ago, but only 1 second faster now. Kos’s improvement is still really rapid, and his LCM time in the 200IM is already faster than Lasco’s.
To maximixe ASU points, I see Leon in the 200 IM and both breaststrokes, leaving the 400 IM to Kos, Schlicht, Matheson, Sarkany, and Martter.
Leon on relays: anchor the 4×200, anchor the 4×100 Free, Breast on 4×100 MR and choosing either the Breast in the 4×50 MR or a leg on the 4×50 free, depending on whether his differential over the 2nd 50 breastroker or over the 4th 50 freestyler is greater.
In a weird way, its almost more a question on if they are going into NCAAs as a step towards Leon path the a Phelpsian Olympics, in which case he ‘keeps the main things the main things’, or if they are more interested in team title AND dont think itll matter for his training / prep.
We are in a different era where it is normalized to swim fast and more meets than it was with Phelps that you effectively only saw care during Worlds and Olympics.
If I had to put money on the line, I think he sticks with HIS events and does the 2IM.
You may only remember Phelps from Worlds and Olympics, but that is just because its what you remember. While he certainly concentrated on results at those meets, he swam fast in a lot of other meets too.