2023 NC State Invite: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

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

Leon Marchand is back! After scratching his first individual event of the meet, the 500 free, with an undisclosed illness, the Frenchman who represents Arizona State swam the 400 IM in prelims.

There he matched up with his teammate and fellow world champion Hubert Kos. While neither was at their potential in the heats, it was Kos who had the better swim in 3:42.96 ahead of Marchand’s 3:43.12.

Friday’s finals will illuminate who was pushing and just how sick Marchand might be – but one thing is for sure, Arizona State is LOADED in the 400 IM. Six of the eight finalists war the gold and maroon, with the other two swimmers being from NC State.

WOMEN’S 200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:31.73, Virginia (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:36.24

Top 8:

1. NC State ‘A’ (Kennedy Noble 24.07, Abby Arens 27.01, Tyler Driscoll 23.35, Katherine Berkoff 21.08) – 1:35.51
2. Duke ‘A’ (Ali Pfaff 24.89, Kaelyn Gridley 26.72, Aleyna Ozkan 22.98, Tatum Wall 21.97) – 1:36.56
3. ASU ‘A’ (Katrina Marty 24.95, Zoe Summar 27.61, Lindsay Looney 23.99, Erin Milligan 22.08) – 1:38.63

The NC State Wolfpack have reconfigured their 200 medley relay this season to try and accommodate for the lack of a top-flight breaststroker. That resulted in a 1:35.51 on Friday night, which is about 1.2 seconds slower than they were at this meet last year.

The Wolfpack return two of the four legs from last year’s relay, though both are in different slots this year. Katherine Berkoff, one of the best collegiate backstrokers in history, is swimming the free leg – where she’s really developed over the last 18 months. That allows last year’s freestyle leg Abby Arens to shift to breaststroke, where she split an admirable 27.01 – though that’s 1.42 seconds slower than the split the now-graduated Heather MacCausland swam at NCAAs last year when she rose to the occasion in a big way.

The new faces on this relay that has been so good for the Wolfpack in recent years are Kennedy Noble, who had a breakout summer, on backstroke, and Tyler Driscoll on the fly leg. Noble gets better as the race gets longer, so while the 50 isn’t her best event, it was easily the fastest of the field (ahead of teammate Miriam Sheehan in 24.51 on the ‘B’ relay).

Splits Comparison:

On net, this is an NC State relay with four very good swimmers, but without a perfect fit to get them all in the right spots where they need to be. After USC swam 1:34.07 and Texas swam 1:34.14 earlier this week, plus Virginia returning as good as ever, this puts a three-year top two streak (which includes a 2021 title) in jeopardy.

Aubree Brouwer split 28.09 on the breaststroke leg of their “B” relay; while that is slower than any split at last year’s NCAA Championship meet, on net it could be the better option by allowing Berkoff to shift to backstroke and Arena back to free. Noble swam 1:01.77 in prelims of the 100 breast, so there could be a version of this relay that has her swim breaststroke too.

The Duke women looked good for 2nd place in 1:36.56 even without using their most recognizable swimmer, Sarah Foley. That follows a school record breaking performance the 400 medley relay on Thursday, that one was with Foley as the anchor.

Their standout split was a 22.98 on the fly leg from the relay’s only senior, Aleyna Ozkan. That’s .58 better than the 23.56 she split at NCAAs last year when this relay placed 16th for Duke. Kaelyn Gridley, a sophomore, continues to develop well for the Blue Devils as well, splitting 26.72 – also faster than she was at NCAAs.

Arizona State was 3rd in 1:38.63, continuing a season of year-on-year improvements after a restructuring of the coaching staff. That’s .06 better than they were all of last season.

MEN’S 200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:20.67, NC State (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:23.71

Top 8:

1. Arizona State ‘A’ (Jack Dolan 20.88, Leon Marchand 23.51, Ilya Kharun 19.24, Jonny Kulow 18.22) – 1:21.85
2. NC State ‘A’ (Quintin McCarty 20.94, Sam Hoover 23.64, Luke Miller 19.86, Drew Salls 18.43) – 1:22.87
3. Virginia Tech ‘A’ (Youssef Ramadan 21.17, Carles Coll Marti 23.35, Mario Molla Yanes 20.25, Tanish George Mathew 19.53) – 1:24.30
4. NC State ‘B’ – 1:26.93
5. Virginia Tech ‘B’ – 1:26.99
6. Army ‘A’ – 1:27.27
7. NC State ‘C’ – 1:28.70
8. Virginia Tech ‘C’ – 1:28.73

Arizona State freshman Ilya Kharun split 19.24 to lead the Arizona State 200 medley relay to victory in 1:21.85. That would have been the second-best split in the field at last year’s NCAA Championship meet.

The Sun Devils were 2nd at NCAAs in this relay last year (1:21.07), and the butterfly leg of Max McCusker is the only one they graduated. Besides Karun, Jonny Kulow also added a boost to Friday’s relay, anchoring in 18.22 – a quarter-second faster than at NCAAs.

In spite of those improvements, Leon Marchand‘s breaststroke split of 23.51 was the drag on the time here – but he is still working his way back from illness that kept him out of the first day of the meet. Assuming the illness is not serious, he is unlikely to be the problem in March.

NC State finished 2nd also with a huge performance from a (redshirt) freshman. Quintin McCarty split 20.94 on the backstroke leg and the Wolfpack touched in 1:22.87. They won the NCAA title in this race last year, but have had to replace the entire foursome. Still, they went a time that would have been top 12 at last year’s NCAA Championship meet.

Virginia Tech was 3rd in 1:24.30 with Youssef Ramadan swimming backstroke instead of his specialty butterfly, and doing so well in 21.17. He wasn’t on the Hokies’ NCAA 200 medley relay last year (which was DQ’ed), instead swimming the other four.

WOMEN’S 400-YARD IM – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 3:54.60, Ella Eastin (2018)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 4:03.62
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 4:11.36

Top 8:

1. Grace Sheble, Jr, NC State – 4:09.12
2. Deniz Ertan, So, Arizona State – 4:11.32
3. Yara Hierath, Sr, NC State – 4:12.17
4. Catherine Purnell, Sr, Duke – 4:13.17
5. Soni Vaishnani, Fr, Arizona State – 4:14.03
6. Audrey Portello, So, Duke – 4:14.78
7. Chase Travis, Sr, Virginia Tech – 4:15.32
8. Katherine Helms, So, NC State – 4:15.51

In her first 400 IM of the season, NC State junior Grace Sheble swam 4:09.12 to win on Friday evening. That’s about 2.4 seconds slower than she was at last year’s mid-season invite, but she has shown the ability to have big drops at season’s-end two years in a row.

Her best time in long course in this event came in 2019 at the World Junior Championships, and with big improvements in yards since then, it’s possible that we’ll see her go after a big time in long course in two weeks back in this same pool, especially with an NCAA invite likely locked up already.

Turkish sophomore Deniz Ertan from Arizona State was 4:11.32 – almost two seconds off where she was last year when she swam at Georgia Tech.

Duke’s Catherine Purnell, who was 7th at ACCs last year, placed 4th on Friday in 4:13.17.

MEN’S 400-YARD IM – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 3:28.82, Leon Marchand (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:38.90
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 3:42.99

Top 8:

1. Hubert Kos, So, Arizona State – 3:35.82
2. David Schlicht, Sr, Arizona State – 3:38.16
3. Leon Marchand, Jr, Arizona State – 3:38.61
4. Owen Lloyd, Sr, NC State – 3:42.54
5. Cale Martter, So, Arizona State – 3:43.09
6. Daniel Matheson, Jr, Arizona State – 3:43.75
7. Conall Monahan, Sr, NC State – 3:47.42
8. Jake Mason, So, Arizona State – 3:50.58

Leon Marchand may be sick, but his teammates from Arizona State had his back in the 400 IM final.

Maybe the last time for a while we’ll see Marchand finish 3rd in a 400 IM final, the race was won by Hubert Kos, a Hungarian who is the World Champion in the 200 back, in 3:35.82.

That time ties him with Josh Prenot as the #6 performer all-time in the history of the event.

Meanwhile, Owen Lloyd, who broke up the party at the top for Arizona State, swam 3:42.54 – faster than he was at NCAAs last season (25th place).

All-Time Top Performers:

1. Leon Marchand, Arizona State – 3:28.82
2. Hugo Gonzalez, Cal – 3:32.88
3. Chase Kalisz, Georgia – 3:33.42
4. Carson Foster, Texas – 3:33.79
5. Abrahm Devine, Stanford – 3:35.29
6. (TIE) Hubert Kos, Arizona State/Josh Prenot, Cal – 3:35.82
8. Tyler Clary, Michigan – 3:35.98
9. Andrew Seliskar, Cal – 3:36.18
10. Michael Phelps, NBAC – 3:36.26

Bowman is at least partially responsible now for four guys on this list – Marchand, Kalisz, Kos, and Phelps. He is also the primary coach for the two fastest in long course all-time, Marchand and Phelps.

While Kos’ swim is a long way from what Marchand posted to win NCAAs last year, this Sun Devil team is starting to look like one with the depth to win an NCAA title. Schlicht’s time also would have scored in the A-final at last year’s NCAA Championships, and even Cale Martter is inching toward that territory with a .62 second improvement on his lifetime best.

WOMEN’S 100-YARD FLY – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 48.46, Kate Douglass (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.69
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 52.20

Top 8:

1. Aleyna Ozkan, Sr, Duke – 51.82
2. Abby Arens, Sr, NC State – 52.21
3. Lindsay Looney, Sr, Arizona State – 52.64
4. Martina Peroni, So, Duke – 53.08
5. Katrina Marty, Sr, Arizona State – 53.51
6. Miriam Sheehan, Fr, NC State – 53.60
7. Tyler Driscoll, Fr, NC State – 53.70
8. Molly Donlan, Fr, Duke – 53.71

Duke senior Aleyna Ozkan followed her best-in-field split on the 200 medley relay with a win in the individual 100 fly in 51.82. That smashes her personal best of 52.68 from ACCs in the spring, leaving her still as the 4th-best swimmer in Blue Devil history.

Alyssa Marsh has the school record in 51.05.

That time should be good for Ozkan’s first individual NCAA Championship qualification after going on only relays last season. It took 51.62 to make the scoring finals at NCAAs last year.

NC State’s Abby Arens, who won the B Final at NCAAs last year, was 2nd on Friday in 52.21. She swam a 51.59 in prelims that should lock up her NCAA Championship invite.

Arizona State’s Lindsay Looney, an NCAA title contender in the 200 fly, was 3rd here in 52.64, half-a-second slower than she swam last year.

MEN’S 100-YARD FLY – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 42.80, Caeleb Dressel (2018)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.64
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 45.57

Top 8:

1. Ilya Kharun, Fr, Arizona State – 44.33
2. Jonny Kulow, So, Arizona State – 45.30
3. Noah Bowers, Sr, NC State – 46.13
4. Mario Molla Yanes, Jr, Virginia Tech – 46.24
5. Alex Colson, Sr, Arizona State – 46.30
6. Filip Senc-Samardzic, Fr, Arizona State – 46.77
7. Noah Henderson, 5th Year, NC State – 46.89
8. Arsenio Bustos, Jr, NC State – 46.99

Ilya Kharun broke the Arizona State school record for the 3rd time this season and swam the fourth-fastest 100 yard fly ever by a freshman on Friday, finishing in 44.33.

Only Youssef Ramadan (44.32), Andrei Minakov (43.71), and Josh Liendo (43.40) have been faster as freshmen. All four swimmers on that list, including Kharun, represent other countries.

Kharun previously broke the Arizona State Record with a 44.51 in prelims and a 44.88 in the team’s dual meet against Georgia.

His countrymate Jonny Kulow, who had a breakout summer to land on the US National Team, obliterated his best time with a 45.30 for 2nd place. His best time coming into the meet was 46.39.

NC State’s Noah Bowers matched his personal best time to the hundredth for 3rd in 46.13, which also means he swam faster than he was all of last season.

WOMEN’S 200-YARD FREE – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:39.10, Missy Franklin (2015)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:42.84
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:45.31

Top 8:

1. Ieva Maluka, So, Arizona State – 1:44.83
2. Sally Foley, Sr, Duke – 1:45.67
3. Annabel Crush, Jr, NC State – 1:46.43
4. Molly Batchelor, Sr, Arizona State – 1:46.73
5. Erin Milligan, Jr, Arizona State – 1:46.92
6. Elli Straume, Jr, Arizona State – 1:47.15
7. Carmen Weiler, So, Virginia Tech – 1:47.35
8. Madeleine Hebert, Fr, NC State – 1:48.73

Arizona State sophomore Ieva Maluka won her second individual event of the meet, touching in 1:44.83 in the 200 free. She was out aggressively in the first 150, and while Duke’s Sarah Foley began to reel her in over the last few yards, Maluka ultimately led the race wire-to-wire for the win.

Her best time coming into the season was 1:46.25, and she lowered that in the team’s dual meet against NC State to 1:45.31. Before this swim, her best times in the event had been mostly in dual meets.

Maluka won the 200 IM on Friday, dropping almost two seconds off her personal best from Pac-12s.

Duke’s Sarah Foley was 2nd in 1:45.67, while NC State’s Annabel Crush was 3rd in 1:46.43.

MEN’S 200-YARD FREE – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:29.15, Dean Farris (2019)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:31.74
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:32.85

Top 8:

1. Julian Hill, Sr, Arizona State – 1:32.06
2. Owen McDonald, So, Arizona State – 1:32.41
3. Patrick Sammon, Jr, Arizona State – 1:32.65
4. Tiago Behar, Jr, Arizona State – 1:33.27
5. Youssef Ramadan, Sr, Virginia Tech – 1:33.69
6. Luis Dominguez, Jr, Virginia Tech – 1:36.74
7. Jerry Fox, Fr, NC State – 1:36.83
8. Blake Johnson, Jr, Duke – 1:36.86

The Arizona State depth was on display again with a 1-2-3-4 finish in the 200 freestyle led by senior Julian Hill in 1:32.06 – just missing his previous best of 1:31.74 from NCAAs.

This gives the Sun Devils big options heading into this year’s NCAA Championship meet in the 800 free relay. They were the runners-up at last year’s meet, but with Texas graduating half their relay, Arizona State is probably the favorite this year. Last year’s relay included Sammon (who split just 1:32.78 at NCAAs), Hill, Leon Marchand, and the now-graduated Grant House (1:31.92 leadoff).

With Sammon, Jonny Kulow, McDonald (who dropped 1.4 seconds), Behar (who dropped a full second on Friday), and even Ilya Kharun (who swam 1:35.43 in a dual meet this year), they now have huge options.

Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan broke the Sun Devil streak with a 1:33.69 for 5th place. Ramadan, the defending NCAA Champion in the 100 fly, hasn’t raced any butterfly events so far this season after breaking his wrist, and that streak continued at the invite on Friday.

“Two days ago they did another X-ray and he is 80% healed, but he can’t do fly at a meet since he had a cast for training and racing until two days ago,” head coach Sergio Lopez told SwimSwam. “We did not want to risk hitting the wall funny at turns or finish.”

WOMEN’S 100-YARD BREAST – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 55.73, Lilly King (2019)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 58.02
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 59.73

Top 8:

1. Kaelyn Gridley, So, Duke – 58.74
2. Aurelie Migault, Sr, Army – 1:00.12
3. Zoe Summar, So, Arizona State – 1:00.37
4. Catherine Belyakov, Sr, Duke – 1:01.17
5. Aubree Brouwer, So, NC State – 1:01.84
6. Ginger McMahon, So, Arizona State – 1:02.16
7. Emma Gehlert, So, Arizona State – 1:02.28
8. Catriona Gilmore, So, Army – 1:03.06

The Duke women picked up their second victory of the night when sophomore Kaelyn Gridley won the 100 breaststroke in 58.74, the only swimmer in the field under 1 minute.

That shaves .02 seconds off her own school record from last season. Gridley was out much more aggressively on Friday than she was at NCAAs last year, where she swam her best time and finished 10th. She opened in 27.73, as compared to the 28.04 she opened in last year. If Gridley and the Duke coaches can repeat her progression from last season, which saw her drop more than a second from this NC State invite to NCAAs, she becomes a top-5 threat in March.

The Blue Devils opted not to use Sarah Foley, the #2 performer in school history and former record holder, in the event, as she shifts more-and-more to a freestyler/IMer.

Army’s Aurelie Migault had her team’s best finish of the meet, placing 2nd in 1:00.12. That cuts .65 seconds off the time that won her the Patriot League title last year and puts her within half-a-second of an NCAA Championship invite.

Migault also broke the school record in the 200 IM on Thursday, becoming the first Army swimmer under 2 minutes in that event.

Arizona State’s Zoe Summar was 3rd in a best time of 1:00.37, adding to the personal best of 1:00.29 she swam in prelims. Her best time coming into the season was 1:01.29, and she has been faster than that this year in four swims.

MEN’S 100-YARD BREAST – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 49.69, Ian Finnerty (2018)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 51.10
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 51.90

Top 8:

1. Andy Dobrzanski, So, Arizona State – 52.52
2. Carles Coll Marti, Sr, Virginia Tech – 52.53
3. John Heaphy, Sr, Arizona State – 52.62
4. Kohen Rankin, So, Army – 52.86
5. Ethan Maloney, So, Virginia Tech – 54.19
6. AJ Pouch, Sr, Virginia Tech – 54.21
7. Sam Hoover, Jr, NC State – 54.80
8. Alex Edwards, Jr, Army – 55.17

It’s hard to look past Leon Marchand and what he offers Arizona State on the medley relays, but the breaststroke group is a weakness of the Sun Devils, on a relative plane.

They made a little progress there with a 52.52 best time on Friday from Andy Dobrzanski. He’s another Sun Devil swimmer who has been logging lots of in-season best times this year in dual meets: that swim knocked a tenth off his mark from the USC meet two weeks ago, which in turn beat his best time of 53.29 from Pac-12s.

He came out of high school as a 54.4 breaststroker, and is really starting to show that form now midway through his second year of college swimming. Given the drop he had last year from midseason to Pac-12s, an NCAA invite is well within reach for him this year.

His senior teammate John Heaphy was 3rd in 52.62. Though that wasn’t a best time, it is faster than he swam last season by a few hundredths.

In between them was Virginia Tech’s Carles Coll-Marti in 52.52.

Army’s top male breaststroker, Kohen Rankin, was 4th in 52.86 – just missing a school record of his own. He too is the defending Patriot League Champion in that event with a collegiate-best time of 52.61 to win that title. He swam 52.36 in high school.

WOMEN’S 100-YARD BACK – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 48.26, Gretchen Walsh (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.88
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 52.36

Top 8:

1. Ali Pfaff, Fr, Duke – 52.12
2. Caroline Bentz, Sr, Virginia Tech – 52.55
3. Miriam Sheehan, Fr, NC State – 52.29
4. Meghan Donald, So, NC State – 53.31
5. Katrina Marty, Sr, Arizona State – 53.44
6. Emily Lenihan, Sr, Duke – 54.10
7. Ashley Cusano, Sr, NC State – 54.12
8. Cassie Moses, So, NC State – 54.37

While the Duke women didn’t win the 400 medley relay on Thursday, they very-nearly put together a “400 medley relay win” on Friday. Freshman Ali Pfaff grabbed the team’s third event win of the day, after the 100 breast and 100 fly, knocking half-a-second off her high school best time in the process.

She won that race in the absence of NC State’s Katharine Berkoff, who swam both relays in the session but scratched the 100 back final after a 50.03 in prelims. Her contribution to those relays helped both lock up qualifications for the NCAA Championships, the 200 medley with an “A” standard and the 800 free relay with an accompanying “B” standard.

Virginia Tech’s Caroline Bentz finished 2nd in 52.55, which was a new personal best. She was 35th in this event last year at NCAAs (in a best time of 52.71), but 14th in the 200 back, which she has yet to swim on Saturday.

NC State’s Miriam Sheehan, a 2021 Olympian for Puerto Rico, was 3rd in the 100 back in 52.29. That’s about three-tenths away from her personal best done in January in Iowa.

MEN’S 100-YARD BACK – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 43.35, Luca Urlando (2022)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.71
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 45.70

Top 8:

1. Hubert Kos, So, Arizona State – 44.37
2. Jack Dolan, Sr, Arizona State – 45.47
3. Jack Wadsworth, Jr, Arizona State – 45.90
4. Hudson Williams, Fr, NC State – 46.17
5. Youssef Ramadan, Sr, Virginia Tech – 46.27
6. JT Ewing, Fr, NC State – 46.37
7. Quintin McCarty, Fr, NC State – 46.52
8. Ryan Weaver, So, NC State – 47.08

Arizona State sophomore Hubert Kos doubled up on the day, adding a win in the 100 back to his earlier victory in the 400 IM.

That knocks 1.6 seconds off his previous personal best and moves him ahead of Olympic gold medalist Matt Grevers as the 16th-best performer in history. He is just .23 seconds behind Zach Poti’s school record from 2020.

In the process, he beat his teammate Jack Dolan, who was 7th at NCAAs last year (Kos’ time would have put him 4th). That has big medley relay implications for the Sun Devils – Dolan led off both events this week.

Arizona State bagged another 1-2-3 in this 100 back, with Jack Wadsworth swimming a best time of 45.90 for 3rd place.

WOMEN’S 800-YARD FREE RELAY – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 6:45.91, Stanford (2017)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 7:00.86

Top 8:

1. Arizona State ‘A’ (Lindsay Looney 1:44.14, Ieva Maluka 1:43.99, Erin Milligan 1:47.07, Molly Batchelor 1:45.25) – 7:00.45
2. NC State ‘A’ (Katharine Berkoff 1:44.25, Kennedy Noble 1:45.96, Keelan Cotter 1:46.65, Anabel Crush 1:46.58) – 7:03.44
3. Duke ‘A’ (Sarah Foley 1:48.26, Catherine Purnell 1:47.69, Yi Xuan Chang 1:47.97, Tatum Wall 1:51.38) – 7:15.30
4. Arizona State ‘B’ – 7:15.61
5. NC State ‘B’ – 7:16.97
6. Army ‘B’ – 7:32.31

The Arizona State women, including a big front-half of 1:44.14 from National Teamer Lindsay Looney and 1:43.99 from 200 free winner Ieva Maluka, roared to a win in the 800 free relay in 7:00.45. That gives them an NCAA ‘A” standard for the relay, and after not qualifying any relays for nationals last year, now assures them of at least two (the 400 medley relay had a “B” cut) this season.

NC State, meanwhile, used Katharine Berkoff on this relay, their weakest most seasons, to hit a “B” cut and ensure a return to the NCAA Championships.

MEN’S 800-YARD FREE RELAY – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 6:03.42, Texas (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 6:16.02

Top 8:

1. Arizona State ‘A’ (Julian Hill 1:34.16, Owen McDonald 1:33.21, Patrick Sammon 1:32.70, Jonny Kulow 1:33.59) – 6:13.66
2. Arizona State ‘B’ (Hubert Kos 1:34.31, Ilya Kharun 1:33.34, Tiago Behar 1:33.21, David Schlicht 1:36.42) – 6:17.28
3. NC State ‘A’ (Noah Bowers 1:35.17, Luke Miller 1:34.23, JT Ewing 1:34.58, Hunter Tapp 1:34.00) – 6:18.98
4. NC State ‘B’ – 6:28.33
5. Arizona State ‘C’ – 6:30.42
6. Army ‘B’ – 6:37.11
7. Duke ‘A’ – 6:38.06
8. Duke ‘B’ – 6:48.20

The Arizona State men flexed that aforementioned depth by going 1-2 in the 800 free ahead of an NC State program that placed 6th at NCAAs last year (with three of the same four swimmers).

The ‘A’ relay hit an ‘A’ standard and the ‘B’ relay hit a ‘B’ standard, and both relays could have been even better with different lineup choices – for example, they had a pair of 1:35s on the ‘C’ relay that would have been faster than David Schlicht’s ‘B’ relay anchor.

The fastest split of the field was Patrick Sammon in 1:32.70 on a rolling start, followed by Owen McDonald (on the A) and Tiago Behar (on the B) with matching 1:33.21s.

Team Scores After Day 2

Women:

1. NC State – 1,311
2. Arizona State – 1,245
3. Duke – 981
4. Virginia Tech – 636
5. Army – 439

Men:

1. Arizona State – 1,424.5
2. NC State – 1,205
3. Virginia Tech – 856.5
4. Army – 646
5. Duke – 539