2023 NC State Invite: Day 3 Prelims 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 9:30AM 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

We’ve come to the last day of competition at the 2023 NC State Fall Invitation at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. We’ll have heats of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, and 200 fly, followed by the slower heats of the mile.

NC State’s Katharine Berkoff is top seed in both the 200 back and 100 free. She’s leaned into her freestyle throughout this meet, swimming the anchor leg on NC State’s medley relays, and might forego the backstroke. Her teammate Abby Arens heads the field of entrants in the 200 breast, while Arizona State’s Lindsay Looney is top seed in the 200 fly.

In the men’s meet, Hunter Tapp of NC State comes in with the fastest seed time in the 200 back, but just behind him is ASU’s Hubert Kos, who is having himself a heck of a meet, throwing down PBs all over the place. NC State’s Luke Miller and ASU’s Jack Dolan are the lone sub-42s in the field of 100 freestylers. ASU’s Léon Marchand is top seed in the 200 fly and 3rd see in the 200 breast; he has been sick this weekend and is likely to choose just one of those events. His teammate Ilya Kharun is seeded 2nd in the fly, while NC State’s Arsenio Bustos and ASU’s David Schlicht are the two fastest entrants in the breast with 1:52-mids.

Women’s 200-Yard Backstroke – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:47.24 – Beata Nelson, Wisconsin (2019)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:50.50
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:53.34

Top 8:

1. Caroline Bentz (VT), 1:53.52
2. Ali Pfaff (DUKE), 1:54.65
3. Molly Donlan (DUKE), 1:54.85
4. Charli Brown (ASU), 1:55.34
5. Layne Peterson (AWP), 1:56.13
6. Carmen Weiler Sastre (VT), 1:56.66
7. Meghan Donald (NCS), 1:57.98
8. Katey Lewicki (NCS), 1:58.10

Virginia Tech’s Caroline Bentz took 3.2 seconds off her seed time and came within 8-tenths of her lifetime best (a 1:52.76 from 2023 NCAAs, where she placed 14th) with a prelims swim of 1:53.52 to lead the morning qualifiers.

Duke’s Ali Pfaff (1:54.65) and Molly Donlan (1:54.85) both notched lifetime-best times to qualify 2nd and 3rd. Pfaff dropped 1.2 seconds from her previous best, while Donlan improved by 2.1 seconds.

ASU’s Charli Brown and Army West Point’s Layne Peterson also beat their personal best times, qualifying 4th and 5th with 1:55.34 and 1:56.13, respectively. Brown swam this event at NCAAs last year.

Carmel Weiler Sastre from Virginia Tech qualified 6th with a season-best time of 1:56.66. She went a PB of 1:52.9 last year at the Ohio State Fall Invite and swam at NCAAs.

NC State’s Meghan Donald, Katey Lewicki, and Ashley Cusano, who were seeded 4th, 2nd, and 3rd behind teammate Katharine Berkoff, who scratched the event, added between 1.8 and 4.4 seconds in their morning swims.

Men’s 200-Yard Backstroke – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:39.13
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:40.62

Top 8:

1. Owen McDonald (ASU), 1:40.39
2. Hubert Kos (ASU), 1:40.99
3. Jack Wadsworth (ASU), 1:42.09
4. Nico Garcia (VT), 1:42.36
5. JT Ewing (NCS), 1:42.76
6. Hunter Tapp (NCS), 1:42.78
7. Quinlan Gould (ASU), 1:43.92
8. Chase Mueller (NCS), 1:43.93

Owen McDonald of Arizona State led the morning qualifiers with 1:40.39, only 1 second off his 5th-place time in the A final at NCAAs last year. Teammate Hubert Kos, who placed 3rd in that same final, qualified 2nd with 1:40.99. Teammate Jack Wadsworth was 3rd to the wall with 1:42.09.

Virginia Tech’s Nico Garcia went his best time of the season, but was about 3 seconds off his lifetime best from 2023 ACCs, to qualify 4th for the final ahead of NC State’s JT Ewing and Hunter Tapp, who both stopped the clock with 1:42.7s.

ASU’s Quinlan Gould, whose best time out of high school was a 1:48.0, was entered with a seed time of 1:46.2 and swam 1:43.92 to make the top-8.

NC State’s Chase Mueller, also a first-year, edged out teammate Ryan Weaver to qualify for the A final.

Women’s 100-Yard Freestyle – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 45.56 – Simone Manuel, Stanford (2017)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 47.18
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 48.37

Top 8:

1. Katharine Berkoff (NCS), 47.82
2. Erin Milligan (ASU), 49.25
3. Annabel Crush (NCS), 49.31
4. Tyler Driscoll (NCS), 49.34
5. Katherine Helms (NCS), 49.43
6. Miriam Sheehan (NCS), 49.44
7. Tatum Wall (DUKE), 49.47
8. Ieva Maluka (ASU), 49.59

NC State’s Katharine Berkoff was about 9-tenths off her best time but still more than a body length ahead of the rest of the field with a 47.82 morning swim. Berkoff swam this event at NCAAs last year, finishing 5th with a PB of 46.87.

Arizona State’s Erin Milligan led the next wave of finishers, in which 2nd place and 11th place were only separated by 7-tenths. Milligan went 49.25, half a second off her season best.

Annabel Crush led a NC State sweep of 3rd-through-6th with 49.31. It’s the fastest she has been since 2022 ACCs by 7-tenths.

Teammate Tyler Driscoll took half a second off her lifetime best to qualify 4th with 49.34.

Katherine Helms edged Wolfpack teammate Miriam Sheehan by .01 for 5th place.

Duke’s Tatum Wall (49.47) and ASU’s Ieva Maluka (49.59) took the last 2 spots in the A final. Wall beat her previous PB by .04.

Men’s 100-Yard Freestyle – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 41.50
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 42.32

Top 8:

1. Jack Dolan (ASU), 41.57
2. Jonny Kulow (ASU), 41.73
3. Patrick Sammon (ASU) 42.54
4. (TIE) Youssef Ramadan (VT) / Luke Miller (NCS), 42.69
5. –
6. Quintin McCarty (NCS), 42.77
7. Tiago Behar (ASU), 42.90
8. Drew Salls (NCS), 43.10

Jack Dolan cracked a lifetime best, taking nearly 3-tenths off his previous best swum at Pac-12s last season, to lead the qualifiers in the men’s 100 free with 41.57. Teammate Jonny Kulow also clipped his own PB (by .03) to post the second-fastest time of the morning, 41.63. Kulow and Dolan both made the B final in this event at 2023 NCAA.

Patrick Sammon made it a Sun Devil sweep of the middle lanes for tonight’s final with a 42.54 in heats.

Youssef Ramadan of Virginia Tech and NC State’s Luke Miller both clocked in at 42.69 to tie for 4th.

NC State first-year Quintin McCarty took 3-tenths off his season-best, and notched his second-fastest time ever, with a 42.77 to qualify 6th.

ASU’s Tiago Behar took 7-tenths off his seed time and broke 43 seconds for the first time in his career. He was 7th with 42.90.

NC State’s Drew Salls rounded out the A final with 43.10.

Women’s 200-Yard Breaststroke – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 2:01.29 – Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 2:05.73
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 2:09.68

Top 8:

1. Kaelyn Gridley (DUKE), 2:08.63
2. Abby Arens (NCS), 2:09.52
3. Zoe Summar (ASU), 2:09.69
4. Aurelie Migault (AWP), 2:11.62
5. Salley Foley (DUKE) 2:11.99
6. Emma Gehlert (ASU), 2:12.71
7. Catherine Belyakov (DUKE), 2:12.87
8. Grace Sheble (NCS), 2:14.27

Duke’s Kaelyn Gridley, who placed 6th in this event at NCAAs last year, posted a season-best time of 2:08.63 to lead the morning qualifiers.

NC State’s Abby Arens qualified 2nd in 2:09.52, just ahead of ASU’s Zoe Summar (2:09.69). Summar crushed her previous PB, taking 1.9 seconds off her brand-new best time of 2:11.77 from October. Before the start of the season, her best time was 2:12.14 from Pac-12s last year.

Army West Point’s Aurelie Migault was about half a second off her PB from last season’s Army-Navy dual meet; she qualified 4th with 2:11.62, her fastest time of this season by 3.2 seconds.

Sally Foley of Duke, who won the B final at NCAAs by .01 last year (2:06.58), qualified 5th for tonight’s A final in 2:11.99.

Emma Gehlert of ASU was only about a half-second away from her PB with 2:12.71; she will be in lane 2 tonight.

Duke’s Catherine Belyakov (2:12.87) and NC State’s Grace Sheble (2:14.27) grabbed the last two lanes for the A final.

Men’s 200-Yard Breaststroke – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:46.91 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:51.09
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:52.94

Top 8:

1. David Schlicht (ASU), 1:52.94
2. Andy Dobrzanski (ASU), 1:55.45
3. Cale Martter (ASU), 1:55.70
4. Carles Coll Marti (VT), 1:55.74
5. AJ Pouch (VT), 1:56.39
6. Kohen Rankin (AWP), 1:57.18
7. John Heaphy (ASU), 1:57.60
8. Joseph Hong (VT), 1:58.15

Arizona State’s David Schlicht, only about 1.1 seconds off his best time from his 11th-place finish at last year’s NCAAs, led the morning qualifiers by 2.5 seconds with 1:52.94.

His teammates, sophomores Andy Dobrzanski (1:55.45) and Cale Martter (1:55.70), qualified 2nd and 3rd. Both were off their PBs from last year’s Pac-12 Championships, but Martter was only off by a couple of tenths.

Virginia Tech’s Carles Coll Marti (1:55.74) and AJ Pouch (1:56.39) posted season-best times to qualify 4th and 5th. Coll Marti finished 7th (1:51.20) in this event at 2023 NCAAs; Pouch was 19th in prelims (1:52.70).

Army West Point’s Kohen Rankin was just off his lifetime best (1:56.35), but 8-tenths faster than his best college time, set at last year’s Army-Navy dual meet.

ASU’s John Heaphy (1:57.60) and Virginia Tech’s Joseph Hong (1:58.15) took the last 2 spots in tonight’s A final. It was Heaphy’s fastest time since 2022 Pac 12s, where he notched his lifetime best.

NC State’s Arsenio Bustos, who was seeded 1st with 1:52.34, added 11.5 seconds to finish 19th; ASU’s Leon Marchard scratched the event.

Women’s 200-Yard Butterfly – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:49.51 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:52.86
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:55.92

Top 8:

1. Lindsay Looney (ASU), 1:54.86
2. Martina Peroni (DUKE), 1:55.76
3. Kennedy Noble (NCS), 1:56.50
4. Catherine Purnell (DUKE), 1:58.49
5. Jade Foelske (ASU), 1:58.68
6. Keelan Cotter (NCS), 1:58.77
7. Caroline Sheble (NCS), 1:58.83
8. Katrina Marty (ASU), 1:59.63

Top-seeded Lindsay Looney cleared the field by 9-tenths, qualifying first for tonight’s final with 1:54.86. Looney came in 4th (1:52.25) in this event at last year’s NCAA Championships.

Martina Peroni of Duke went a season-best time of 1:55.76 to qualify 2nd. She swam at NCAAs last year and came in 36th.

Kennedy Noble of NC State, who in fact swam the 200 back at NCAAs last year and placed 5th (1:50.58), improved her seed time by 3.1 seconds and clocked her second-best time ever, qualifying 3rd with 1:56.50.

Duke’s Catherine Purnell (1:58.49), ASU’s Jade Foelske (1:58.68), and NC State’s Keelan Cotter (1:58.77) and Caroline Sheble (1:58.83) made the A final, along with Arizona State’s Katrina Marty (1:59.63).

Men’s 200-Yard Butterfly – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:37.35 – Jack Conger, Texas (2017)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:40.16
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:42.57

Top 8:

1. Ilya Kharun (ASU), 1:40.84
2. Noah Bowers (NCS), 1:42.20
3. Alexander Colson (ASU), 1:45.78
4. Mikey Moore (NCS), 1:46.16
5. Carl Bloebaum (VT), 1:46.97
6. Mitchell Ledford (NCS), 1:48.31
7. Nathan Jao (AWP) 1:48.99
8. Alex Neff (VT), 1:49.04

ASU’s Leon Marchand scratched again, but teammate Ilya Kharun filled in for the top seed with a 1:40.84 in heats to top the morning’s leaderboard. Kharun was entered with 1:40.07, his two-week-old PB from the ASU-USC dual meet.

NC State’s Noah Bowers, who placed 6th at NCAAs last year (1:40.85), qualified for 2nd with 1:42.20, 3.5 seconds ahead of the next wave of finishers.

ASU’s Alexander Colson (1:45.78), NC State’s Mikey Moore (1:46.16) and Mitchel Ledford (1:48.31), Virginia Tech’s Carl Bloebaum (1:46.97) and Alex Neff (1:49.04), and Army West Point’s Nathan Jao (1:48.99) also made tonight’s A final.

Women’s 1650-Yard Freestyle – Slower Heats

• NCAA Record: 15:03.31 – Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 15:52.41
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 16:13.73

Current Top 8:

1. Emily Gjertsen (DUKE), 16:40.91
2. Yi Xuan Chang (DUKE), 16:47.85
3. Maddy Grafmiller (VT), 16:49.45
4. Kate Anderson (VT), 16:49.64
5. Sydney Starnes (VT), 16:50.46
6. Delaney Bookstein (VT), 16:57.28
7. Camille Weiss (VT), 17:01.25
8. Ella Passe (DUKE), 17:11.33

Duke’s Emily Gjertsen (16:40.91) swam her fastest mile of the year, going nearly 10 seconds faster than she’d been at ACCs. Her best time dates from 2019, when she went 16:33 at Winter Mets. Teammate Yi Xuan Chang (16:47.85) was about 20 seconds off her best time from ACCs last season.

Maddy Grafmiller led a Virginia Tech sweep of the next 5 spot with 16:49.45. She was less than 2 seconds off her personal-best time and 9 seconds faster than she was at 2023 ACCs.

Men’s 1650-Yard Freestyle – Slower Heats

• NCAA Record: 14:12.08 – Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 14:37.31
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 14:53.84

Current Top 8: