After a successful campaign yesterday resulting in numerous career bests, the tally grows even higher on day two at the 2016 Carolina College Invite. The battle continued tonight with North Carolina and NC State competing for top finishes and registering NCAA ‘B’ cuts, but the Wolfpack walked away with five event wins compared to the Tar Heels’ four. Addtionally, NC State picked up a brand new school record in the process.
Alexia Zevnik dropped in during prelims for the women’s quickest 400 IM of the day at 4:15.66, but Kendall Surhoff of UNC took advantage of Zevnik’s absence and slid into first with 4:16.39. Freshman Wolfpack swimmer Anna Jans sliced a whopping eight seconds off her prelims time to turn in a 4:20.56 for second place. Luke Lechner swept the 400 IM’s for the hosts with a ‘B’ standard of 3:52.46 after the top qualifier, Michael Miller (3:52.59), pulled out of the final.
No big changes in position for the women’s 100 fly as Natalie Labonge led the field with a new NC State record of 52.47 with teammate Mariah Hamil (54.59) and Duke’s Linsay Cooper (55.20) close behind. In the men’s race, Jon Burkett from the Wolfpack made a huge jump from 7th to capture the final in 46.63 over Virginia Tech’s Cole McGarry (48.60) and UNC’s Chris Caveness (48.73). Kenny Ng (49.10) also made a leap considering scratches to finish fourth in the A final.
With no one touching in under the 1:50 barrier in the 200 free prelims, Tar Heel freshman Zhada Fields cracked the mark by three seconds for a landslide win at 1:46.92. Meanwhile Blue Devil Lindsay Schlichte (1:50.65) peeled nearly a second off her seed to leap from a 6th to 2nd finish over UNC’s Kate Boyer (1:51.54). The men’s 200 free was a race hard fought. Duke’s Alex Pena split the only sub-25 on the last 50, clutching his win from Scott Johnson’s 1:38.86 to his 1:38.82. James Casey fell to 4th from 2nd seed after Johnson’s Wolfpack teammate John Poff (1:39.06) edged him by .36 for 3rd.
Rachel Canty of North Carolina took full control of the women’s 100 breast with her swim of 1:00.93 while Geoffrey Carter’s career best of 54.55 was the first of three Wolfpack swimmers into the wall for a 1-2-3 finish. While off her prelims mark of 54.37, Caroline Estep snagged NC State another event in 54.84 while William & Mary swimmers Megan Schilken (56.50) and Kitty Arenz (56.80) paced the highest placing swims for their school in this race. Jon Burkett (47.48) and Parker Campbell (49.20) wrapped up the last individual race on the men’s side with their 1-2 finish.
The final day of the 2016 Carolina College Invitational opens tomorrow morning at 10 a.m./finals at 5 p.m. with the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, and 200 fly.