2019 NC State/GAC Invite
- Thursday, November 21 – Saturday, November 23, 2019
- Greensboro Aquatic Center – Greensboro, NC
- Prelims 9:30 AM / Finals 5:30 PM (U.S. Eastern Time)
- Short course yards (SCY) format
- Live results
Wisconsin’s Beata Nelson put up a nation-leading 1:53.85 in prelims of the 200 IM, one of many nationally-ranked swims from this morning’s Wolfpack Invite.
Nelson was a three-event winner at last year’s NCAA Championships and was named Swimmer of the Meet. She’s in line for a huge weekend if this morning is any indication. Nelson hit that 1:53.85 in prelims, qualifying first by almost three seconds. She’s right in the mix with what she went at mid-season last year (1:53.0 at the Texas Invite) before going 1:50.79 to win the NCAA title.
Nelson jumps to #1 in the national rankings, supplanting a 1:55.15 from Virginia freshman Kate Douglass. Douglass is swimming her own meet this weekend and went 1:54.30 this morning in Tennessee, so the two might be swimming off for the NCAA lead across state lines tonight.
Both 50 freestyles yielded times that would have scored at NCAAs last year. Duke senior Alyssa Marsh qualified first for the women, going 21.90. Prior to this week, only one woman had broken 22 this season, though at least three more, Marsh included, have done it this week.
That 50 free will have lots of national significance tonight. Auburn NCAA scorers Claire Fisch (22.05) and Julie Meynen (22.08) are also into the final, along with NCAA returning All-American Ky-Lee Perry, who was 22.12 in her first race this season after sitting out the fall dual meets for the Wolfpack.
In the men’s race, NC State sophomore Nyls Korstanje kept up a fast fall with a 19.13 to qualify first by more than half a second. Korstanje had some big long course swims in this same Greensboro pool two weeks ago, competing at the Pro Swim Series event. He should move to #1 in the nation with that 19.13 (pending, of course, the results of other invites this weekend), and is only a tenth off his lifetime-best of 19.03 from last year’s NCAA meet.
Other event leaders on day 1:
- NC State freshman Ross Dant had a nice swim in the 500 free, going 4:17.67. That’s a new career-best for the rookie distance man, though it’s still a bit off the 4:16.0 it took for an NCAA invite last year. Still, if Dant can hit personal bests in his 200 free (1:37.6) and mile (14:46.2) later this meet, he’s going to be in line for a monster rookie year of NCAA and ACC scoring.
- Teammate Kate Moore leads the women’s 500 free in 4:41.36. That would check in at #4 in the nation this year prior to this week’s set of invites, though it will move back some as more invite results continue to pour in.
- Wisconsin freshman Wes Jekel qualified first in the 200 IM. The homegrown, Madison, Wisconsin product was 1:46.80 in the IM out of high school and went 1:47.29 this morning. He should have a great shot at a best time tonight, set up to race NC State rookie Noah Bowers (1:47.84 this morning; lifetime-best 1:45.5) in the final tonight.