NC State Men Rip 1:22.73 Medley Relay, But Texas Men Win By Ten On Day One

TEXAS VS. NC STATE

• January 27, 2023
• Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, Austin, Texas
• SCY (25 yards)
• Live Results
• Scores (Day 1)
  • Men: Texas 98, NC State 88
  • Women: Texas 124, NC State 62

Just when you thought it was safe to get back into the water…or at least expect “normal” dual meet times, Texas and NC State decided to suit up for the first day of what their media indicates will be two separate meets on back-to-back days in Austin. The results?

Swimmers went brrrrrt.

Men’s Recap

The carnage started in the very first event, the 200 medley relay. The live results show that Aiden Hayes, more known for his butterfly exploits, got the nod to lead off NC State’s ‘A’ team over stalwart Kacper Stokowski. (However, a commenter says that Stokowski was, in fact on the A relay, which makes sense). The Wolfpack got a 20.79 leadoff on the ‘A’ relay, Carson Foster led off in 21.23 for Texas, and NC State also got a 20.91 on the ‘B’ relay.

NC State’s breaststroke situation is better than it used to be, but Texas still had the best two splits on that leg, getting a 23.31 from William Chan on the ‘A’ relay and a 23.45 from Jake Foster on the ‘B’. The Wolfpack’s Mason Hunter nearly kept pace with a 23.51.

Nyls Korstanje really broke open the race, though, with a scorching 19.61 fly split. That looks to be the fastest split ever in a dual meet. Korstnaje already already has the 7th-fastest split ever with a 19.55 from last year’s NCAAs.

David Curtiss anchored in 18.82, stopping the clock in 1:22.73. That looks like it would’ve been the fastest dual meet time ever…except ASU rocked a 1:22.60 last weekend. NC State took 3rd at NCAAs last year with a 1:21.69, and with their breast, fly, and free splits tonight all pretty close to last year’s NCAA marks, this should be a team that’s in contention for the title two months from now.

Texas has been experimenting with Caspar Corbeau, normally a breaststroker, on fly this year, and tonight he split a 20.36. Daniel Krueger anchored in 18.76 for a total time of 1:23.77, their best time of the year by 0.06s.

The Longhorns quickly regained some momentum with a 1-2 finish in the 3m diving event. Freshman Nick Harris won in 424.43 and Noah Duperre took with with a 392.48. If Texas is going to make a push to regain the NCAA title this year, they’ll probably need a bounce back year from the diving crew, who didn’t contribute as much to Texas’ point total last year as they normally do.

Texas is also a historic powerhouse in the 200 free, which was the next event of the session. But NC State’s Luke Miller ran down both Luke Hobson and Carson Foster on the final 50 to touch in 1:31.87. That’ the 2nd-fastest time in the NCAA this season, behind only Grant House’s 1:31.51 from last weekend. While the USA Swimming database has been a bit sketchy lately, it appears that House and Miller may be the only two men to have ever gone under 1:32 at a dual meet. Miller owns a lifetime best of 1:31.16 from last year’s NCAAs.

Hobson, who broke out last year with a NAG in the 500 free and carried the momentum into the summer, touched 2nd tonight in 1:31.89, setting a new personal best. His previous best was a 1:32.31 from NCAAs.

Foster, who’s had some great splits and has become a key part of the USA’s 4×200 relay on the international scene, took 3rd in 1:32.29. Since the 400 IM conflicts with the 200 free at college championship-style meets, he hasn’t swum the individual 200 free much, and tonight’s swim also a new PR, eclipsing his previous best of 1:32.99, which he swam to a national high school record nearly four years ago.

NC State kept rolling with a 1-3 sweep in the 100 fly. Korstanje led the way with a 45.83, with Hayes just behind at 45.89. Watch for those two in the A-final of this event at NCAAs; last year Korstanje finished 4th there in 44.17, and Hayes placed 7th in 44.75. Stokowski rounded out the Wolfpack sweep tonight with a 46.20.

Carson’s brother Jake Foster has been making the most of his senior year with some great swims, and tonight he set a personal best in the 100 breast to win with a time of 51.85. That puts him at #10 in the nation this season, and was his first time under 52. Teammate Corbeau, the 2022 NCAA runner-up, took 2nd with a 52.26, while Hunter finished 3rd with a 52.41.

NC State held a one-point lead after the 100 fly, but the Longhorns got a 1-3 sweep of their own in the 200 IM to regain the lead. Carson Foster hit the halfway point nearly two seconds faster than anyone else and held on to win in 1:43.14. Teammate Braden Vines took 2nd in 1:44.97, while Jake Foster, only a few minute removed from the 100 breast, touched 3rd in 1:45.03.

The Wolfpack punched right back, though, regaining the team lead with a 1-4 sweep in the 50 free in a great race. David Curtiss got his hand on the wall just ahead of teammate Noah Henderson, 19.06 to 19.09. There was a half second gap between Henderson and the next four swimmers, all of whom touched within 0.05s of each other. Korstanje and Miller tied with times of 19.59, then Krueger touched in 19.63, followed by his teammate Peter Larson at 19.64.

Texas pulled back ahead, though, after Hobson (4:13.82) and David Johnston (4:14.41) went 1-2 in the 500 free. NC State’s James Plage took 3rd in 4:15.44.

Kacper Stokowski won the 200 back in 1:41.39, touching ahead of Carson Foster (1:42.05) and Chris O’Connor (1:42.48).

While Texas is a bit thin in pure sprinters this year, they’ve definitely got some guys who can crank out a fast 100 free when needed, and that was on display tonight in the 400 free relay.

David Curtiss got NC State the lead with a 42.50 leadoff. That’s a lifetime best and a promising sign for the sophomore, who hitherto been known of more a 50 free specialist. Noah Henderson extended the Wolfpack’s lead with a 42.32 split after Texas got a 42.74 leadoff from Peter Larson and a 42.51 from Corbeau.

Texas closed the gap on the third leg, where Luke Hobson, who seems to be trying to do his best Townley “I’m a sprinter, not a miler, Eddie” Haas impression split 42.08 on the 3rd leg. His official flat start best is a 43.34. Bartosz Piszczorowicz split 42.42 on the 3rd leg, meaning that NC State’s lead was down to just 0.06s heading into the anchor leg.

Daniel Krueger and Luke Miller each swam the first 50 in exactly 19.90, but Krueger had just a little more speed in him for the second 50, as he got just pass Miller and hit the wall in 2:49.15 to NC State’s 2:49.20.

With that win, Texas leads 98-88 heading into tomorrow.

Women’s Recap

We’ll keep the women’s recap short since we already cranked out a few different articles about some of the crazy fast times Austin saw tonight.

Here’s a quick summary of the headlines this meet generated on the women’s side:

• NC State swam a nation-leading 1:33 in the 200 medley relay, while Texas broke their own school record.
• Longhorn Lydia Jacoby set a new 17-18 NAG with a 57.45 in the 100 breast.
• Kelly Pash went 1:42.7 in the 200 free, the fastest in the NCAA this season.
• Erica Sullivan swam a nation-leading 4:35 in the 500 free.
• Emma Sticklen set a Texas school record and became just the sixth woman to go under 50 in the 100 fly.

Of course, those weren’t the only big swims of the night. Olivia Bray won the 200 back in a 1:50.46. That time still keeps her at #4 in the nation this season, but improves on the 1:50.71 she swam at the Minnesota Invite.

Pash also won the 200 IM in 1:53.81, a time which moves her into sole position of the #3 time in the nation. She’d previously been tied with UGA’s Zoie Hartman at 1:54.26. Emma Sticklen took 2nd in 1:54.70, which moves her ahead of Duke’s Sally Foley to #5 in the nation this season.

NC State also got a 21.90 win from Katharine Berkoff, who finished 7th at NCAAs last year in this event with a 21.55. Texas got a 1-4 sweep in the 1m diving event, with Hailey Hernandez winning with a score of 337.13.

In the final event of the night, the 400 free relay, NC State jumped out to quick lead when Berkoff led off in 47.56. Kylee Alons followed with a 47.74 second leg, then Abbey Webb split 48.13 on the third leg.

Texas got a 48.77 leadoff from Bridget Semenuk, then a 47.73 from Kyla Leibel and a 48.46 from Ava Longi. That put Texas in a 1.5s deficit heading into the anchor leg.

Katherine Helms split 48.35 for NC State, but Pash had one more impressive show for the night. She capped off her session with a 46.57 anchor leg, pulling past Helms and getting the Longhorns the win, 3:11.53 to 3:11.78.

At the end of all that smoking fast swimming, the Longhorn women had exactly double the number of points that the Wolfpack did, 124-62.