Coleman Stewart Struggled Mentally With the 200 Backstroke For 3 Years (Video)

2020 ACC MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, February 26th to Saturday, February 29th Prelims 10:00 am | Finals 6:00 pm (1650 prelims Saturday at 4:00 pm)
• Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: North Carolina State University (NC State) (29x, 5th-straight) (results)
• Streaming: ACC Network
  • Day 2 Finals
  • Day 3 Finals
  • Day 4 Finals
• Championship Central: Here
• Detailed Timeline: Here
• Psych Sheets: Here
• Live Results

NC State senior Coleman Stewart swam a 1:37.71 in the finals of the 200 backstroke Saturday at the 2020 ACC Championships. Stewart’s performance rings in at 1.1 seconds faster than his previous lifetime best of 1:38.81 from the 2019 NCAA Championships, where he placed 4th, and is also eight-tenths of a second faster than the previous ACC Record Conference Record, formerly held by NC State alumnus Hennesey Stuart, who at the 2016 NCAA Championships put up a 1:38.56 to place 3rd.

Stewart is now the 8th-fastest all-time in the 200 yard backstroke. He is also one of only three men to have ever broken the 44-second barrier in the 100 yard backstroke, and among the top-8 performers all-time in the 100 yard butterfly.

Read more about Stewart’s 200 backstroke here.

Reported by Robert Gibbs.

200 BACK – FINALS

• ACC record: 1:38.56 – Hennesey Stuart (NC State), 2016
• ACC meet record: 1:39.05 – Grigory Tarasevich (Louisville), 2017
• 2019 champion: Coleman Stewart (NC State), 1:39.10

1. Coleman Stewart (NC State) – 1:37.71
2. Mitchell Whyte (Louisville) – 1:39.46
3. Samuel Tornqvist (Virginia Tech) – 1:40.10

NC State senior Coleman Stewart went out in style, taking down the ACC meet and conference records in the last individual ACC swim of his career. Stewart knocked nearly a second off of the overall conference record, a 1:38.56 held by NC State alum Hennesey Stuart. That’s the third-straight conference title in this event for Stewart, who has swept the backstrokes here over the last three years. Stewart’s time ranks his #3 in the nation this season.

Louisville’s Mitchell Whyte took 2nd to pair with his 2nd place finish in the 100 back. His time of 1:39.46 moves him to #4 in the nation this season. Whyte also took 2nd last season.

Virginia Tech’s Samuel Tornqvist took 3rd in 1:40.10, a new personal best by roughly half a second. Last year he was 5th with a 1:41.39. UVA’s Justin Grender (1:41.05) and Virginia Tech’s Lane Stone (1:41.88) took 4th and 5th. Notre Dame’s Jack Montesi (1:42.05) and UNC’s Christopher Thames (1:42.26) were also under 1:43. NC State freshman Ross Dant took 8th in 1:48.61, roughly ten minutes after taking 3rd in the 1650.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1. NC State – 1250
2. Virginia – 1089
3. Louisville – 1066.5
4. Virginia Tech – 898
5. Florida State – 812.5
6. Notre Dame – 803.5
7. North Carolina – 630.5
8. Pitt – 520
9. Georgia Tech – 506
10. Duke – 421
11. Miami – 197
12. Boston College – 134

Reported by Braden Keith.

ALL-TIME TOP 10 PERFORMERS, MEN’S 200 YARD BACKSTROKE:

1. 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal, 2016 NCAA Championships
2. 1:36.42 – John Shebat, Texas, 2019 NCAA Championships
3. 1:36.45 – Austin Katz, Texas, 2019 NCAA Championships
4. 1:36.81 – Ryan Lochte, Gator Swim Club – 2007 Winter Nationals
5. 1:37.20 – Shaine Casas, Texas A&M – 2020 SEC Championships
6. 1:37.58 – Tyler Clary, Michigan – 2009 NCAA Championships
7. 1:37.71 – Coleman Stewart, NC State – 2020 ACC Championships
8. 1:37.80 – Patrick Mulcare, USC – 2017 NCAA Championships
9. 1:37.87 – Arkady Vyatchanin, Russia – 2013 Winter Nationals
10. 1:38.21 – Eugene Godsoe, Stanford post-grad – 2012 OK Elite Meet