Two-time Big 12 silver medalist Miranda Heckman made her Wolfpack debut in a dual meet against Texas on Friday, the team she had transferred out of in the fall of 2021. This meet was her first time swimming in yards since March 2021.
Heckman, who is primarily a freestyler, swam the 100 and 200 freestyle at the meet. In addition, she also was the opening leg of the NC State “C” relay in the 400 freestyle relay.
In the 100 free, she swam a time of 52.00 to place 8th out of 8 swimmers. She also swam a 52.23 to lead off the 400 free relay with teammates Lindsey Immel, Megan Pulley, and Grace Sheble that ended up in 5th place (3:25.95) out of 6 relay teams. These times are relatively pedestrian for Heckman even in a dual meet, considering that she has not gone slower than 52 seconds in a 100 free since high school. Her personal best time of 49.19 was set at the 2021 Big 12 Championships.
Heckman finished 7th out of 8 swimmers in the 200 free, going a time of 1:51.51. Once again, this time is the slowest she has been in the event since high school. Her personal best in this event is a 1:45.72, set at the 2019 Minnesota Invitational.
Her performance may indicate that she is still adjusting to the NC State training environment. If she gets back to her best times, she could be able to score points for NC State in the 100/200 at ACCs and NCAAs, as her personal bests would place her 7th and 4th respectively at the 2021 ACC Championships. Her 200 personal best would also have finished 8th at NCAAs. In addition, she has a personal best of 4:41.53 in the 500 freestyle that would have been 4th at ACCs and 12th and NCAAs last year, although she set that time back in 2017.
Heckman, a junior, was ranked #17 in SwimSwam’s top recruits for 2019. She swam her first two seasons at Texas, and finished as the runner-up in the 100 and 200 freestyle at the 2021 Big 12 Championships. In August 2021, she told SwimSwam that she would be transferring out of Texas.
Her last meet at Texas was the American Short Course Championships in March 2021, but she also swam at the U.S. Olympic Trials and the Austin Speedo Sectionals this summer. She swam the 100/200 free at trials, placing 52nd (56.61) and 34th (2:02.35) respectively. At Speedo Sectionals, she swam the 50/100/400 free, as well as the 100 backstroke and the 200 individual medley. Her most impressive finish at the meet was in the 100 free, where she placed second behind former teammate Kelly Pash in a time of 56.65.
The NC State women lost to the Texas women 143.5-156.5 on Friday. This is their last meet before conference championships, which begin February 15.
