2022 NC State/GAC Invite: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2022 NC STATE/GAC INVITATIONAL

• November 17-19, 2022
• Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• SCY (25 yards)
• Live Results on MeetMobile
• Live Results
• Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap
• Teams:
  • NC State
  • Stanford
  • Arizona State
  • Duke
  • Penn State
  • Army
  • George Washington (diving only)
  • UNC Asheville (diving only)

The final session of the Wolfpack Invite is here and will feature a women’s sprint showdown between only Stanford and NC swimmers in the 100 free final. Olympian Torri Huske of Stanford and Katharine Berkoff of NC State lead the field after prelims this morning. Berkoff will have a tough double-swim after competing in the 200 back earlier this session, but it went well for her this morning. Arizona seniors dominated the men’s 100 free prelims race with a 1-2-3 finish led by Max McCusker, but it will still be a tossup for who will get their hand to the wall first in finals.

There are big names in the 200 fly finals tonight: U.S. Junior National Team member Charlotte Hook of Stanford leads the women’s event so far but Arizona State’s Lindsay Looney was close behind her in prelims. Arizona State’s Leon Marchand has been on fire at this meet and he commanded the 200 fly in prelims.

Stanford Olympian Claire Curzan is the top seed in the 200 back tonight by a full three seconds as she looks to crack the 2:50.00 mark. It will likely be a tight race on the men’s side with Stanford senior Leon MacAlister as the top seed, narrowly ahead of NC State senior Hunter Tapp.

There will also be finals of the 1650 free, 200 breast, and 400 free relay tonight.

Women’s 1650 Free –  Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 15:52.41
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 16:16.47

Top 8:

1. Aurora Roghair (Stanford) – 16:09.84
2. Brooke Travis (NC State) – 16:18.38
3. Yara Hierath (NC State) – 16:20.40
4. Emma Hastings (NC State) – 16:24.22
5. Katherine Randall (ASU) – 16:30.83
6. Kay Foley (NC State) – 16:37.54
7. Yi Xuan Chang (Duke) – 16:38.37
8. Morgan Moore (Penn State) – 16:43.11

Stanford sophomore Aurora Roghair was in first at the 500 with a 4:53.61 split and then she just kept going, holding 29-mid’s consistently to secure the win by nearly nine seconds. This was a great swim for Roghair who blasted a 16:01.55 to place second in this event at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships. NC State upperclassmen Brooke Travis and Yara Hierath had a close battle to the finish with Travis ultimately outtouching Hierath by two seconds. Hierath was closing in on Travis on the final 50, splitting a 29.80 to Travis’ 30.15 but the gap she had to close was too big.

This was a relatively young final with freshmen taking fourth, fifth, and eighth place.

Men’s 1650 Free – Timed Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 14:37.31
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 14:55.21

Top 8:

1. Ross Dant (NC State) – 14:44.87
2. Will Gallant (NC State) – 14:51.52
3. Daniel Matheson (ASU) – 14:54.68
4. James Plage (NC State) – 14:55.45
5. Eduardo Cisternas (Penn State) – 15:16.25
6. Dylan Gravely (ASU) – 15:16.74
7. Gabe Machado (Stanford) – 15:17.91
8. Parker Reynolds (ASU) – 15:20.29

NC State senior Ross Dant just blasted the third-fastest time in the country to claim first place, just behind Victor Johansson (14:39.63) at the Art Adamson Invite and Jake Magahey (14:44.58) at the UGA Invite. Dant placed third in this event at the 2022 NCAA Championships with a 14:31.74 behind his teammate Will Gallant who took 2nd place tonight. ASU sophomore Daniel Matheson completed the podium in third place, but he had to fend off Plage to do it. Plage was ahead of Matheson at the 1600 mark, but Matheson split a 26.36 on the final 50 to out touch him.

WOMEN’S 200 BACK – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 1:50.50
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 1:53.97

Top 8:

1. Claire Curzan (Stanford) – 1:48.50
2. Taylor Ruck (Stanford) – 1:51.66
3. Emma Muzzy (NC State) – 1:52.22
4. Kennedy Noble (NC State) – 1:52.58
5. Natalie Mannion (Stanford) – 1:53.82
6. Lucie Nordmann (Stanford) – 1:54.77
7. Katey Lewicki (NC State) – 1:56.05
8. Easop Lee (Duke) – 1:57.56

Freshman Claire Curzan teased the 1:50.00 mark in prelims with a  1:50.20, but she demolished it in finals. This meet is her first time suiting up for a 200 back in college and she beat her lifetime best time from December 2020 by about .80 to establish herself as the #10 U.S. performer of all-time in the event. Curzan opened the race in 25.31 and finished with a final 50 split of 28.07 to claim first. Her senior teammate Taylor Ruck also beat her prelims time, by nearly two seconds.

MEN’S 200 BACK – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 1:39.13
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 1:40.92

Top 8:

1. Leon MacAlister (Stanford) – 1:40.13
2. Jack Wadsworth (ASU) – 1:40.90
3. Owen McDonald (ASU) – 1:41.28
4. JT Ewing (NC State) – 1:42.63
5. Aaron Sequeira (Stanford) – 1:42.68
6. Kyle Ponsler (NC State) – 1:44.19
7. Hayden Kwan (Stanford) – 1:44.55
8. Josh Zuchowski (Stanford) – 1:45.24

Leon MacAlister completed a Stanford sweep of the 200 back by within 1.2 seconds of his lifetime best time. While MacAlister has had a commanding hold on the 200 back at this meet, the field behind him is young. Underclassmen took third through eighth place in this final.

ASU’s Jack Wadsworth snagged second place and he had the fastest opening speed with a first 50 split of 22.80 compared to MacAlister’s 23.52. MacAlister’s consistency paid off in the end though as he held 25’s through the rest of the race to earn the win while Wadsworth faded to a final 50 split of 27.16. Wadsworth is coming off a successful 2021-2022 season where he set the DIII National record in the 100 back at Ithaca.

WOMEN’S 100 FREE – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 47.18
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 48.44

Top 8:

1. Torri Huske (Stanford) – 46.85
2. Katharine Berkoff (NC State) – 47.96
3. Lillie Nordmann (Stanford) – 48.45
4. Kayla Wilson (Stanford) – 48.70
5. Kylee Alons (NC State) – 48.74
6. Abbey Webb (NC State) – 48.83
7. Anna Shaw (Stanford) –48.92
8. Morgan Tankersley (Stanford) – 49.43

Sophomore Torri Huske came within .03 of her lifetime best time, which earned her ninth place at the 2022 NCAA Championships, to touch the wall first tonight. This is the fastest time in the country this season, although Gretchen Walsh tried to rival her for that title at the Tennessee Invite tonight with a 46.89.

Huske set the pace fast in Greensboro and led nearly everyone to beat their prelims time, including senior Katharine Berkoff.

There was an especially great showing in this event from Stanford underclassmen who took first, third, fourth, and seventh place. This will be a big point scorer for both NC State and Stanford who had a monopoly on this final.

MEN’S 100 FREE – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 41.64
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 42.34

Top 8:

1. Max McCusker (ASU) – 42.03
2. Grant House (ASU) – 42.11
3. Patrick Sammon (ASU) – 42.45
4. Jack Dolan (ASU) – 42.53
5. Luke Maurer (Stanford) / Victor Baganha (Penn State) – 42.71
6. –
7. Bartos Piszczorowicz (NC State) – 42.94
8. Jonny Kulow (ASU) – 43.25

The men’s 100 free final was an onslaught by the Sun Devils led by seniors Max McCusker and Grant House. McCusker was the only one to crack 20.00 on the first 50 split, flipping at 19.92, while senior Jack Dolan was right behind him at the 50 in 20.19. House had some scary back-half speed, finishing the race in 21.83 to pass Dolan and Patrick Sammon and snag second place.

WOMEN’S 200 BREAST – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 2:06.18
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 2:09.15

Top 8:

1. Sally Foley (Duke) – 2:06.61
2. Andrea Podmanikova (NC State) – 2:06.77
3. Kaelyn Gridley (Duke) – 2:07.82
4. Heather MacCausland (NC State) – 2:10.17
5. Sam Tadder (Stanford) – 2:10.92
6. Emma Gehlert (ASU) – 2:12.69
7. Aubree Brouwer (NC State) – 2:13.15
8. Aurelie Migault (Army) – 2:13.58

Junior Sally Foley earned the Blue Devils their first event win of the night after a tight battle with NC State senior Andrea Podmanikova who competed at the Tokyo Olympics for Slovakia. Foley came within .9 of her lifetime best time, a mark she posted to place 9th at the 2022 NCAA Championships. Her freshman teammate Kaelyn Gridley made this an even bigger event for Duke, taking 3.5 seconds off her prelims time to secure third place.

MEN’S 200 BREAST – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 1:51.54
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 1:53.23

Top 8:

1. Mariano Lazzerini (Penn State) – 1:54.38
2. David Schlicht (ASU) – 1:54.49
3. Dan Raisanan (Penn State) – 1:54.66
4. Zhier Fan (Stanford) – 1:55.61
5. Cale Martter (ASU) – 1:55.78
6. Ethan Dang (Stanford) – 1:56.24
7. Evan Yoo (Army) – 1:57.91

Freshman Mariano Lazzerini was third going into tonight’s final but he crushed his prelims time by 1.5 seconds to earn the win tonight. His senior teammate Dan Raisanen, an NCAA qualifier in this event last year, completed a powerful 1-3 finish for the Nittany Lions. ASU senior David Schlicht had an especially strong middle 100 (28.92/29.58) that made him untouchable even though Raisanen had the fastest final 50 split in the field (29.47 compared to Lazzerini’s 29.83 and Schlicht’s 30.10).

WOMEN’S 200 FLY – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 1:52.86
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 1:56.14

Top 8:

1. Charlotte Hook (Stanford) – 1:52.48
2. Lindsay Looney (ASU) – 1:53.42
3. Abby Arens (NC State) – 1:54.83
4. Lucy Bell (Stanford) – 1:55.55
5. Jade Foelske (ASU) – 1:56.01
6. Catherine Purnell (Duke) – 1:57.33
7. Mia Leko (Duke) – 1:57.39
8. Grace Sheble (NC State) – 1:58.29

ASU’s Lindsay Looney was first at the 100, but Stanford’s Charlotte Hook turned on the jets on the last half of the race, splitting a 28.96/29.13 to pass her and secure the win. This is a lifetime best time for Hook by .24, beating her previous best from March 2021. This was a very strong swim for Looney who posted a 1:53.25 at the 2022 NCAA Championships to place 10th. NC State junior Abby Arens crushed her prelims time by 1.5 seconds to round out the top three.

MEN’S 200 FLY – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 1:40.20
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 1:42.42

Top 8:

1. Leon Marchand (ASU) – 1:39.57
2. Alexander Colson (ASU) – 1:40.78
3. Andrew Gray (ASU) – 1:42.18
4. Noah Bowers (NC State) – 1:42.73
5. Aiden Hayes (NC State) – 1:42.82
6. Matt Fenlon (Stanford) – 1:43.79
7. Luke Miller (NC State) – 1:44.97
8. Johnny Affeld (Stanford) – 1:46.96

Marchand does it again – breaking the 1:40.00 barrier and posting a time that makes him the 16th all-time fastest performer ahead of 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps. Phelps’ fastest yards time was 1:39.65 which he posted in 2010.

What set Marchand apart the most tonight was his last 100 which he split (25.65/26.28) while no one else broke 26.00 on their third 50 and the next fastest final 50 split came from Alexander Colson who swam a 26.84. Marchand’s senior teammates Colson and Andrew Gray completed a podium sweep for the Sun Devils, with both swimmers beating their prelims times.

ASU men and NC State women are currently leading the team scores as we head into these final relays.

Women’s 400 Free Relay – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 3:14.10

Top 8:

1. Stanford – 3:09.82
2. NC State – 3:12.47
3. Stanford – 3:14.86
4. ASU – 3:15.43
5. Duke – 3:16.92
6. Penn State – 3:18.64
7. NC State – 3:20.08
8. Duke – 3:20.55

Two teams cracked the NCAA ‘A’ cut in this final, a feat led by Stanford’s Ruck (47.44), Lillie Nordmann (48.21), Curzan (47.21), and Huske (46.96). Huske’s sub-47 anchor leg was the fastest final 100 split in the field by far with the next-fastest being a blistering 47.89 from NC State’s Arens who led the Wolfpack to a second-place finish. Junior Abbey Webb led off their relay in 49.05 and handed it off to Berkoff (47.40) followed by Alons (48.13).

Men’s 400 Free Relay – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 2:50.52

Top 8:

1. ASU – 2:47.93
2. NC State – 2:49.32
3. ASU – 2:49.79
4. Stanford – 2:50.38
5. Nc State – 2:53.17
6. Stanford – 2:55.05
7. Penn State – 2:55.62
8. Duke – 2:57.16

With this win, ASU men successfully swept every relay at this meet. Tonight, their team of McCusker (42.51), House (41.83), Marchand (42.08), and Sammon (41.51) had the fastest splits in the field on the first, second, and final legs of the race.

The one swimmer to outsplit ASU here was NC State’s Luke Miller who blasted a 41.69 on the third leg. Piszczorowicz led off the relay in 42.73 followed by Giovanni Izzo‘s 42.78, then Miller, and then Hunter Tapp brought it home in 42.12. These two teams, alongside ASU’s ‘B’ team in 3rd place, beat the NCAA ‘A’ cut this season.

Women’s Final Team Scores

1. NC State – 2189.5
2. Stanford – 1897
3. ASU – 1180
4. Penn State – 1158
5. Duke – 1156
6. Army – 332.5
7. George Washington – 205
8. UNC Asheville – 47

Men’s Final Team Scores

1. ASU – 2392.5
2. NC State – 1829.5
3. Stanford – 1642
4. Penn State – 918
5. Duke – 641.5
6. Army – 489.5
7. George Washington – 68