Hunter Tapp Drops 1:41 200 Back in Prelims on Day 3 at 2021 NC State Invite

2021 NC State Fall Invitational

• November 18-20, 2021
• 9:30 AM Prelims / 5:30 PM Finals
• Greensboro Aquatic Center
• SCY (25y)
• Live Results
• Meet Mobile: 2021 NC State GAC Fall Invitational
• Teams: NC State, Arizona State, Army West Point, Duke, North Carolina, Penn State, Stanford, James Madison (diving only), and UNC-Wilmington (diving only)

2021 NCAA Cut Lines

The backstrokers showed up in droves on Saturday morning, with the top five women all putting up times that would have made NCAAs last year. Stanford first-year Regan Smith led the pack with 1:52.37, but teammate Lucie Nordmann was only .17 behind with 1:52.54. NC State’s Kate Moore (1:53.24) and Katharine Berkoff (1:53.56) finished third and fourth, while Penn State’s Marie Schobel (1:54.94) was fifth.

After winning both the 50 free and 100 fly on Thursday and Friday, Stanford’s Torri Huske posted the fastest 100 free time in prelims with 48.22. NC State’s Kylee Alons, who had battled Huske in the 50 free and 100 fly finals, swam the 200 fly instead. She went 1:54.92 to lead the qualifiers. She will be up against Smith (1:55.62), Lillie Nordmann (1:56.11), and Brooke Forde (1:57.25) of Stanford, rather than Huske.

Hunter Tapp of NC State dropped 2.5 seconds from his previous PB to top the field in the men’s 200 back with 1:41.87, just off the 2021 NCAA invited time. Stanford’s Leon MacAlister, who won the 100 back last night, went 1:42.76 to qualify second. Tapp’s teammate Kacper Stokowski came in third in 1:43.90. He was followed by a trio of 1:44s: Penn State’s Michael Daly, NC State’s Mikey Moore, and Stanford’s Alex Boratto.

The top three 100 free qualifiers all swam faster than the NCAA invite time, with Stanford first-year Andrei Minakov topping the field in 42.49. Arizona State’s Carter Swift (42.50) and Grant House (42.87) were next, while Nyls Korstanje of NC State (42.91) and Cody Bybee of ASU (42.97) also broke 43 seconds. The last three spots in the championship final went to Sam Hoover (43.08), Noah Henderson (43.08), and Luke Miller (43.10) of NC State. Beyond what this says about tonight’s 100 free final, these times speak volumes about what to expect in the 400 free relay.

Stanford’s Daniel Roy was the fastest 200 breast qualifier by 1.1 seconds. Arizona State’s David Schlicht and Penn State’s Daniel Raisanen were also sub-1:56 with 1:55.59 and 1:55.96, respectively. In the 200 fly, Arizona State’s Alexander Colson (1:43.44) and NC State’s Zach Brown (1:43.62) and Noah Henderson (1:43.63) all qualified with sub-1:44s.