The University of North Carolina men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams completed the second day of the Carolina College Invitational on Saturday at Koury Natatorium.
“The ACC Championship has a squad size limit, so we can’t take everybody that is on the team” said UNC head coach Rich DeSelm. “These swimmers that don't make it work just as hard as the people who do make it. They deserve a chance to swim fast, so the Carolina College Invitational is utilized in that regard.”
The Tar Heel women posted five career-best times and four season-best times during the finals on Saturday night.
Kendall Surhoff captured first place in the 400-yard individual medley at 4:16.39, her season-best. In the 100-yard butterfly, Andi Mack placed fourth with a season-best 55.37. Both Katie McKay and Kacy Rhyne had career-best times in the 100 fly. McKay finished sixth at 55.66, while Rhyne placed seventh with a time of 56.25.
“Kendall Surhoff, a senior, did the best time she’s done at UNC in the 400-yard IM and just off her lifetime best,” said DeSelm. “That was a big swim for her, very emotional, and she was very happy out here.”
In the 200-yard freestyle, Zhada Fields placed first with a career-best time of 1:46.92. Kate Boyer captured third in the 200 free at a season-best 1:51.54. Rachel Canty finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke, posting a career-best time of 1:00.93. Kate Boyer’s eighth place finish in the 100 breaststroke gave her a season-best time of 1:05.33. Katie Ford placed second with a career-best time of 56.07.
On the men’s side, three career-best times and six season-best times were recorded.
In the 400-yard individual medley, Luke Lechner placed first with a season-best time of 3:52.46. Tom Bilden finished third in the same event, posting a career-best 4:00.54. Christian Caveness took third in the 100-yard butterfly with a career-best time of 48.7 while Bilden also had a record-breaking night in the 100 fly with a season-best 50.38. Additionally, Jared Martin’s sixth place finish in the 100 fly earned him a season-best time of 50.05.
J.T. Casey posted a career-best time of 1:39.15 in the 200-yard freestyle in the prelims and finished fourth at 1:39.42 in the evening. Jack Welker placed fourth in the B final of the same event with a season-best 1:44.84. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Austin Sellers captured fifth at a season-best 56.32. Jared Martin posted an additional season-best Saturday night in the 100-yard backstroke (51.13), which earned him sixth place.
UNC will return to action Sunday, Feb. 6, for the final day of the Carolina College Invitational. The preliminary session begins at 10 a.m., and the finals start at 5 p.m.
N.C. State
The NC State swimming and diving team continued its dominance in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Saturday, as it concluded its second day of competition at the Carolina College Invite with nine NCAA ‘B’ cuts and a school record from junior Natalie Labonge.
On top of its second-day success, the Wolfpack posted 19 top-five finishes.
Anna Jahns placed second in the women’s 400 individual medley with a time of 4:20.56, which stands as a top-10 mark in program history. Allie Fogleman also earned a top-five finish in the event, as she finished fourth with a mark of 4:28.12. Both times stand as career-best performances.
In the prelims session, Alexia Zevnik swam a time of 4:15.64 to tab the second-fastest mark in school history as well as an NCAA ‘B’ cut.
In the men’s 400 IM, Mason Revis placed second with a time of 3:56.47.
Natalie Labonge broke the program’s school record, notched an NCAA ‘B’ cut and the 15th-fastest time in the nation in the women’s 100 butterfly, as she took the top spot in the overall standings after touching the wall at 52.47.
Mariah Hamil finished in second place behind her teammate with a time of 54.59, which stands as a top-10 mark in program history. Additionally, Emmie Barnhill finished fifth in the event after stopping the clock at 55.48. Both performances mark career-best times.
John Burkett won the men’s 100 butterfly as he touched the wall at 46.63, which stands as a career-best, the third-fastest time in school history and an NCAA ‘B’ standard time.
Christine Kerr earned a fourth-place finish in the women’s 200 freestyle, as she notched a mark of 1:52.00. Her prelims time (1:50.93) marked a career-best performance.
In the men’s 200 free, Scott Johnson and Trey Poff finished second and third with times of 1:38.86 and 1:39.06, respectively. Noah Franz finished seventh in the overall standings after touching the wall at 1:40.07.
In the women’s 100 breaststroke, Maddie Witzke posted an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 1:02.25 to finish second in the overall standings of the event and tab the third-fastest time in school history. Additionally, Rozhina McClanahan finished fourth with a mark of 1:03.59.
McClanahan’s time in the prelims (1:03.28) and Witzke’s finals time marked career-best performances.
NC State’s men earned a one, two, three finish in the 100 breast. Geoffrey Carter won the event with a career-best time of 54.55, Daniel Graber stopped the clock at 54.74 and Quinlan Stuart touched the wall at 55.64. All three performances mark NCAA ‘B’ cuts.
In the prelims, Graber and Stuart swam career-best marks of 54.73 and 55.18, in respective order.
In the women’s 100 backstroke Caroline Estep won the event with an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 54.84. Her prelims performance of 54.37 stands as an all-time top-10 mark in NC State history and a personal-best time.
The Wolfpack men claimed three of the top-four spots in the final standings of the 100 back. Burkett earned his second win of the day in the event with a time of 47.48, Parker Campbell finished second after posting a mark of 49.20 and Justin Moore stopped the clock at 49.92.
Burkett’s time marks an NCAA ‘B’ cut and the-fourth fastest performance in program history, as all three times stand as career-best performances for the freshmen.
Duke
Blue Devil men and women continued to record personal-best times on the second day of competition at the Carolina College Invitational, hosted by North Carolina at Koury Natatorium.
Juniors Joey Maginnis, Mike Seaberg, Kevin Fraser and James Peek started off the night by finishing just off the NCAA B standard in the men’s 200-yard medley relay, combining for a mark of 1:26.15.
Individually, the Blue Devils looked strong at the mid-distance range, as sophomore Alex Peña bested the field in the men’s 200 freestyle with a season-best 1:38.82 swim and junior Lindsay Schlichte was second in the same event on the women’s side, touching in a personal-best 1:50.65. Junior Adriaan Venter (1:39.45) and sophomore Parker Pearson (1:43.65) also picked up personal-best times while competing in the A and B finals, respectively.
The women’s 100 breaststroke saw freshman Susan Hynes post the third-fastest time in program history at 1:02.54. That was good for third overall, while Fraser paced the men with a personal-best 55.67 clocking in the A final.
Maginnis (49.47) and senior Kathryn Eckhart (56.09) both earned season bests to take third in the A finals of the 100 backstroke and junior Liza Bragg was also third in the women’s 400 IM (4:23.76). Sophomore Marco Hosfeld raced to the wall in a season-best 4:07.04 in the same event, while junior Michael Miller grabbed an NCAA B cut during the morning session at 3:52.59.
The men’s and women’s 100 butterfly also featured a number of personal or season bests by Duke swimmers, with junior Kenny Ng (49.10) and senior Linsay Cooper (55.20) leading the way.
