At Koury Natatorium in Chapel Hill this past weekend, NC State blew away the competition to place first at the Janis Hape Dowd Invitational. The fourth-ranked Wolfpack men won with a total of 1,077.5 points, and the seventh-ranked women’s team followed suit with 1,067.5 points for an easy path to victory.
On the men’s side, the Wolfpack beat out No. 23 UNC with 747 points, No. 11 Virginia Tech with 579.5 points and Duke with 432 points. The Wolfpack women finished ahead of No. 23 UNC with 530 points, No. 17 Virginia Tech with 657 points and No. 16 Duke with 519.5 points.
Both the men and women’s team absolutely dominated the field, with wins and podium sweeps common across all three days of competition. Two school records were set, with junior Kylee Alons’ 51.56 in the 100 fly prelims on day one and sophomore Katherine Berkoff’s 50.40 in the 100 backstroke finals on day two, narrowly beating the previous record by 0.02 seconds. Berkoff had another impressive run in the 200 backstroke finals on day three, blowing away her heat to finish with a 1:50.20, only 0.07 off of her lifetime best and well under the NCAA “A” cut.
Among the upperclassmen, seniors Kate Moore and Kylee Alons added to their decorated records with several podium finishes. Moore finished first in the 500 freestyle finals on day one by over six seconds with a 4:38.10. In prelims, she dropped over a second and a half from her previous best time. Alons, alongside her impressive 100 butterfly, finished second in the 100 backstroke only to Berkoff’s record-setting performance. Alons set a new personal record in that event, touching in 51.81.
Although no men’s school records were set, the Wolfpack men had no shortage of impressive swims over the weekend. Senior Eric Knowles and sophomore Ross Dant finished 1-2 in the 500 freestyle finals with times of 4:14.07 and 4:14.59, respectively. The pair also finished in the top two spots of the 1,650 freestyle, with Knowles finishing in 14:48.06 and Dant finishing in 14:49.72. The Wolfpack men swept the top six spots in the 1,650 freestyle, although Knowles and Dant were about 14 seconds ahead of their heat by the end of the race and finished well under the NCAA “B” cut.
Several impressive first-year performances defined the meet from start to finish, including freshman Mikey Moore’s first-place finishes in the 400 IM in 3:45.12 and the 200 backstroke with a 1:42.66. Both times were personal bests for the Raleigh native, setting the tone for an accomplished season.
As for the newer Wolfpack women, first-years Yara Hierath and Abby Arens had several notable performances over the weekend. Hierath took first in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 16:07.92, hitting a personal record by about 25 seconds and easily clearing the NCAA “B” cut. Arens had no individual wins but three podium finishes in the 100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke, and 200 breaststroke, clocking in below the NCAA “B” cuts in all three events.
The Wolfpack finished first in every relay except one, contributing to NC State’s continued dominance of relays that they’ve displayed over the years at the ACCs and NCAAs. Notably, the NC State women’s “A” team for the 200 medley relay was the second-fastest performance in the nation so far this season, with a time of 1:34.86.
With outstanding performances so early in the season, the Wolfpack men and women alike have set themselves up for a dominant season as they head into 2021. Although the cancellation of last year’s NCAAs may have been a letdown for some of the team’s top swimmers, new talent and a strong base of veterans make them a force to be reckoned with.
