Heading into the season, there was an expectation that NC State swimming and diving would be competitive nationally. Over the weekend, the Wolfpack proved those expectations were warranted by finishing sixth overall at the men’s NCAA championships.

NC State set a number of records and delivered a strong performance in the relays. The Wolfpack’s 130 relay points were tied for third-most at the event. NC State set an ACC record in the 200 freestyle relay and shaved some time off the 400 freestyle relay ACC record it set last month.

The lineup of sophomore Kaii Winkler, junior Jerry Fox, redshirt-junior Quintin McCarty and senior Drew Salls clocked the 1:13.73 ACC record time in the 200 freestyle relay, which was good for third place. Junior Hudson Williams took Salls’ place for the 400 freestyle relay, and the squad finished in second place at 2:43.31.

NC State also earned plenty of individual All-American honors. McCarty swam an 18.47-second 50 freestyle, breaking the school record that he set earlier in the competition and taking fourth place. McCarty also took sixth in the 100 freestyle, while Florida’s Josh Liendo took first place for the fourth year straight.

Other All-American performances included Winkler’s sixth-place time of 1:30.93 in the 200 freestyle and graduate student Aidan Hayes’ seventh-place time of 43.85 in the 100 butterfly — both all-time NC State records.

In the 200 individual medley, graduate student Arsenio Bustos and junior Daniel Diehl took fifth and sixth place, respectively. Bustos swam a 1:41.02, and Diehl was a hundredth of a second behind at 1:41.03.

Elsewhere, Texas’s Hubert Kos defended his 200 backstroke title by setting an NCAA and U.S. Open record of 1:34.13.

After a long season, NC State swimming and diving joined the ranks of the country’s best, where it is often found.