NC State
Men's NCAA Championships
Men’s Swimming And Diving Ends Historical NCAA Finish With 400 Free Relay Title
3/26/2016 8:48:00 PM | Swimming
Wolfpack finishes fourth in team standings
Highlights
ATLANTA- The NC State men's swimming and diving capped off a historic season in the pool with a #STATEment finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships, earning an NCAA title in the 400 freestyle relay and a fourth-place finish among the team standings with 314 points.
While this is the highest placement NC State has earned at NCAAs since Braden Holloway and his staff took over in 2011, the program's finish also ties the highest in Wolfpack history, as the accomplishment was last done in 1955 under Willis Casey. 61 years ago was also the last time NC State won an ACC Championship and finished fourth at NCAAs.
The trophy-worthy accomplishment is also the highest finish for any Wolfpack program at an NCAA Championship since 2001.
Held inside Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center, Texas won the meet with 541.5 points, while California finished second with 351 and Florida rounded out the top three with 334.
Over the span of four days, 12 swimmers tabbed 37 All-America honors and broke 17 school, conference and pool records.
Additionally, senior Simonas Bilis inked his name in the Wolfpack record books as he finished his career with 19 All-America honors, which stands as the most in NC State men's history. He will also leave the program with 16 ACC Championship event titles, as he was a valuable member of the Pack's back-to-back team conference titles, a school and ACC record holder in seven events and an NCAA Champion.
NCAA Championship Finishes In Braden Holloway Era
2012- N/A
2013- 15th
2014- 13th
2015- 8th
2016- 4th
Wolfpack Relays
The 400 freestyle relay team of Ryan Held, Bilis, Andreas Schiellerup and Soren Dahl capped off a historic year for the Pack with an NCAA title in the event, as the squad posted a time of 2:46.81 to tab a school, conference and pool record.
The victory also marks the first relay championship title NC State has captured at the national meet, and first for the men since 2006 when Cullen Jones won the 50 free.
Freestyle
Anton Ipsen tabbed his second consecutive fifth-place finish in the 1,650 free at the NCAA Championships, as he touched the wall at 14:35.35 to shatter his school record and garner first team All-America honors. This stands as the fourth honor of his career.
Adam Linker also represented the Pack in the 1,650, as he finished 16th in the event standings with a time of 14:52.78 to earn his second honorable mention All-America honor this week.
Bilis captured his third top-three finish in the sprint free events this week, as he placed second in the 100 free to tab first team All-America honors. He broke his school and conference record with a mark of 41.18, ending his career as the fastest male in the ACC in the 50, 100 and 200 free.
His performance also marks Bilis as the fifth-fastest all-time 100 free swimer in history.
Held additionally finished fourth in the 100 free, as he posted a time of 41.77 to earn his seventh All-America honor of the meet and 11th of his career.
Backstroke
Hennessey Stuart collected his second 200 backstroke first team All-America honor on Saturday, stopping the clock at 1:38.56 to finish third in the event. His performance stands as a school and ACC record.
Butterfly
Christian McCurdy racked up the third first team All-America honor of his career in the 200 butterfly, as he finished fifth in the event standings with a school and ACC record time of 1:41.06.
Up Next
As the 2016 NCAA season is over, NC State will return to Raleigh with hardware. The team will look to prepare for the Olympic Trials that will start in April for select swimmers.
Players Mentioned
