NC State Wins 5 Events, Finishes 4th at NCAA Championships

MINNEAPOLIS – On the final day of the NCAA Championships the NC State men’s swimming & diving team won NCAA Championships inthe 1,650 freestyle, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay along with earning a fourth-place finish for the third consecutive year Saturday inside the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.

Anton Ipsen won the 1,650 freestyle, Andreas Vazaios won the 200 butterfly and the team of Ryan Held, Justin Ress, Jacob Molacek and Coleman Stewart won the 400 medley relay to close the meet out on a high note for the Wolfpack.

In total NC State won five events; the 800 freestyle relay, the 400 freestyle relay, the 100 backstroke, the 1,650 freestyle and the 200 backstroke. It earned All-America Honors 16 times and Honorable Mention All-America five times.

Andreas Vazaios tied for the third-highest point scorer with 53 and Ryan Held was the seventh-highest with 48.

Team Scores
Texas 449
California 437.5
Indiana 422
NC State 385
Florida 347

400 Freestyle Relay
The Pack ended the night on a high note as it posted the fastest time in history, 2:44.31 seconds, as Ryan Held, Justin Ress, Jacob Molacek and Coleman Stewart finished the first.

The Pack was also outstanding in prelims as Held, Molacek, Mark McGlaughlin & Ress broke the school, U.S. Open, American & NCAA records with a time of 2:44.75 seconds.

1,650 Freestyle
Anton Ipsen won the NCAA Championship in the 1,650 freestyle as he touched the wall at 14:24.43 seconds, breaking the school and ACC records. Jack McIntyre finished 26th in 14:56.41 seconds and Eric Knowles took 31st in 15:00.24 seconds.

200 Butterfly
Andreas Vazaios won the ‘A’ final to earn the title of NCAA Champion; his time of 1:38.60 seconds also broke the school and ACC records. Vazaios was also the first man in the ACC to go under 1:40.00 seconds.

Vazaios also posted the fastest time in prelims, going 1:39.68 seconds while James Bretcher finished 25th in 1:43.23 seconds.

100 Freestyle
NC State had a trio of All-Americans as Ryan held broke the school and ACC record with a time of 41.08 to finish second, Justin Ress finished third in 41.49 and Jacob Molacek took fifth in 41.55.

The Pack also performed strongly in prelims as Held’s time of 41.26 saw him finish third, Ress’ time of 41.34 saw him take fourth, Molacek’s 41.74 had him sixth and Giovanni Izzo’s time of 44.06 saw him finish 40th.

200 Backstroke
Coleman Stewart was named Honorable Mention All-America as he took fourth in the ‘B’ final with a time of 1:40.01 seconds; Hennessey Stuart was also Honorable Mention All-America as he finished eighth in 1:41.73 seconds.

In the prelim Stewart took tenth in 1:39.54 seconds, Stuart finished 16th in 1:40.27 seconds and Noah Hensley finished 27th in 1:41.77 seconds.

Platform Diving
James Brady finished 22nd with a score of 315.60.

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