(Photo: Casey McNulty/Sun Devil Athletics)
Two thousand miles away at the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center, the Arizona State Sun Devils were prepped for a battle with the North Carolina State Wolfpack. This thrilling matchup in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a sequel to the dual that occurred last year in Sun Devil territory. Although this was the Devils’ first time racing away from their home pool, they turned up the heat on the first day of competition in this two-day meet.
After the Friday session, the results showed the Sun Devil men with a lead over the Wolfpack men, ending with a score of 98-88. However, the roles were reversed on the women’s side, as the Wolfpack led the Sun Devils 126-60.
In the electric dual meet environment, the Sun Devil women started the racing by breaking their school record in the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet posted a time of 1 minute, 36.17 seconds and bested their previous time by nearly two and a half seconds. The Sun Devil men also had a stellar performance in that race, and they snagged the win by one-half of a second.
Highlighting the backstroke events, Wolfpack freshman Leah Shackley had an explosive collegiate debut. She had one of the night’s standout performances, as she achieved an NCAA “A” standard time in the 100-yard backstroke. However, senior Jack Wadsworth showed up for the Sun Devils on the men’s side, as he took second in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 46.63.
In addition, the Sun Devils shined in the freestyle events as graduate Caroline Bentz won the 50-yard freestyle in 21.88 seconds. Junior Jonny Kulow kept the sprinting momentum going with a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle. Senior Patrick Sammon rounded out the Sun Devil freestylers with a win in the 200-yard freestyle and a new best time of 1:32.63, just finishing ahead of freshman Kaii Winkler from NC State.
The Sun Devils headed into the distance events with the 500-yard freestyle, and junior Deniz Ertan obtained first with a time of 4:40.19, which was a little under five seconds faster than her time in the meet against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Senior Daniel Matheson took second in that event on the men’s side, touching in 4:17.23.
Breaststrokers junior Andy Dobrazanski and freshman Lucien Vergnes excelled in the men’s 100-yard breaststroke. Dobrazanski executed his race from an outside lane and captured first with his time of 52.26, while Vergnes had a solid finish to touch in third.
Sophomore Ilya Kharun produced an outstanding performance for the Sun Devils in the 200-yard butterfly with his time of 1:38.74. Kharun achieved a trifecta: he touched first by over five seconds, set a new pool record and claimed the top time in NCAA in the event. The Sun Devil women kept the butterfly momentum going, as Ertan and sophomore Sonia Vaishnani snagged second and third in the women’s 200-yard butterfly.
Closing out the session with the typical 400-yard freestyle relay, the Sun Devil men seized first with a time of 2:46.58 and broke yet another pool record. The Sun Devil women took second in that relay after a hard-fought battle for first against the top Wolfpack squad
On the diving side, sophomore Kayden Hayes took third in the women’s 3-meter, while junior Lane Stallworth executed consistent dives to secure first in the men’s 3-meter.
Overall, the first session of the meet was intense and filled with high energy. With many more events to be contested on Saturday, both teams are looking to carry their momentum into the next day of racing.
