GREENSBORO, N.C. – Jack Dolan was a man on a mission on Day 1 at the NC State Invite, setting a new team record in the 50 free, leading off a pair of winning relays and finishing as the runner-up in the last individual event he competed in.
The Sun Devils were relentless out of the gate in the evening session, winning a trio of races to open the first night of finals in the eight-team invite at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. It was among the five events the Sun Devils were victorious in.
Jack Dolan, Grant House, Léon Marchand and Max McCusker took the 200 free final at 1:15.30, thanks to Dolan's 18.92 leadoff split that is now the fastest 50 free in Sun Devil Men's history. The seven-best 50 free times in Men's team history now belong to Dolan.
A record-setting outing for Jack Dolan on Day 1 of the NC State Invite with his leadoff split in tonight's 200 free relay ?? pic.twitter.com/T3KUjKgyNv
— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) November 18, 2022
Moments later, Marchand set a new Greensboro Aquatic Center pool record in the 200 IM with his winning time of 1:39.28. It unseats Shaine Casas' record of 1:39.53, a mark he set in 2021.
The Sun Devils also swept the 500 free, with Lindsay Looney winning the Women's race at a personal-best 4:40.71, and Julian Hill taking the Men's race at 4:13.69. Hill now owns the four fastest 500 free times in Sun Devil Men's history.
They closed the night with a Men's victory in the 400 medley relay – as Dolan-Marchand-McCusker-House went 3:02.85, which is now the fastest time in the country. Men's relays went a perfect two-for-two in each they raced in on Thursday evening. They also set a new meet record for the 200 free relay, breaking their own from a season ago (Dolan, House, Carter Swift, Cody Bybee/1:16.60, 11/18/2021).
For good measure, Dolan would also finish as the runner-up in the 50 free at 18.99, marking the second time of the day he went sub-19.00 in a 50 free. McCusker was right on his tail, rounding out the top-three with his 19.31 effort.
Charli Brown and Ieva Maluka, who have emerged as a formidable one-two punch this year, were electric once more on Thursday in the A final of the 200 IM. Brown (4th/1:57.43) and Maluka (7th/1:58.55) joined Looney as the trio of Sun Devil Women to appear in an A final on Day 1.
TEAM STANDINGS
MEN
1) ASU, 742.50
2) NC State, 514
3) Stanford, 469.50
4) Penn State, 62.50
5) Duke, 99
6) Army, 172. 50
7) George Washington, 23
WOMEN
1) Stanford 639
2) NC State, 623.50
3) ASU, 359
4) Penn State, 349.50
5) Duke, 315
6) Army, 132
7) George Washington, 82
8) UNC Asheville, 11
RECORD BOARD SHAKEUPS
Dolan's lightning-fast 50 free to lead off the 200 free relay was the only broken team record of the night, but the Sun Devils still managed to shake up the program's event records on Day 1.
The quarter of Dolan-House-Marchand-McCusker now owns the second fastest 200 free time in Sun Devil history, and Marchand just turned in the third-fastest 200 IM time in team history.
Brown's fourth-place showing in the 200 IM also netted her the fifth-fastest time in Women's team history. She also led off the 400 medley relay with a 52.99 100 back split, the fifth-fastest time in team history.
Here's an updated look at the team records after the opening acts in Greensboro.
Men's Event Records | Women's Event Records
It was at this three-day invitational last year where the Sun Devils set 10 new program records.
DIVING RESULTS
All six Sun Devil divers posted season-best numbers on Thursday evening, led by Zach Lundgren's third-place finish in the 1-meter with his score of 315.00. Thomas Wesche wasn't far behind, coming in fourth with 295.35.
Sun Devil Women's Dive had a pair of top-12 performances in the 3-meter, paced by freshman Amayah Wiley (9th/253.35) and followed by junior Ashlyn Kirsch (12th/221.10). Just weeks after joining the program as a walk-on, Kirsch has consistently improved, and now has a new Sun Devil career-best in the 3-meter to prove it.
Freshmen Caleb Liban (6th/273.25) and Lane Stallworth (9th/246.40) rounded out a solid opening day for Sun Devil Dive in Greensboro.
MORNING PRELIMS
A dozen Sun Devils qualified for the finals in the morning preliminary session, headlined by Marchand's win in the 200 IM (1:41.00). Grant House and Jack Dolan each added their own second-place finishes, with House following up Marchand in the 200 IM at 1:44.21 and Dolan going 19.32 in the 50 free.
Men's 50 free – Max McCusker, 19.37 (3rd)
Women's 500 free – Lindsay Looney, 4:45.45 (4th)
Men's 500 free – Julian Hill (4:18.44/3rd), Andrew Gray (4:19.27/5th) and Daniel Matheson (4:19.48/6th)
Women's 200 IM – Charli Brown (1:58.53/6th) and Ieva Maluka (1:58.54/7th)
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils will have a chance to keep the momentum rolling tomorrow for Day 2 of the NC State Invite, which will begin with preliminaries (7:30 a.m. MST) followed by the evening finals session (3:30 p.m. MST).
Here's how Day 2 is set to unfold:
200 Medley Relay
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
Women's 1 Meter
Men's 3 Meter
800 Freestyle Relay
Keep up with the action via live results or through the team's Twitter, @ASUSwimDive, which is updated with daily notes, results and recaps.