Leah Shackley, Kaii Winkler Have NC State Leading Raleigh Rumble
The NC State Wolfpack are hosting Ohio State and Virginia Tech for a two-day, three-session event called the Raleigh Rumble, and it kicked off Friday with the home team leading the way. NC State’s women have scored 508 points to lead Ohio State (309) and Virginia Tech (202.5) while the Wolfpack men have 487 to top OSU (295.5) and VT (241).
Sophomore standout Leah Shackley grabbed three individual wins on day one of competition. Shackley swam a time of 1:55.61 for first in the 200 butterfly in the morning session, and she returned in the evening to top the 100 fly (51.19) and 100 backstroke (50.73). Fellow sophomore Erika Pelaez swam a time of 1:51.32 to dominate the 200 back before also winning the 100 IM (54.08).
Breaststroker Eneli Jefimova won the 200 (2:08.86) and 100 (58.20), and the team of Shackley, Jefimova, Pelaez and Cassie Moses swam a time of 3:28.89 to win the 400 medley relay.
Ohio State also picked up a pair of wins: Mila Nikanarov topped the 1000 freestyle in 9:25.62 while Rachel Bockrath came home first in the 100 free (48.09).
The meet features three rounds of knockout competition for the 50-yard events of each stroke, with the first round held Friday morning, the semifinals with four swimmers Friday evening and the one-on-one finals to come Saturday. In the 50 fly, NC State’s Tyler Driscoll had the fastest time in the first round (23.18) and semifinals (23.37), with teammate Pelaez joining her in the final.
Shackley was first both times in the 50 back (23.66/23.51), with fellow Wolfpack standout Kennedy Noble also advancing to Saturday. Jefimova twice led the way in the 50 breast (26.30/26.32), with Ohio State’s Maria Ramos Najji joining her in Saturday’s race. Moses was best in the 50 free (22.11/22.14), with Lily Christianson also advancing.
In the men’s competition, Kaii Winkler posted a pair of wins on day one, taking the 100 IM (48.03) and 100 free (41.43). Teammate Daniel Diehl was first in the 200 back (1:41.04), and Aiden Hayes won the 200 fly (1:44.50). Lance Norris swam away from the field in the 1000 free (8:46.60) while Hudson Williams went 45.65 for first place in the 100 back. Williams, Arsen Kozhakhmetov, Hayes and Winkler combined for a time of 3:05.60 in the 400 medley relay.
Ohio State had three swimming wins on the day. Matthew Klinge swam a time of 45.07 in the 100 fly while Ahmed Ismail took the 100 breast (52.85) and Tristan Jankovics topped the 400 IM (3:43.29). In diving, Tyler Read won 1-meter (352.75), and Ernest Braitenbach led the way on 3-meter (356.25). Virginia Tech’s Eli Martin was first in the 200 breast (1:54.84).
In the 50 knockout rounds, Hayes topped the 50 fly in the morning (20.83) before Klinge led the way in the evening (20.26), with Hayes joining him in the final. The 50 back will see Williams go against Quintin McCarty after McCarty went 20.98 in the first round and Williams 20.96 in the semis. Virginia Tech’s Martin topped the 50 breast in the morning at 24.37, but he ended up fourth at night as Kozhakhmetov (24.09) and Ismail (24.14) advanced. In the 50 free, NC State’s Brendan Whitfield started off the day with a sizzling time of 19.01, and he was second in the semifinals behind the Wolfpack’s Jerry Fox (19.22).
