The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534227
MAY/JUNE 2025 ■ 47 BY MATT HERB a p py e n d i n gs a re l e ss c o m m o n t h a n y o u 'd think in college sports. T h a t 's t h e n a t u re o f p o s t s e a s o n c o m p e t i - tion; there are a lot more teams and athletes than there are trophies. With that in mind, graduate swim- mer Owen Lloyd knows how fortunate he is to have enjoyed so much success in his final days as an NC State athlete. Lloyd won the ACC championship in the 1,650-yard freestyle race in Feb- ruary, finishing in a personal-record 14:31.64. A month later, he followed up that performance by trimming another two seconds off his PR, posting a time of 14:29.13 to place fifth at the NCAA Championships and earn All-America notice. Lloyd's showing was one of the high- lights of the Wolfpack's postseason, helping the team place third at the conference meet and ninth at nation- als. It was the 10th consecutive year in which the NC State men finished among the top 10 teams in the country, and Lloyd was thrilled to be a part of the effort. "I'm super proud," he said. "I was talking to [associate head coach] Mark Bernardino at the end of the [NCAA] meet, and he was saying it's really rare for someone to end their career the way I did. He said I should be really proud of it, going out with my best times. "I'm happy with the way the team fought," Lloyd added. "It was hard this year. We lost some key guys to injuries. I'm glad I was able to deliver and get some good points at both meets." Coming Full Circle The triumph at ACCs was a euphoric moment for Lloyd, a self-professed "swim nerd" who had grown up in nearby Chapel Hill and had studied NC State's success under coach Braden Holloway before joining the program. It was also a redemptive moment. Lloyd had won the race the previous year, too, but was disqualified shortly afterward when officials ruled that he had interfered with other competitors by leaving his lane. After Lloyd and teammate Ross Dant touched the wall within three seconds of each other, Lloyd climbed over the rope into Dant's lane to celebrate their 1-2 finish. The other competitors were still swimming, and even though none were anywhere near the two NC State standouts, it was deemed a violation. Lloyd was in disbelief. So was Dant, who was declared the winner but was in no mood to accept a championship medal after such a shocking turn of events. "We train all year for a moment like that," Dant fumed in a post-race inter- view that quickly went viral. "To have him disqualified, I think, is the dumb- est thing ever." A lot of people agreed with that as- sessment, decrying the decision as a classic case of overzealous officiat- ing. Amy Van Dyken-Rouen, color commentator on the ACC Network's broadcast of the race, said there was an arbitrary quality to the application of certain rules, with some being strictly enforced and others ignored. "If you're going to call that," she said, "you need to call everything." While dismayed over the officials' ruling, Lloyd was grateful for the show of support that followed, especially from Dant. "I was glad that it got as much atten- tion as it did, because people were able to point out how dumb a call it was," he said. "Ross handled the interview per- fectly, and it blew up. It was awesome to see him get recognition for being such a great teammate, because he is. He cares a lot." Dant graduated after the 2024 season but he was in Greensboro for this year's ACC Championship and was on hand when Lloyd won his title in the mile. "We hugged afterward and took a picture with the medal," Lloyd said. "That was a really special moment for me, coming full circle." Moving Forward Although his collegiate swimming career is over, Lloyd is eager to stay in- volved in the sport. He completed work last year on his bachelor's degree in business management and is now en- rolled in a two-year master's program. While working toward his graduate de- gree, he plans to coach part-time at the club level in the Raleigh area. Lloyd's long-term goal is to break into college coaching. He's looking to pay it forward after seeing the effect that his coaches had on him through- out his swimming career. Lloyd had competed in only 11 regu- lar-season events his first two years on campus but began making big strides as a junior, finishing 11th at NCAAs in the 1,650 freestyle, and following up by placing fifth last year. Now he's hoping to help others reach their potential. "I really fell in love with the sport once I saw big [time] drops in college, just the leadership aspect of it, the mo- tivational aspect, the psychological as- pect and being able to inspire people," he said. "My sophomore and junior years, I really started thinking about it. When I saw that success, I thought, if I'm able to find this joy in coaching as well, it'll be worth doing. If I love it, I'll continue to do it, and I won't work a day in my life. If I don't, I can always fall back on business, but I really think coaching could be my calling. "I'm excited to see what the future holds." ■ " I was talking to [associate head coach] Mark Bernardino at the end of the meet, and he was saying it's really rare for someone to end their career the way I did. He said I should be really proud of it, going out with my best times." Lloyd H Lloyd posted personal-best times in the 1,650- yard freestyle event during his last two meets, finishing first at the ACC Championships and fifth at nationals. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS