The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/672211
MAY 2016 ■ 31 A National Title There had been two previous freestyle relay swims at the NCAA Championships before the 400, and Texas had won both. On the first day of the meet, the lone event was the 800 relay. NC State swam it faster than any team in NCAA history except the Texas squad a lane next to them. The Long‑ horns also edged NCSU by a mere 0.21 seconds in the 200. Having won the relays at a shorter and longer distance than the 400, the Longhorns would seem to be natural favorites. The Pack swimmers went back to what Holloway preached: "Business as usual." "We think about what we need to do in practices, and in the meet we just do what you learned already," Bilis said. "We knew what we had to do." Bilis, the lone senior of the group, person‑ ally put himself in the mode to be his best, he said. Bilis knew he had one last chance to end his career perfectly. He had been second in the 100 freestyle in both 2015 and 2016, and added a runner‑up in the 50 free this year. Both the 100 and 50 sprints in Atlanta were won by Florida phe‑ nom Caeleb Dressel, who bettered his own American records in both races to top Bilis. Bilis thought he had a national title last year in the 200 free relay, but the Pack's first‑place fin‑ ish was taken away by disqualification for an early takeoff. When he finished his second leg, Bilis had done his part. He swam a blistering split of 40.80 seconds, the fastest of any swimmer in the relay that night, and gave NCSU a lead. Schiellerup held it up after the third leg, and NCSU was more than a half‑second ahead of Florida with Texas trailing by nearly a full second in third. But the Longhorns were not even in the NCSU swimmers' sights. "They were in lane eight, away from us," Bilis noted. Holloway, though, had a better view and he could see the Longhorns closing behind anchor Jack Conger, who finished sec‑ ond to Dressel in the 100‑meter freestyle at the U.S. Nationals in 2015. "I knew that they were going to be com‑ ing, but I felt confi‑ dent with our relay, with the guys that were going to be on that relay and them wanting it," Holloway said. "There is no other team in that pool that wanted it more than them." Conger closed significantly, but Dahl swam fast enough. By the tip of a nail, Dahl touched first, 0.04 seconds ahead of Conger. NC State was the first‑ever ACC team to win From left to right, sophomores Ryan Held and Andreas Schiellerup, senior Simonas Bilis and junior Soren Dahl became the first-ever ACC team to win a relay national title, edging perennial power Texas in the 400 freestyle race by 0.04 seconds. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS "They are not quite the best yet, but they are the cool kid on the block." ■ SwimSwam.com Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief Braden Keith on NC State