The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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104 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER A year ago, NC State men's swim- ming and diving head coach Braden Holloway and his team set goals of repeating its ACC title and top-five finish at the NCAA Championships. By the end of last season, the Pack cel- ebrated a dominating repeat performance at the ACC Championships and notched a fourth-place showing at nationals. High- lighting the NCAA meet was a first-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay — the first- ever relay national title by an ACC team. Capping the memorable year was four swimmers earning spots in the Summer Olympics. Simonas Bilis, a senior last year, made the finals of the 50 freestyle, and Ryan Held, a junior, memorably won a gold medal in the 400 freestyle relay, participating in a foursome that included Michael Phelps. Understandably expectations are high this season, and Holloway is confident his team will not back down from the new standard. "This group of guys don't want to go backwards," Holloway said. "Obviously, they know they have big shoes to fill to do what we did last year. For a lot of other ACC schools in our conference, this is a big year for them with their senior classes. They are going to want a piece of our cake. "Getting a top-four trophy at NCAA was great, but they want to move up and beat one of those teams ahead of them that people say can't be beaten. "I think we've been able to create a culture and environment where this is expected." Held highlights the group of returning swimmers. After he defeated Bilis to win the ACC titles in the 50 and 100 freestyle, Held earned All-America honors in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle at the NCAA Championships. Then came his stellar per- formance at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where he finished third in the 100 freestyle to earn a spot on the relay team. Winning the gold medal has put Held in high demand back home. Holloway noted it has been challenging for the junior to manage, but it has also been an opportunity to embrace. "The best thing about him and being able to handle the spotlight is being back with his guys, being back with his team, being back home and being back to the blue- collar environment that helped him get to that level," Holloway said. "He's back in it and getting back to what he does best." ■ PREVIEW MEN'S SWIMMING HIGH STANDARDS Wolfpack Looks To Repeat Its 2015-16 Performance After earning seven All-America honors at the 2016 NCAA Championships, junior Ryan Held won a gold medal during the Rio Olympics. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS ■ Key Meets • At Texas, Nov. 4 — NC State will mea- sure itself against the two-time defending national champions. • Vs. North Carolina, Jan. 27 — Any show - down with the archrival is always circled on the calendar. • ACC Championships, Feb. 27-March 2 — NC State hopes to three-peat at this season's meet, held in Atlanta.