Prelims Results | Final Results
GREENSBORO, North Carolina — Sophomore Jack Hoagland won an ACC Championship for the second-consecutive night, turning in a 3:40.99 to claim gold in the 400 IM Final. The Irish are in eighth place entering the final day of competition.
Hoagland’s medal is the fifth conference medal of his career, with a silver earned in the 400 IM as a freshman, and on Thursday evening, he won his first ACC gold in the 500 Free.
“I knew I wanted to come back and take a win in that event,” Hoagland said of the motivation gained from his 2020 400 IM performance. “I’ve been training super hard for it, my teammates have been pushing me, [I’ve been] praying to God a lot to get me through that event, and thankfully, I did.”
“My times at our midseason meet were great,” he added. “They were looking good, and so I knew tonight, if I listened to my coaches [and] watched where everyone else was, they would push me to where I needed to be.”
“[Tonight was] another session where we are picking up steam as a team,” head swim coach Mike Litzinger said. “Jack’s title in the 400 IM was a dominant performance and one that has set him up for a great day tomorrow. I was very impressed with both Josh Bottelberghe and Tyler Christianson, each with a personal best and inspiring to our team. Cason Wilburn had a great 200 Free, and Charles Korndoffer chipped in with two scoring swims tonight.
“We have some work to do tomorrow and are looking forward to ending the meet on a high note.”
PRELIMS
To kick off the morning in the 100 Fly prelims, sophomore Korndorffer led the way for Notre Dame, placing 19th with a B-Cut 46.66. The swim made Korndorffer the sixth-fastest performer in the event in program history. Junior Zach Smith followed with a 46.84 (B Cut) in 22nd, both claiming spots in the B Final.
Senior Brendan Santana also competed in the prelim race, clocking a 47.27 (B Cut) for 30th.
In the 400 IM, all five Notre Dame swimmers headed into finals in the Top 15 with NCAA B-Cut times, led by Hoagland, who touched the wall in 3:44.85 to tie for third overall. Freshman Christianson claimed the top seed in the B Final with a ninth-place 3:47.25, and the rest followed in order, as freshman Sean Faikish placed 10th (3:48.74), junior Max Miranda took 11th (3:50.26) and senior Will Cumberland (3:50.44) followed in 12th out of prelims, also all in the B Final.
Moving to the 200 Free prelims, sophomore Wilburn punched his ticket to the B Final with a 1:35.49 (B Cut) in prelims, good for 12th, and senior Sadler McKeen also earned a B-Final spot with a 15th-place 1:35.69 (B Cut). Sophomore Liam Hutchinson claimed a spot in the C Final with a 1:36.88 (24th).
Freshman Liam Smith also swam in the 200 Free prelims, noting a 1:36.90 for 25th overall, and sophomore Thacher Scannell clocked a 1:37.44, placing 29th.
Junior Bottelberghe made the A Final of the 100 Breast, touching the wall in 52.31 (B Cut) in prelims for seventh place. The swim moved him up from third to second-fastest performer in Irish history, just .06 seconds off the record set by Trent Jackson in 2017.
Senior JP Becker also swam the 100 Breast in the morning session, clocking a 55.54 (31st).
To finish out the morning in the 100 Back, Korndorffer made his second final of the day, placing 11th with a B-Cut 46.81 and headed to the B Final. His time also placed him as the third-fastest performer in Irish records. Three Irish swimmers earned berths in the 100 Back C Final with NCAA B-Cut times: Santana (47.19, T-18th), sophomore Jack Fitzpatrick (47.49, 23rd) and freshman Kaden Smesko (47.50, 24th).
Santana’s time in prelims made him the sixth-fastest performer in Irish records, and Smesko’s prelim performance made him rank ninth in Notre Dame history, at the conclusion of the day.
Zach Smith also swam the 100 Back, placing 28th in prelims with a 48.02.
FINALS
In the first final of the night, the 100 Fly, Korndorffer turned in a B-Cut 47.10 for 21st. Zach Smith followed with a 47.40 (B Cut) for 24th.
In Hoagland’s win in the 400 IM, he owned a lead for the entirety of the race, and his 3:40.99 was more than two seconds faster than the next-closest finisher. In the heat prior, the B Final, Christianson led the way, placing ninth overall with a 3:44.49 (B Cut), followed by Faikish (3:47.50, B Cut) in 10th. Cumberland remained in 12th (3:49.98, B Cut), and Miranda placed 16th (3:52.22).
Christianson’s time in the 400 IM made him the fourth-fastest performer in Irish records in the event, while Faikish’s time put him at No. 9 on the list.
Moving to the 200 Free Finals, Wilburn led Irish swimmers with a 1:35.45 (B Cut), good for 11th, and making him the sixth-fastest performer in program records. McKeen placed 16th with a 1:38.19. Sophomore Liam Hutchinson posted a 1:37.00 for 23rd.
Bottelberghe stayed steady in seventh place in the 100 Breast, clocking a 52.39 (B Cut) in the A Final heat.
To finish up individual events for the evening with the 100 Back, Korndorffer posted a 47.42 (B Cut) for 15th, while Fitzpatrick rose to 18th with a 47.16 (B Cut). Santana (47.44, 22nd) and Smesko (47.62, 23rd) also notched B-Cut times.
Fitzpatrick’s performance placed him at fourth all-time in Irish records.
To end the night, in the 400 Medley Relay, the team of Fitzpatrick, Bottelberghe, Korndorffer and Wilburn clocked a 3:10.82 to win their heat and place seventh overall.
UP NEXT
The final day of the ACC Championships begins Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET with prelim races for the 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast and 200 Fly. Finals for the 1650 Free begin at 3:50 p.m. ET, while all other final races begin at 6 p.m. ET (200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Fly and 400 Free Relay). Broadcast coverage is available on ACC Network Extra, and live timing can be found at http://sidearmstats.com/acc/swimming/.
STANDINGS
- Louisville – 825 points
- Virginia Tech – 800
- NC State – 760
- Virginia – 629
- North Carolina – 567
- Florida State – 536
- Georgia Tech – 507
- Notre Dame – 425
- Pitt – 288
- Duke – 272
- Miami – 207
- Boston College -148