Live Recap of Day 1 Prelims at the 2025 Wolfpack Elite Invite

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2025 WOLFPACK ELITE INVITE

• November 20-22, 2025
• Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center — Greensboro, NC
• When: 9:30 am ET prelims/5:30 pm ET finals
• Participating Teams: NC State, Virginia Tech, Army, Duke, Arizona, Auburn, George Washington, BYU
• Live Results
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2025 NCSU Invite”
• Live Stream

The opening day of the 2025 Wolfpack Elite Invite kicks off this morning from Greensboro with heats in the 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free and 100 breast.

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 46.97, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 2025
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 52.52
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 51.87

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Leah Shackley (NCS), 51.33
2. Lora Komoroczy (AUB), 52.12
3. Erika Pelaez (NCS), 52.15
4. Tyler Driscoll (NCS), 52.19
5. Angie McKane (ARMY), 52.48
6. Lily Christianson (NCS), 52.56
7. Carissa Rinard (AUB), 52.72
8. Kennedy Noble (NCS), 52.84

NC State claimed five of the eight lanes in tonight’s ‘A’ final of the women’s 100 fly to kick off the meet, with sophomore Leah Shackley leading the way.

Shackley was the lone swimmer to break 52 seconds, clocking 51.33 to fall just shy of the 51.19 season-best she set at the Raleigh Rumble.

Auburn’s Lora Komoroczy, who was competing in Hungary earlier this month, clocked 52.12 to qualify 2nd overall with a new season-best, while NC State’s Erika Pelaez (52.15) and Tyler Driscoll (52.19) took 3rd and 4th for the Wolfpack, both setting season-best times.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 42.80, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 46.11
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 45.12

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Aiden Hayes (NCS), 44.94
2. Kaii Winkler (NCS), 45.42
3. Abdalla Nasr (AUB), 45.75
4. Sohib Khaled (AUB), 45.85
5. Jakey Hutchinson (ARIZ), 46.31
6. Haakon Naughton (ARIZ), 46.35
7. Max Kleinman (BYU), 46.46
8. Drew Salls (NCS), 46.52

NC State’s Aiden Hayes blasted his first sub-45 100 fly since the 2024 NCAA Championships to lead the men’s prelims in Greensboro, registering a time of 44.94 with 20.84/24.10 splits.

Hayes, 22, dipped under his season-best of 45.20, set in an October dual with Georgia Tech, showing some positive early-season momentum after missing the 2024-25 season with injury.

His sophomore teammate Kaii Winkler nabbed the #2 seed for the final in 45.42, knocking more than a half-second off his personal best time of 45.98, which was set back in December 2023.

The Auburn duo of Abdalla Nasr (45.75) and Sohib Khaled (45.85) had strong swims to advance in 3rd and 4th, with Nasr setting a new best time and Khaled 65 one-hundredths off his.

WOMEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 3:54.60, Ella Eastin (Stanford) – 2018
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 4:13.20
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 4:09.53

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Lisa Nystrand (NCS), 4:11.13
2. Katherine Helms (NCS), 4:11.84
3. Maggie McGuire (AUB), 4:14.10
4. Audrey Portello (DUKE), 4:15.17
5. Lucy Warnick (BYU), 4:15.55
6. Keelan Cotter (NCS), 4:19.68
7. Sammie Hamilton (AUB), 4:20.03
8. Audrey Crawford (AUB), 4:20.21

NC State’s Lisa Nystrand cruised to the top seed in the women’s 400 IM, edging out teammate Katherine Helms in the fourth and final heat.

Nystrand, who has already been 4:08.78 this season, touched in 4:11.13 to hold off Helms, who put up a time of 4:11.84 to drop more than two seconds off her season-best time set at the Raleigh Rumble (4:14.09).

Auburn’s Maggie McGuire won the penultimate heat in 4:14.10, just shy of the personal best she set at the SMU Classic in October (4:13.71).

MEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 3:28.82, Leon Marchand (ASU) – 2023
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 3:46.19
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 3:41.61

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Luke Waldrep (AUB), 3:44.28
2. Tanner Nelson (BYU), 3:44.51
3. Maston Ballew (AUB), 3:45.73
4. Kyle Ponsler (NCS), 3:46.06
5. Ian Stutts (NCS), 3:47.06
6. Mack Schumann (AUB), 3:48.06
7. Eli Martin (VT), 3:48.37
8. Danny Schmidt (AUB), 3:49.45

Auburn freshman Luke Waldrep set a seismic lifetime best to advance 1st into tonight’s final of the men’s 400 IM, putting up a time of 3:44.28.

Waldrep, 19, obliterates his previous best time of 3:50.47, set in January 2024, in what was his first time racing the event in college. It also puts him well under the NCAA qualifying standard (3:46.19), though it’s still a bit off the 2025 NCAA invite time (3:41.61).

Another Tiger first-year, Maston Ballew, also set a big best time, clocking 3:45.73 to advance 3rd overall into the final and knock two and a half seconds off his previous best of 3:48.22.

BYU’s Tanner Nelson set a big season-best time of 3:44.51 to qualify 2nd into the final, which is notably faster than he was all of last season, having gone 3:45.52 at the 2025 Big 12s. His lifetime best of 3:42.87 stands from the 2022 NCAAs.

NC State’s Kyle Ponsler, who was 9th at NCAAs last season in 3:37.42, cruised to the 4th-fastest time this morning in 3:46.06.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:39.10, Missy Franklin (Cal) – 2015
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:45.53
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:44.74

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Erika Pelaez (NCS), 1:44.58
2. Ali Pfaff (DUKE), 1:45.52
3. Carmen Weiler Sastre (VT), 1:45.57
4. Bella Ekk (AUB), 1:45.72
5. Molly Webber (ARMY), 1:46.07
6. Lily King (NCS), 1:46.08
7. Emily Claesson (VT), 1:46.46
8. Wyllo Hanson (AUB), 1:46.54

In her second swim of the morning, NC State sophomore Erika Pelaez grabbed the top seed in the women’s 200 free with a solid showing of 1:44.58 coming off a quick turnaround after the 100 fly.

Pelaez’s swim drops 25 one-hundredths off her season-best of 1:44.83, set at the Raleigh Rumble earlier this month. She set her lifetime best of 1:43.14 in October 2024 during her freshman year.

Duke’s Ali Pfaff (1:45.52) out-touched VT’s Carmen Weiler Sastre (1:45.57) and Auburn’s Bella Ekk (1:45.72) to win Heat 6 as he trio advanced 2-3-4 into the final, with Pfaff setting a season-best and Ekk a new personal best. On Oct. 30, Ekk set her previous best of 1:46.22 in a tri-meet with Tennessee and Louisville.

Army’s Molly Webber was just nine one-hundredths shy of the best time she set earlier this month in 1:46.07 to advance in 5th, while NC State freshman Lily King had a strong swim with a new season-best of 1:46.08 to move through in 6th.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:28.33, Luke Hobson (Texas) – 2025
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:33.93
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:32.27

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Tomas Lukminas (ARIZ), 1:31.88
2. Kaii Winkler (NCS), 1:32.78
3. Jerry Fox (NCS), 1:32.94
4. Hudson Williams (NCS), 1:33.00
5. Daniel Krichevsky (AUB), 1:33.27
6. Brendan Whitfield (VT), 1:33.47
7. Ralph Daleiden (ARIZ), 1:33.48
8. Warner Russ (AUB), 1:33.80
9. Mikolaj Filipiak (NCS), 1:35.30
10. Ben Butler (ARIZ), 1:35.57

Arizona’s Tomas Lukminas blasted his way to a new personal best time in the 200 freestyle, touching in 1:31.88 to break 1:32 for the first time.

Lukminas, who split 21.35/23.51/23.37/23.65, dips under his previous best of 1:32.14, set at the 2025 NCAA Championships, where he finished 20th.

Coming into this week, no one had broken 1:32 in the NCAA this season, but that’s already changed with some invites hosting 800 free relays on Tuesday night.

NC State claimed the next three spots in the final, with Kaii Winkler backing up his 100 fly best time with a 1:32.78 showing for 2nd, Jerry Fox breaking 1:33 for the first time in 1:32.94 for 3rd, and Hudson Williams cracking 1:34 for the first time in 1:33.00 for 4th. Winkler’s swim was just shy of his season-best 1:32.51 set at the Raleigh Rumble.

WOMEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 55.73, Lilly King (Indiana) – 2019
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:00.30
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 59.51

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Eneli Jefimova (NCS), 58.01
2. Kaelyn Gridley (DUKE), 59.01
3. Eleni Gewalt (ARIZ), 59.62
4. Annika Finzen (AUB), 1:00.61
5. Zoey Zeller (AUB), 1:00.63
6. Hanna Schmidt (AUB), 1:00.83
7. Kiia Metsakonkola (AUB), 1:00.85
8. Aubree Brouwer (NCS) / Lily Christianson (NCS), 1:00.90

Wolfpack freshman Eneli Jefimova cruised to the top seed in the women’s 100 breast this morning in 58.01, putting her exactly one second clear of the field.

Jefimova, an Estonian native, set a lifetime best of 57.67 at the Georgia Tech Dual Meet Tournament in October, which ranked her 2nd in the nation entering this week.

Duke’s Kaelyn Gridley clocked 59.01 to qualify 2nd, just under four-tenths back of the season-best she set during a dual with VT in late October (58.46).

The third woman sub-1:00 this morning was Arizona senior Eleni Gewalt, who knocked 15 one-hundredths off her season-best in 59.62.

Tying for 8th were NC State teammates Aubree Brouwer and Lily Christianson, setting up a potential swim-off after they produced matching 1:00.90s in the prelims.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 49.51, Julian Smith (Florida) – 2025
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 52.58
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 51.58

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Kohen Rankin (ARMY), 52.39
2. Uros Zivanovic (AUB), 52.58
3. Peter Etzold (BYU), 52.60
4. Maston Ballew (AUB), 52.66
5. Arsen Kozhakhmetov (NCS), 52.72
6. Eli Martin (VT), 53.03
7. Will Bonnett (BYU), 53.09
8. Jack Smith (DUKE), 53.16
9. Tavner Wisdom (ARIZ), 53.24
10. Evan VanderSluis (BYU), 53.34

Army’s Kohen Rankin paced a relatively slow preliminary of the men’s 100 breast, which saw no one under 52 seconds.

Rankin split 24.07/28.32 en route to a time of 52.39, one-tenth shy of his season-best set earlier this month in a dual against Penn State.

Auburn’s Uros Zivanovic, a 20-year-old Serbian, established a new season-best of 52.58 to qualify 2nd, while BYU’s Peter Etzold set a season-best and was just two-tenths off his PB in 52.60 to advance in 3rd.

Fresh off a best time in the 400 IM, Auburn freshman Maston Ballew set another PB in the 100 breast, breaking 53 seconds for the first time in 52.66 to move through to the ‘A’ final in 4th. Ballew set his previous best of 53.35 on Oct. 30.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 Wolfpack Elite Invite: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap