Hennessey Stuart, a freshman at North Carolina State and former star at Regis Jesuit in Aurora, has qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships later this month in both backstrokes.
The male student-athlete of the year for 2013-14 by The Denver Post and The Denver Athletic Cub, Stuart tore it up at the recent Athletic Coast Conference meet. Stuart was third in the 100-meter backstroke in 46.42 seconds and went 1:39.73 in the 200 back to set an ACC record in the prelims. In the finals, he bettered the mark by finishing in 1:39.37.
As a team, Stuart helped the Wolfpack win the ACC title for the first time since 1992.
Stuart is ranked 26th in the 100 back and second in the 1200 back.
The national championships will be held March 26-28 at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center in Iowa City, Iowa. The University of Iowa will serve as the host.
As a high-schooler, Stuart won eight individual and relay Class 5A crowns for perennial power Regis Jesuit.
