Jan. 28, 2011
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Penn State men's swimming & diving opened its two-day quad meet by taking a mid-meet lead against Northwestern, 100-86. The Nittany Lions trail nationally ranked Ohio State 121-53 and host Michigan, 146-40.
The 400 medley relay squad of Graham Risley (Riverside, Ill.), Mitch Scherer (Pottstown, Pa.), Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.) and Brian Alden (Lansdale, Pa.) teamed up for its best showing of the year, a time of 3:17.38. The NCAA B cut time saw solid showings from each leg including Alden's 44.63 anchor time, which was best in the race.
Alden followed up that performance with a 1:40.92 200 free effort, good for seventh place before Alex Marchinski (Shillington, Pa.) took fourth in the 3-meter dive with a 291.25 score. Freshman Jordan Harris (Philipsburg, Pa.) tallied a score of 312.35, the best of his young career for a second-place showing as he was just three points shy of Michigan's Chris Morrison.
The swimmers returned to the pool to see Risley place second in the 100 backstroke. The sophomore, who battled injuries during the first half of the season, has steadily improved since returning after the New Year and posted a time of 49.73.
The Penn State Nittany Lions return for second-day action at Michigan when the 200 medley relay kicks action off at 11:00 a.m. For in-meet updates, follow Nittany Lion assistant coach Aaron Mahaney (@PSUCoachMahaney) and head coach John Hargis (@PSUCoachHargis).
--NITTANY LIONS--