IOWA CITY, Iowa. – Penn State freshman Michael Daly led the Nittany Lions on the fourth and final day of the 2019 Big Ten Men's Swimming & Diving Championships, setting a new school record in the 1650 free Saturday at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.
As a team Penn State, finished seventh with 563.5 points. Indiana came out on top with the Big Ten title.
Senior co-captain Robbie Dickson received the 2019 Sportsmanship Honoree Award for the championship weekend. Dickson also earned an NCAA B-Cut in the 1650 free (15:23.09).
"We lose some really good seniors but we're excited about what we have in front of us," said head coach Tim Murphy.
Daly completed the 1650 free in 15:03.81 to place sixth, breaking the record of 15:05.32 held since 2012 by Nick Ankosko. It was Daly's second record-setting performance of the meet, as he broke the Penn State 400 IM record Friday.
The mile was not Daly's only swim of the day, as he earned an NCAA B-cut time of 1:43.55 in the preliminary round of the 200 back, ranking him fourth all-time in school history. He ultimately placed 16th in 1:45.50.
Leading the Nittany Lions in the 200 back was Liam Veregin, who placed ninth in the prelims with a time of 1:42.92, a personal best time that ranks him as the third-fastest Penn State performer in the event. He then won the consolation final in 1:43.41.
In the 100 free, sophomore Gabe Castano led the charge for the Nittany Lions, advancing to the championship final with an NCAA B-Cut time of 43.07 in the preliminary round, a personal best. The time places him fourth all-time in Penn State history in the event. In the evening, Castano placed eighth with a time of 43.29.
In the 200 breast, Hayden Harlow posted a B-cut, personal-best of 1:58.12 in the preliminary round to move up to sixth all-time at Penn State. The sophomore ultimately placed 20th in the finals with a time of 1:58.33.
Two Nittany Lions swam B-cuts in the 200 fly. Freshman Zach Zwijacz placed 11th with a time of 1:45.01, third all-time in Penn State history, and Matthew DiNunzio's time of 1:46.12 in the preliminary round places him fourth all-time at Penn State.. DiNunzio ultimately finished 19th in 1:46.74. Jacob Deckman (1:47.86) and Nathan Schiffmann (1:48.13) also advanced to finals with preliminary personal bests, and placed 22nd (1:48.04) and 23rd (1:48.13), respectively.
In the 400 free relay, the team of Will Roberson, DiNunzio, Veregin, and Castano, placed eighth with a time of 2:54.15.
On the boards for the Nittany Lions, Jonah Cey finished 20th and scored a 309.70, while Hector Garcia Boissier finished 21st with a score of 302.55.
"Jonah had a great day and made an impression for the future of Penn State tower divers," said diving coach Jeff DiNicola. "Hector did a good job and now our focus will be looking forward to Zones and making NCAA qualification for the team in a week".
Coach Murphy voiced his satisfaction in his team and staff for their performance this weekend: "I'm really proud of what the guys did this weekend. We held off Iowa and were 30 points away from Wisconsin. Top to bottom everyone counted and was a great teammate. I want to give a special thanks and appreciation to my staff. They all did really good work and it all paid off."
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.
A fundraiser was launched to support freshman women's swimmer Nikolette Nolte and her family for costs associated with her leukemia treatment. Any surplus funds will be donated to THON and the Jessie Rees Foundation to help others facing pediatric cancer. Donate at gopsu.info/nikistrong
