BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sophomore Michael Daly won silver in the 200 backstroke to lead Penn State on the last day of the Big Ten Championships Saturday evening at the Counsilman-Bilingsley Aquatic Center.
Additionally, Daniel Raisanen broke the school record for the 200 breast twice after swimming a best in the prelims, and shaving time off in his final race, while Nittany Lions totaled 16 personal-bests.
Both Daly and Gabe Castano earned All-Big Ten Second Team for their performances throughout the competition. Daly ended with three championships finals appearances and a school record in the 200 freestyle. Castano finished with a silver medal in the 50 free, with his time of 19.06 ranking him fourth in the nation. He also earned two podium spots with the 400 free and 400 medley relay teams.
The Nittany Lions finished ninth overall with 531 points.
Top Swims
Daly had his third podium finish of the competition after swimming a personal-best and NCAA B-cut time of 1:40.63 in the 200 back earning him a silver medal in the event. His time ranks him No. 3 on the Penn State all-time list.
Raisanen first broke Penn State's 200 breast record in the preliminaries with a time of 1:56.26, but he then shaved nearly a second off that time in the finals to set a new standard of 1:55.73.
Two Nittany Lions won their consolation finals, as Gabe Castano had a ninth-place finish in the 100 free with an NCAA B-cut time of 43.13, and Zac Zwijacz's NCAA B-cut time of 1:44.34 in the 200 fly placed him ninth and moved him up to second all-time in the event in school history.
Teammate Sam Rennard's time of 15:19.71 was good for 14th in the 1,650 free and ranks him eighth in school history.
Hayden Harlow also earned an evening swim and finished the day with a personal-best and NCAA B-cut time of 1:56.85 in the 200 breast . His swim ranks him fourth all-time at Penn State.
The Nittany Lions ended competition with three broken school records in the 200 free, 200 breast, and 200 free relay. They also combined for a total of eleven individual top-16 performances, five of which were podium finishes.
Top Dives
Both divers had top 25 finishes in the platform dive. Freshman Kevin Sullivan finished with a score of 247.15, right behind him was junior Bryce Hoch who ended with a score of 230.80.
Nittany Lion Relays
The 400 free relay team of Matthew DiNunzio, Zane Sutton, Juliusz Gosieniecki, and Castano earned a sixth-place finish with a final time of 2:54.14.
Every relay that swam this weekend finished with a top-eight time. The 200 free broke a school record and placed fourth with a time of 1:17.38, the 400 medley finished eighth with a time of 3:09.61. The 200 medley team swam 1:25.35 for a fifth-place finish and a third-fastest time in school history. The 800 free earned seventh with a time of 6:24.00.
Next Up
The men will compete for NCAA and Olympic Trial times at the Last Chance meet in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, Mar. 8.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Instagram at @pennstateswimdive, Twitter at @PennStateSWIM and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.
