UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State swimming & diving team kicked off the first day of its second inter-squad competition of the season on Tuesday afternoon in McCoy Natatorium for the Blue and White Invitational. The team was split into two teams, blue and white, and the meet was unscored.
Will Roberson swam for a PR in the 100 free, Will Lulek set a new pool record in the 200 breast, and Maddie Cooke tied her 100 breast personal best time.
Top Swims - Women
Senior and Olympic Trials qualifier Cooke impressed at the meet, coming in first in the 100 breast (1:00.83), tied for her personal best time that she achieved at this year's Big Ten Championships
Junior Marie Schobel, a recent Olympic Trials qualifier in the 100 back, swam 53.93 in the same race to come in first for the white team.
The women's 100 free was closely contested, with the white team's Abbie Amdor coming in first (50.35), closely followed by blue team's Sadie Schumann (51.00) who was .17 seconds away from a personal best, freshman Cat Stanford and senior Elizabeth Gaspari, both with a time of 51.04.
Senior Camryn Barry placed first for the blue team in the 500 free with a time of 4:52.19. Madison Murtagh placed second (4:56.53) for the white team, and Stephanie Szekely came in third (4:57.06).
Senior blue team member Carly Hart swam less than .20 from her personal best in the 100 breast, placing second (1:01.11).
Junior Brooke Matthias with the white team swam for first in the 200 fly (2:00.30), over two seconds faster than her second-place teammate, blue team freshman Casey Loughlin (2:02.74).
Blue team sophomore Margaret Markvardt swam for a win in the 200 IM (2:01.49), closely followed by Szekely (2:03.92).
Top Swims - Men
Lulek had a successful meet after setting a new pool record in the 200 breast (1:59.76) for a first-place finish. He swam just .32 seconds away from his personal-best to add points for the white team.
Followed closely behind him was fellow junior Daniel Raisanen who swam 2:00.37 for the blue.
Senior and Olympic Trials qualifier Roberson set a new personal record in the 100 free with a time of 43.45 good for first-place. He dropped nearly .30 seconds from his previous best and moves up to sixth on the Penn State all-time top times list for the event.
Behind him in the race was freshman Jake Houck who swam an impressive 44.93 to take second for the white.
In the 1000 free, the blue team swept first and second with freshmen Henry Radzikowski (9:19.35) and Zach Brewer (9:30.76) looking to make their mark as Nittany Lions.
Junior Zac Zwijacz won the 200 fly (1:47.66) to score for the blue team.
The white team took home first and second in the 400 IM with Michael Daly's winning time of 3:45.79 and Lulek's second-place swim of 3:52.30.
Sophomore Lachlan Byrne of the blue team took first in the 100 back (49.56).
Top Dives
On the boards, the divers faced off against Arizona in a virtual meet, where senior Kamryn Umbel won the 3-meter (253.13). She also had a third-place finish in the 1-meter (242.18).
Junior Sierra Shurts had an impressive day, receiving second in both the 1-meter (248.98) and 3-meter (244.05).
Sophomore Wei Wei scored big on a new dive on the 3-meter that earned her fourth in the event with a score of 204.60.
Senior Bryce Hoch scored well on big dives and came away with second-place in the 3-meter (285.08). He was followed by newcomer Logan Krabbe who's consistent performance secured him third in the event (249.15).
Nittany Lion Relays
To open the Blue and White Invitational, the women's 200 medley relay team of Schobel, Jack, Matthias, and Stanford had the fastest time (1:40.28) and earned points for the white team. The blue team's top relay team also swam 3:22.97 in the 400 free relay for the women's final race of the day with a team of Cooke, Barry, Schumann, and Ellie Tiskus.
In the men's 400 medley relay, the team composed of Roberson, Raisanen, Zwijacz, and Hayden Harlow swam for 3:15.19 to win the race and score for the blue team. To conclude the meet, the white teams 200 free relay of Daly, Devon Chenot, Houck, and Thomas Hurley secured first with a time of 1:20.31.
Event Winners (W)
500 free - Camryn Barry (4:52.19), blue
200 fly - Brooke Matthias (2:00.30), white
100 breast - Maddie Cooke (1:01.33), blue
100 free - Abbie Amdor (50.35), white
200 IM - Margaret Markvardt (2:01.49), blue
100 back - Marie Schobel (53.93), white
Event Winners (M)
1000 free, Henry Radzikowski (9:19.35), blue
200 fly, Zac Zwijacz (1:47.66), blue
200 breast, William Lulek (1:59.76), white
100 free, Will Roberson (43.45), blue
400 IM, Michael Daly (3:45.79), white
100 back, Lachlan Byrne (49.56), blue
Next Up
The team will begin the second day of their Blue and White Invitational inter-squad competition tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in Mccoy Natatorium.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM , on Instagram at @pennstateswimdive , and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving. Stream the meet live on GoPSUSport's LionVision.
Junior William Lulek