ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Penn State men's swimming & diving closed the Big Ten Championships Saturday at Canham Natatorium with a number of record swims and dives for the books.
"I appreciate the way the team represented Penn State this week," says Penn State head coach Tim Murphy. "We finished out the meet with 35 personal lifetime best races. Looking to continue to improve and build going forward."
"For not having access to a tower like we would want, Hayden did a fine job adjusting to when we are able to train tower, and how we work around it when we need," says Penn State head diving coach Jeff DiNicola. "Lots of room for learning more moving forward with Hayden and also the grit that Kevin showed this week is inspiring."
Top Swims:
Freshmen Andrew Christensen and Eduardo Cisternas took the 1650 free in a matching time at 15:22.97, each qualifying for an NCAA B-cut. Additionally, Christensen walked away recording a best time and a third place finish in the second heat this evening. Junior Zach Brewer swam the 1650 free in a best time at 15:38.75.
In the 200 back, senior Lachlan Byrne recorded top finishes for the Penn State record book. In the finals, Byrne struck gold in the c-final of the 200 back, jumping into that race as the leading qualifier in his heat while touching at 1:44.02 for an NCAA B-Cut. That finish puts his name on the all-time top time list once again for this event at No. 5 all time, just ahead of his 2022 record of 1:44.16. In the preliminary rounds, Byrne also took home a record time and an NCAA B-Cut in the 200 back at 1:44.97, creating a third spot for himself in program history as the eighth fastest time for the men's squad.
Up next, the 100 free came with a number of record finishes and an NCAA B-Cut in prelims for sophomore Victor Baganha. In the preliminary races, Baganha added his name to the 100 free all-time top times list for the program after a 42.75 finish, qualifying for third fastest in program history, falling just behind his own record in this event this year (42.49). Later in the final events, Baganha swam in the A-final for the 100 free at 42.91 for a seventh place finish on the podium overall. His race in the finals also qualified him for an NCAA B-Cut time and another program all-time top times finish for fifth-fastest in program history.
Senior+ Will Lulek started Saturday off strong with the 200 breast. Lulek swam 1:57.62 in the preliminary round which qualified him for an NCAA B-cut as well as an all-time top times finish, now sitting as the tenth fastest in program history, just .01 ahead of Andy Schuehler's 1:57.63 finish in 2014. Later, Lulek took home a second place finish in the c-final at 1:56.91 which qualified once again for an NCAA B-Cut and a program all-time top times finish. His finals race now sits as the eighth fastest in program history, ahead of a 2018 record by Kaelan Freund at 1:56.96.
Freshman Mariano Lazzerini also found abundant success in the 200 breast on Saturday. In the preliminary round, Lazzerini finished at 1:55.99 for an NCAA B-cut and an all-time top times finish, now sitting comfortably as the second fastest time in program history. Later in the finals, Lazzerini swam in the b-final for the 200 breast for an NCAA B-cut at 1:55.40 to take over the third fastest time in program history and adding his name to the all-time top times list once again for this event.
Sophomore Sam Folger and freshman Erik Bolang brought home success from the lanes in the 200 fly. In the preliminary race, Folger swam 1:45.95 to qualify for an NCAA B-cut and climbed to the fourth fastest time in program history. In the 200 fly finals, Folger and Bolang once again climbed the charts. Folger finished second in the c-final at 1:46.01 for the fifth fastest all-time program record. Bolang followed suit with a 1:46.49 finish in the b-final to take the ninth fastest time in the men's program history.
Relays:
The team of Baganha, Hurley, Lazzerini, and Byrne took a sixth place podium finish for their 2:55.39 finish in the 400 free relay.
Diving:
Senior Kevin Sullivan and freshman Hayden Elliott each competed in the tower dives Saturday morning. Elliott finished today's events scoring 260.35 for a 17th place finish.
Points Scored:
1650 Free: 25
200 Back: 14.5
100 Free: 28
200 Breast: 23
200 Fly: 22
400 Free Relay: 48
Up Next:
The Nittany Lions diving squad will compete next at NCAA Diving Zones on March 6-8, 2023 in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Keep up with Penn State swimming and diving by following the team on Instagram (@PennStateSwimDive), Twitter (@PennStateSWIM) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).