COLUMBUS, Ohio- The Penn State Nittany Lions Men's Swimming and Diving Team finished their weekend in Columbus at the Big Ten Championships with three top eight swims and several strong efforts.
The Nittany Lions finished the weekend as a team in the seventh position of the eight teams that attended with 683 points.
The trio of junior Victor Baganha, sophomore Mariano Lazzerini and sophomore Cooper Morley continued their big weekend at the Big Ten Championships each earning a top eight finish on the day.
The day got started with four Nittany Lions making the final in the 200 back. Morley finished the prelims in third with a time of 1:41.16 followed by senior Lachlan Byrne (1:43.22) in 10th, junior Jack Harvey (1:44.48) in 22nd and sophomore Matthew Bittner (1:44.50) in 23rd.
In the final, Morley finished in seventh position with a time of 1:42.50 capping off a great weekend. Byrne finished in 13th with a time of 1:43.63 followed by Bittner in 21st with a time of 1:44.07 and. Finally, Harvey finished in the 22nd position posting a time of 1:44.22.
In the 100 free prelims, Baganha was the lone qualifier for the Nittany Lions finishing third in 42.48. In the final, Baganha dropped one spot finishing fourth with a time of 42.41.
In the 200 breast, Lazzerini delivered qualifying eight with a time of 1:55.32, and topped that in the finals with a fifth place finish in a time of 1:52.94.
Senior Calvin Wise also had a great performance in the 200 breast posting two 24th place finishes. In the prelims he finished in 1:59.20, and in the final Wise finished in 2:00.42.
In the 200 fly, freshman Alex Karahalis finished the prelims in 19th with a time of 1:46.73 followed by junior Sam Folger who finished in 1:46.73 which was good for 21st. Freshman Caden Davis rounded the group out in 24th posting a time of 1:47.05.
In the 200 fly finals, Karahalis finished in the 19th position posting a time of 1:46.16 while Davis jumped Folger posting a time of 1:46.73 which was good for 20th. Rounding out the group, Folger finished in 21st with a time of 1:47.14.
Two awards were announced at the completion of the Championships events. The Big Ten Sportsmanship award was given to senior diver Kevin Sullivan.
Lazzerini was awarded All Big Ten First team while Baganha, Morley and Bittner all received Big Ten Second Team honors.
The Nittany Lions will continue on at the Last Chance Meet to qualify for the NCAA Finals this weekend from March 8 to March 10.
For updates on Penn State swimming and diving, follow the team on Instagram (@pennstateswimdive), Twitter (@PennStateSwim) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).