Feb. 24, 2012
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Penn State men's swimming & diving team used the strength of multiple individual performances to earn fifth place after three full days of the Big Ten Championships. Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.) had the best finish, a third-place showing in the 100 backstroke to lead the Nittany Lions. Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.) set a new school record in the 100 butterfly as well.
Entering the evening's finals in sixth place, Penn State fell to seventh at one point, but stormed past Purdue and Minnesota in the final two events of the night, earning 235.5 points for fifth place, a half-point ahead of the Gophers. Michigan still holds the overall lead with a commanding 516.5 points with Saturday's finale looming.
Savoy and teammate Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.) finished third and fourth, respectively, to gain Penn State 35 points in the final swimming event of the night. Savoy set a personal best (46.60) and is now has ownership of the second-fastest 100 back time in school history behind Patrick Schirk (46.51, 2009). Savoy was three-tenths behind Big Ten champion James Wells of Indiana. Grier lowered his all-time best swim in the event to 47.16.
Earlier in the night, Grier earned sixth place in the 100 butterfly, a very fast event where all but one swimmer dropped time from the prelims. Grier set a school record in the mean time, touching the wall in 46.83. Grier's excellent swim was the third Penn State program record broken this week.
Grier's performance in the fly was followed by Penn State's exciting swims in the 100 breaststroke by senior Mitch Scherer (Pottstown, Pa.) and Brian Alden (Lansdale, Pa.). Scherer clocked a 53.21 finishing fourth, while Alden lowered his lifetime best from earlier in the day with a 53.51 for fifth place. Two more Nittany Lions, James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.) and Brent Sanderson (Chadds Ford, Pa.), swam in the B Final, notching 13th- and tied-for-15th-place showings each. Wilson raced a personal best time of 54.88 and Sanderson went 55.14, another personal best swim.
Another A Finalist, Scott Marino (Scotch Plains, N.J.) had the tough assignment of swimming the 400 IM A Final just 20 minutes after taking part in the 200 freestyle relay. Marino finished sixth (3:49.48) in the 400 IM, while the 200 freestyle relay posted eighth to start the evening session. Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) set a new personal record with a 19.86 lead off leg before giving way to Grier, Marino and Alden. The squad swam a time of 1:20.03, a season best.
The Nittany Lions return to action on Saturday for the fourth and final day of the Big Ten Championships hosted by the University of Iowa. Penn State is looking for its first top 5 finish since 2003 with the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast and 200 fly to swim in preliminaries starting at Noon ET. The finals for those events plus the ultimate event, the 400 freestyle relay, commence at 7:30 p.m. ET.
--NITTANY LIONS--