Nov. 30, 2012
ATHENS, Ga. - The Penn State men's swimming and diving team kicked off the Georgia Invitational on Friday evening, moving to fourth place with 175 points after the first day of competition. Three performances earned NCAA "B" qualifying marks, including the fourth-place 400 medley relay squad.
Sophomore Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.), junior James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.), junior Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.) and freshman Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) finished the 400 medley relay in an NCAA "B" qualifying time of 3:12.17. It was the first medley NCAA standard of the season for the Nittany Lions (2-2).
Ryan and sophomore Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.) each qualified for the NCAA "B" cut in individual events, with the freshman recording a new personal best time of 20.15 seconds for fourth place in the 50 free. Ankosko swam a season best time of 4:22.28 in the 500 free for a seventh-place finish. The two Lions join Grier and sophomore diver T.J. Schenkel (Richboro, Pa.) in surpassing NCAA "B" standards this season. Grier qualified against Villanova in the 100 back with a time of 48.00 seconds, breaking the McCoy Natatorium record, while Schenkel qualified in both the one- meter (301.05) and three-meter (332.92) boards against the Wildcats.
Penn State opened competition in the 200 free relay, with the team of Ryan, Grier, junior John Hauser (Pottstown, Pa.) and junior Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) swimming to a fourth-place finish with a time of 1:19.61. The squad missed the NCAA "B" cut by just .42 seconds. Junior Andrew Sideras (Philadelphia), sophomore Jeff Young (Hershey), freshman Matt Grillo (Montreal, Quebec) and Savoy followed in eighth with a time of 1:21.28.
Hauser was one of nine Lions to record a season best time, finishing the 500 free in 4:25.71 for a 14th-place finish in the B Final. Earning a spot in the A Final of the 200 IM, junior Matt Salig (Downington, Pa.) also swam a season best time with 1:49.58 for an eighth-place finish. Sophomore Jonathan Ekstrom (Silver Spring, Md.) competed in the B Final, earning 14th with a season best mark of 1:52.02.
Joining Ryan in the A Final of the 50 free, Austin swam a season best of 20.54 for sixth place, while Grier followed in seventh (20.69). Young and Hauser tied for 15th in the B Final with a time of 20.54, matching Austin's mark, for their season best performances. It was Young's fastest performance in the 50 free since beginning his career as a Lion. Sideras (20.81) and Grillo (21.06) competed in the C Final, as well.
Penn State returns to action Saturday morning for the second day of the Georgia Invitational. Preliminaries will begin at 9:30 a.m., with finals beginning at 5 p.m. at the Gabrielsen Natatorium. Live results are available at http://www.georgiadogs.com/livestats/c-swim/12invite/.
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