Dec. 1, 2012
ATHENS, Ga. - The Penn State men's swimming and diving team had a tremendous second day at the Georgia Invitational, posting seven NCAA "B" cut performances and setting two new school records. Junior Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.) broke his own Penn State record in the 100 fly before breaking a three-year old record in the 100 back. The Nittany Lions (2-2) now sit in fifth place with 381.5 points.
Grier's banner day began with a first-place finish in the 100 fly, winning the event with a NCAA "B" qualifying time of 46.79 seconds. The junior broke his own previous school record of 46.83 seconds to remain atop the Penn State record book. Earning his second victory of the day, Grier went on to claim the 100 back with a new school best time of 46.38 seconds. The record had previously been set in 2009 by Patrick Schirk with a time of 46.51 seconds. Again qualifying for the NCAAs in the event, Grier improves upon his previous McCoy Natatorium record time of 48.00 seconds, set earlier in the season against Villanova.
In Penn State's first event of the day, the squad of sophomore Nate Savoy (Reading), junior James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.), Grier and freshman Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) took third in the 200 medley relay. After qualifying in the 400 medley relay on Friday, the team's time of 1:27.30 gives the squad its second straight NCAA "B" cut in the fastest time of the season.
Joining Grier in the A Final of the 100 back, Ryan and Savoy took third and fifth place, respectively. In his first collegiate appearance in the event, Ryan's time of 47.07 seconds surpassed NCAA "B" standards, as did Savoy's season best time of 47.36 seconds. Earning spots in the C Final, sophomore Kyle Madley (Madison, N.J.) took 18th with 49.29 seconds, junior Thomas Mershon (Malvern, Pa.) took 23rd at 50.56 seconds and senior Jeff Gomez (Morristown, N.J.) followed in 24th place with 50.90 seconds.
Rounding out Penn State's "B" cut performances, Wilson claimed sixth place in the A Final of the 100 breast with a season best time of 55.23 seconds, while sophomore Jeff Young (Hershey) took 17th in the C Final with a personal best record of 57.32 seconds. Seven Lions have now met NCAA qualifications in nine different events.
Penn State produced 16 top-20 performances, including the seventh-place finish of John Hauser (Pottstown, Pa.) in the 200 free. Hauser recorded a season best time of 1:38.15 in the A Final, with sophomore Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.) following in the C Final in 19th place with a new personal best record of 1:38.69. Competing in the B Final of the 100 fly, junior Andrew Sideras (Philadelphia) took 12th with a season best 49.87 seconds, while junior Matt Salig (Downingtown, Pa.) took 14th with 50.10 seconds. Madley battled in the C Final, finishing in 22nd place with a season best time of 50.41 seconds.
Salig also competed in the B Final of the 400 IM, recording a season best time of 3:58.66 for a 15th-place finish, while junior Chris Cipolla (South River, N.J.) swam a season best 3:56.10 for 12th place. Freshman Kevin Glenn (Matthews, N.C.) made his collegiate debut in the event, posting a 23rd-place finish with a time of 3:59.62. For the divers, senior Alex Marchinski (Shillington, Pa.) competed in the finals on the three-meter board, recording a score of 270.40 for 16th place.
The Lions concluded the second day of competition with their first stab at the 800 free relay of the season. The squad of Hauser, Ryan, Ankosko and Grier finished in ninth with a time of 6:37.22, while Salig, Savoy, junior Seth Wensel (Christiansburg, Va.) and freshman Andrew Eiken (Naperville, Ill.) swam a collective time of 6:37.33 for 10th place.
The Georgia Invitational resumes Sunday morning, with preliminaries beginning at 9:30 a.m. and finals beginning at 3 p.m. at Gabrielsen Natatorium. Live results are available at http://www.georgiadogs.com/livestats/c-swim/12invite/.
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