Jan. 12, 2013
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Penn State men's swimming and diving team topped Missouri State Saturday afternoon, swimming the top time in 13 events to win with a score of 171-124. The Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-1 Big Ten) claimed victory in 11 of 16 events, with sophomore Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.), junior Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.) and junior John Hauser (Pottstown, Pa.) winning two events a piece.
Ankosko led two Penn State sweeps in the 1,000 free and the 500 free, recording times of 9:34.77 and 4:34.80, respectively. Freshman Will Lee (Hershey) followed in second place in the 1,000 free with a time of 9:35.11, while junior Chris Cipolla (South River, N.J.) took third with a season best time of 9:36.52. In the 500 free, junior Matt Salig (Downingtown, Pa.) swam a season best 4:35.63 for second place, with freshman Andrew Eiken (Naperville, Ill.) following in third (4:42.05) and junior Seth Wensel (Christiansburg, Va.) placing fourth (4:45.83).
Continuing his winning streak in the 100 back, Grier earned first place with a time of 48.65 seconds before dominating the 100 fly with a time of 49.29 seconds. The junior led sophomore Nate Savoy (Reading) in the 100 back (48.71), who then went on to win the 200 back with a time of 1:47.09.
Claiming victory in the 200 free for the third time this season, Hauser recorded a time of 1:39.65 to lead Eiken's fourth-place showing of 1:42.94. The junior then went on to win the 100 free with a time of 45.94 seconds, with junior Andrew Sideras (Philadelphia) placing third (46.50) and junior Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) placing fourth (47.15). Sideras recorded two additional third-place showings in the 50 free (21.28) and the 100 fly (50.97), while Austin went on to claim second in the 50 free with a time of 21.11 seconds.
Penn State's hot streak continued, with Salig claiming first in the 200 fly (1:50.17), sophomore Jeff Young (Hershey) taking the 50 free (20.81) and Cipolla topping the competition in the 200 breast (2:04.65). The Lions also dominated in the 200 medley relay, with the squad of Savoy, junior James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.), Grier and Austin swimming a collective time of 1:29.48. Additionally, the team of Sideras, Grier, Austin and Hauser went on to post the fastest time in the 400 free relay with 3:03.89.
For the divers, sophomore T.J. Schenkel (Richboro, Pa.) posted yet another NCAA qualifying score on the three-meter board, recording 321.10 for second place. Junior Lucas Kachurick (McKeesport, Pa.) followed in third place with a score of 258.40. The duo switched places on the one-meter board, with Kachurick claiming second place with a personal best score of 269.55 and Schenkel coming in at third with 265.35.
Rounding out the Lions' top performances of the day, Wilson took second in the 100 breast with a time of 57.30, while sophomore Ryan Magee (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.) claimed third in the 200 back with 1:51.95. Sophomore Kyle Madley (Madison, N.J.) posted two third-place finishes, as well, recording a time of 1:53.62 in the 200 fly and a time of 52.08 seconds in the 100 fly.
Penn State returns to Happy Valley on Saturday, Jan. 26 for the first home meet of 2013. The Lions will take on Navy at 11 a.m. at the McCoy Natatorium.
Check back to GoPSUSports.com for continued updates during the 2012-13 season. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/PennStateSWIM and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.