Dec. 6, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas - Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) and Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.), each recorded individual top five finishes against some of the nation's best swimmers in the second day of the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas. Ryan and Savoy finished third and fifth, respectively, in the 100 backstroke race. Penn State also continued its impressive early season relay form, placing third in the 200 medley and fifth in the 800 freestyle relays.
Savoy and Ryan both turned in solid prelim performances in the 100 backstroke to set the stage for a strong showing in the evening final. Savoy touched the wall in 46.88, qualifying fourth and Ryan was right behind his teammate, qualifying fifth with a mark of 47.12.
In the finals, Ryan had the best race of his young career. The sophomore recorded a personal best time of 46.71 to earn a third place finish. Savoy improved upon his time as well, clocking in at 46.78 en route to fifth place. Both swimmers reached the NCAA "B" qualifying standard for the event.
The aforementioned duo teamed up with James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.) and John Hauser (Pottsville, Pa.) in the 200 medley relay, touching the wall third in the event with a time of 1:26.93. The finishing time is the fastest mark in the event for all Penn State relay teams this season and qualifies the Nittany Lions for the NCAA "B" standard.
In the 800 freestyle relay, the final event of the evening, Penn State raced to fifth and seventh place finishes, posting times of 6:30.27 and 6:35.99 respectively. The fifth place relay team consisted of Savoy, Hauser, Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.) and Scott Heil (New Brunswick, N.J.), while the team of Ryan, Matt Salig (Downington, Pa.), Matt Grillo (Montreal, Quebec), and Seth Wensel (Christianburg, Va.) finished seventh.
Hauser picked up where he left off after a successful opening day of the invite. The senior qualified for his second "A" final in as many days on Friday when he finished seventh in the prelims of the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:35.79. Hauser improved on both his place and time in the final, placing sixth with a mark of 1:35.74. The time qualifies the Pottsville, Pa. native for the NCAA "B" standard.
Other notable individual performers for the Blue and White were Wilson and Salig, who each reached the NCAA "B" qualifying standards in their respective event. Wilson recorded a career-best time of 54.36 in the "B" final of the 100 breaststroke to finish 12th. Salig also set a personal record in the 400 IM, touching the wall second in the "C" final in 3:53.97 to finish 18th overall in the event.
The three-day Texas Invitational wraps up competition on Saturday. The prelims are scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET with the finals starting at 7 p.m. ET tomorrow evening.