July 23, 2015
Results
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Penn State junior swimmer Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 400-meter freestyle Thursday, July 23.
A total of 16 women's and 10 men's Nittany Lions are competing in the Mid Atlantic Senior Championships on the campus of Bucknell University Wednesday to Saturday in hopes of advancing to next year's Olympic Trials.
Stasiunas touched in first in the 400 free during the preliminary round in 3:58.21 to punch his ticket to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, while teammates David Gross (Perryville, Md.) and Joseph Ahlberg (Glastonbury, Conn.) each earned top-five finishes and were just shy of qualifying marks. Stasiunas saw his second win of the day, placing first in the 100 free in 50.82.
Also on the men's side, Tim Maurer (Hershey, Pa.) just missed the qualifying mark in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:05.48.
Additionally, Penn State saw strong finishes from several swimmers despite not making the Olympic Trials cut. On the women's side, Katelyn Sowinski picked up a first-place finish in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:15.12, while Casey Francis notched the win in the 400 free with a time of 4:21.43.
The meet continues for the next two days. Penn State men's swimmers in the meet also include: Bob Bantley, Harrison Grimm, Mike Kwasnik, Ryan O'Neill, Andrew Schuehler, and Jon Seiferth. Also participating on the women's side are Anna Farnsworth, Casey Fazio, Hannah Harper, Emily Harris, Mackenzie Hornibrook, Bridget Moody, Allie Pennetti, Niki Price, Tara Rogers, Katie Saloky, Sierra Scoggin, Haley Sinatro, Chelsea VanderWeele, and Megan Wujciak.