July 13, 2017
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Penn State junior Robbie Dickson won the men's 800-meter freestyle in a U.S. Open Swimming cut-time and sophomore Maddie Hart won the women's 100-meter butterfly to lead Penn State swimmers on the opening day of the 2017 Middle Atlantic Senior Swimming Championships Wednesday in Kinney Natatorium.
Nittany Lions competing are looking to earn bids to the U.S. Open Swimming Championships and U.S. Futures Swimming Championships.
Dickson's open-cut swim in the 800m was the highlight of the day, as he touched first in 8:18.75. The time was a 5.63-second improvement over his previous lifetime best, and he has dropped 8.81 seconds in the event since arriving at Penn State.
Hart earned a pair of Futures cuts with personal-best performances, winning the 100m fly in 1:02.65 and placing eighth in the 100m back in 1:05.57. Her 100m fly was a 2.66 second improvement over her previous best and her 100m back effort resulted in a 3.07 second drop over her previous best.
Sophomore Hannah Blaser had one of the most dramatic improvements of the Nittany Lion swimmers, placing third in the 800m free in 9:13.62 to earn a Futures cut after dropping 24.18 seconds off of her previous lifetime best swam just a month ago.
Junior Aleksandra Tulacz cracked the top-five as well, placing fifth in the 200m breaststroke in 2:42.76.
Junior Auckie Fenstermacher saw improvement in the 100 fly, setting a personal best of 57.23 to win the consolation final and place ninth. It was a 0.75 second drop from his previous best and a 0.80 second drop since arriving at Penn State.
The Middle Atlantic Senior Swimming Championships continue through Saturday. The U.S. Open Swimming Championships are Aug. 2-6 in Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, New York, and the U.S. Futures Swimming Championships are Aug. 3-6 at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.