IOWA CITY, IOWA – Maddie Hart's bronze medal swim in the 100 fly led Penn State on the third day of the Big Ten Women's Swimming & Diving Championships at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium on Friday evening.
Hart accounted for two of Penn State's three championship finals appearances on the day, as the Nittany Lions moved up one place in the team standings to eighth with 365 points. In addition to taking third in the 100 fly, Hart placed sixth in the 100 backstroke to score 51 points for the team, and four more Nittany Lions placed in the top 15.
Hart was also Penn State's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, which was rewarded to one member of each competing Big Ten team.
Top Swims
The Nittany Lions began the evening with two championship finalists in the 100 fly. Hart placed third (51.80) and swam a personal-best time of (51.64) in the prelims. Sophomore Madison Ledwith placed eighth (53.75) and swam a personal-best of 53.30 in the prelims, which was a personal best, NCAA B-Cut time, and made her the fifth-fastest performer in Penn State history in the event.
Also in the 100 fly, Brooke Matthias placed 13th with a time of 53.88, but swam her fastest time ever in prelims (53.67), making her the sixth-fastest Penn State performer all-time in the event.
Hart swam the 100 back in 52.78 to place sixth, and sophomore Marie Schobel won the consolation final to finish ninth (52.96). Schobel also achieved a personal best in the 100 back previously in the meet when she swam 52.69 in the 400 medley relay Thursday, which gives her the fourth-fastest 100 back time all-time for Penn State.
In the 100 breaststroke, juniors Maddie Cooke and Carly Hart placed 14th (1:00.83) and 15th (1:01.17), respectively, with Cooke's time being a career best and ranking her tied for fifth on Penn State's all-time performers list in the event. Olivia Jack also placed in the top 20 with a time of 1:01.33, which was a career best for her.
Junior Stephanie Szekely competed in C finals for the 400 IM and placed 21st with a time of 4:17.66.
Thursday, Penn State broke the school record in the 400 medley relay and four swimmers scored points, including Maddie Cooke when she placed eighth in the 50 free.
Top Dives
The divers competed in the 3-meter on day three and senior Christina Crowell led Penn State. She placed 14th after prelims and moved up to 12th overall with a score of 285.55 in the consolation finals, making her the highest scoring Penn State women's diver since Lisa Silvestri placed in the top eight in the 1-meter and 3-meter in 2004.
Nittany Lion Relays
Penn State swam for sixth place (1:30.23) in the 200 freestyle relay with a team of Cooke, Abbie Amdor, Elizabeth Gaspari, and Olivia Jack.
Next Up
The women will continue competition on Saturday with prelims beginning at 11a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET and finals starting at 6:30 CT/7:30 p.m. ET. All sessions will be streamed live via BTN Plus and the finals will be televised on BTN. Complimentary access to BTN2Go is available to viewers connected to the internet network of a Big Ten university.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Instagram at @pennstateswimdive, Twitter at @PennStateSWIM and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.
