UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lions are set for the 2020 Big Ten Men's Swimming & Diving Championships that begins Wednesday February, 26. The four-day event will be hosted by Indiana at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center.
SCHEDULE
The meet will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday with the finals of the 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay. Preliminary heats will start at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the finals scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. each night.
Wednesday, Feb. 26 - RELAYS at 5 p.m.
200 Medley Relay
800 Freestyle Relay
Thursday, Feb. 27 - PRELIMS at 11 a.m.
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
1-Meter Diving - Trials (1 p.m.)
1-Meter Diving - Consolation Final
Thursday, Feb. 27 - FINALS at 6:30 p.m.
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
1-Meter Diving - Final
400 Medley Relay
Friday, Feb. 28 - PRELIMS at 11 a.m.
100 Butterfly
400 Individual Medley
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
3-Meter Diving - Trials (1 p.m.)
3-Meter Diving - Consolation Final
Friday, Feb 28. - FINALS at 6:30 p.m.
100 Butterfly
400 Individual Medley
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
3-Meter Diving - Final
200 Freestyle Relay
Saturday, Feb. 29 - PRELIMS at 11 a.m.
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Platform Diving - Trials (1 p.m.)
Platform Diving - Consolation Final
1,650 Freestyle (Approx. 4:15 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 29 - FINALS at 6:30 p.m.
1,650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Platform Diving
400 Freestyle Relay
Team/Individual Awards Presentation
ADMISSION
During the championships, tickets can be purchased inside the main entrance of the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center in the Student Recreational Sports Complex. All tickets are general admission but each participating school receives a designated section on equal rotation. Please contact the Indiana Athletics Ticket Office for more information.
Purchase tickets HERE.
COVERAGE
All sessions will be streamed live via BTN Plus on BTN2Go. Complimentary access to BTN2Go is available to viewers connected to the internet network of a Big Ten university. Fans elsewhere can sign up for the pay-per-view webcasts. Live results will be available on www.iuhoosiers.com and www.bigten.org.
THE MEET
The Nittany Lions will face tough competition in the country as four conference teams enter the event as members of the TYR/CSCAA Top 25. Michigan leads the conference, ranking third and is followed by No. 4 Indiana, No. 17 Ohio State, and No. 20 Iowa.
Penn State is looking to improve on a seventh-place finish from the 2019 Big Ten Championship. Last year, host Indiana won its third Big Ten Championship in a row and was followed by Michigan and Ohio State.
Last year, current teammates Michael Daly and Gabe Castano had impressive performances in their respective events. In his first Big Tens, Daly broke two school records in both the 1650 free and 400 IM, a time which he beat twice. He initially broke the record for the 400 IM in his preliminary race; after shaving nearly three seconds off in the finals, Daly beat his own record finishing fourth with a time of 3:42.48. On the last day of competition, he secured a sixth-place finish in the 1650 free with an all-time Penn State record of 15:03.81. Castano had a podium finish after securing third in the 50 free with a career-best and NCAA B-Cut time of 19.20. His race earned him second fastest all-time in Penn State history.
Former Penn State diver, Hector Garcia-Boissier had two fourth-place finishes for the team; scoring 441.15 in the 3-meter, and 419.40 in the 1-meter.
B1G CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Penn State has recorded five top-five finishes all stretching from 1998-2002. The Nittany Lions won the Big Ten Championship in 1999.
FREESTYLE
A handful of swimmers look to lead the Nittany Lions in the freestyle events. Juniors William Roberson and Gabe Castano lead Penn State in the sprints, both ranking in the top five with NCAA B-cut times in the 50 free. Roberson ranks second with his career-best time of 19.42, while Castano is right behind him at fourth with a time of 19.56. Both swimmers also rank in the top 25 in the 100 free where Roberson leads the team at 10th with a career-best and NCAA B-cut time of 43.72. Castano is placed 19th with a final time of 44.05.
On the distance side, Michael Daly earned an NCAA B-cut time with his career-best in the 500 free (4:20.10) that's good for 11th in the conference.
BACKSTROKE
Michael Daly holds a seventh-place ranking in the conference in the 200 back with a career-best and NCAA B-cut time of 1:43.57. Senior captain Liam Veregin will enter his final Big Tens ranking 15th in the 100 back (48.07).
BREASTSTROKE
Freshman Daniel Raisanen enters his first Big Ten Championship ranking 16th in the 200 breast with his career-best and NCAA B-cut time of 1:58.21. His teammate, Brad Johnson also earned an NCAA B-cut time in the 100 breast that's good for a 19th-place ranking (54.04).
BUTTERFLY
Junior Juliusz Gosieniecki leads the team with his career-best time in the 100 fly (48.13), which ranks 21st.
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Three Nittany Lions own NCAA B-cut times in the 400 IM, ranking them all in the Big Ten top 25. Sophomore Michael Daly leads the team ranking eighth with a time of 3:48.76, following him is junior Hayden Harlow who ranks 12th (3:49.05), while sophomore William Lulek sits at the No. 16 spot (3:49.98).
DIVING
Three of the four divers have qualified for the NCAA Zone Regionals and will look to impact the scoring at Big Tens. Freshman Kevin Sullivan and junior Bryce Hoch have each qualified in the 1-meter and 3-meter, and sophomore Jonah Cey has qualified for all three events.
NEXT UP
The Penn State men will have a last chance meet at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio before the NCAA Zone A Diving Championship Mar. 9-11 and the NCAA Championships Mar. 25-28.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.
