MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Penn State women's swimming concluded their fourth day of Big Ten Championships with a top-eight finish on Friday evening in the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota.
The Nittany Lions achieved four top-24 finishes, including one top-eight and two top-16 finishes.
Penn State finished day four at ninth place with 309 points.
Senior Stephanie Szekely was also the winner of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award at the conclusion of tonight's events.
Top Swims
Marie Schobel placed sixth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 53.11.
Senior Maddie Cooke shined again on day three with a ninth-place overall swim in prelims (1:00.92) and 15th overall in finals (1:01.12).
Also in B-finals, sophomore Margaret Markvardt scored more points for the Nittany Lions in the 100 back with a 14th place time of 54.09. Her finals time was a career best.
In the 100 breast C-finals, senior Carly Hart swam for 17th place overall and first in her heat in both finals and prelims, with a finals time of 1:01.13.
The 200 free relay, at 1:29.48 for fifth place, is now the fourth-fastest for Penn State all-time.
Day Two
In the 100 butterfly B-finals, Cooke swam for 15th place with a time of 54.04. Her prelim time of 53.89 was a career best and the 10th-fastest time in Penn State history in the event.
Junior Madison Ledwith swam for 17th (53.94) and first in the 100 fly C-finals with the fastest finals time for Penn State.
Szekely placed 18th (4:15.63) and second in the C-finals after being seeded 24th (4:20.20) overall in prelims. Her finals time was a career best.
Day One
On the first day of individual races, Cooke swam for 11th place and third in the B-finals with a career best time of 22.39 in the 50 freestyle. That time also bumped her up to fourth-fastest all-time in the 50 free for Penn State and earned her another NCAA B-Cut time.
Also on day two, Markvardt placed 14th in the 200 IM B-finals with a time of 2:00.54. Her prelims time of 1:59.39 was a career best and an NCAA B-Cut.
Nittany Lion Relays
The 200 free relay swam for 5th place (1:29.48) with a team of Cooke, Elizabeth Gaspari, Cat Stanford, and Abbie Amdor. It is now the fourth-fastest for Penn State all-time.
Penn State began day one with a fourth-place swim in the 200 medley (1:38.14) with a team of Schobel, Hart, Markvardt, and Cooke.
Next Up
The women's team will conclude Big Ten competition on Saturday with prelims beginning at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. ET and finals starting at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT. The Big Ten Diving Championships continue Friday at 1:20 p.m. ET/ 12:20 p.m. CT at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
All sessions will be streamed live via BTN Plus with swimming live stats available on Sidearm and Meet Mobile.
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.
