COLUMBUS, OH. - The Nittany Lions are set for the 2021 Big Ten Men's Swimming Championships that begins Tuesday, Mar. 2. The five-day event will be hosted by Ohio State at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
SCHEDULE
The meet will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday with the finals of the 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay. Preliminary heats will start at 11 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with finals scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. each night.
Tuesday, Mar. 2 - RELAYS at 5 p.m.
200 Medley Relay
800 Freestyle Relay
Wednesday, Mar. 3 - PRELIMS at 11 a.m.
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
500 Freestyle
Wednesday, Mar. 3 - FINALS at 6:30 p.m.
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
500 Freestyle
400 Medley Relay
Thursday, Mar. 4 - PRELIMS at 11 a.m.
100 Butterfly
400 Individual Medley
200 Freestyle
Thursday, Mar. 4. - FINALS at 6:30 p.m.
100 Butterfly
400 Individual Medley
200 Freestyle
Friday, Mar. 5 - PRELIMS at 11 a.m.
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Friday, Mar. 5 - FINALS at 6:30 p.m.
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
200 Freestyle Relay
Saturday, Mar. 6 - PRELIMS at 11 a.m.
100 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
200 Breaststroke
1,650 Freestyle
Saturday, Mar. 6 - FINALS at 6:30 p.m.
100 Freestyle
1,650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
200 Breaststroke
400 Freestyle Relay
COVERAGE
All sessions will be streamed live via BTN Plus, and all live stats will be available on Sidearm and Meet Mobile throughout the course of the contest. Live results will be available on the Ohio State Athletics site and www.bigten.org.
THE MEET
The Nittany Lions will face tough competition in the country as five conference teams enter the contest as members of the TYR/CSCAA Top 25. Indiana leads the conference, ranking eighth and are followed by No. 11 Michigan, No. 19 Wisconsin, No. 20 Northwestern, and No. 21 Ohio State.
B1G CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Penn State has recorded five top-five finishes, all stretching from 1998-2002, with a win in 1999.
The team is looking to improve on their ninth-place finish from the 2020 Big Ten Championship. Last year, Michigan won the tournament with a score of 1548 and was followed by Ohio State (1329) and Indiana (1321.5).
Last year, current teammates Michael Daly and Gabe Castano had impressive performances in their respective events, and both earned All-Big Second Team honors.
On the first night of competition, Daly broke the school record in the 200 free for his lead-off split of 1:34.73 in the 800 free relay. He also clinched silver with a personal-best time in the 200 back (1:40.63), fourth in the 400 IM (3:34.00), and fifth with a career-best in the 500 free (4:17.72) to become the fastest Nittany Lion to compete in the event at Big Tens. Daly would go on to qualify for the NCAA Championship in the 200 back and 400 IM, ranking as high as 16th in the nation in the backstroke event.
Castano also capped off his season with a broken school record, as a member of the 200 free relay team that swam 1:17.38 for the teams best. That record has since been broken by the same members of the relay who swam for 1:17.04 at the Last Chance Meet post-Big Tens. Individually, he secured silver in the 50 free with a personal-best time (19.06) and currently ranks second-fastest in the event in Penn State history. In addition, Castano just missed a podium finish in the 100 free, placing ninth in the event with a time of 43.13. He was slated to compete in the NCAA Championship in both the 50 free and 200 free relay, ranking fifth in the nation in the 50 free.
Additionally, last season Daniel Raisanen broke the school record in the 200 breast at the Championships during his rookie campaign. He initially landed the time in his preliminary race in the event (1:56.26) then beat his own record in the finals, swimming for 1:55.73.
FREESTYLE
A handful of swimmers look to lead the Nittany Lions in the freestyle events. Senior William Roberson and freshman Jake Houck lead Penn State in the sprints, both swimming for top-10 times in the conference with NCAA B-cuts in the 50 free. Roberson ranks sixth with his season-best time of 19.85, while Houck is right behind him at seventh with a personal-best of 19.92.
Roberson also ranks in this seasons top-5 for the Big Ten in the 100 free, sitting third with a career-best and NCAA B-cut time of 43.45. His career-bests in both events place him at No. 3 all-time for Penn State in the 50 free (19.40) and sixth-fastest in the 100 free (43.45).
Also a contender in the sprint events is Castano who holds the second-fastest time in program history in the 50 free (19.06) and fourth-best in the 100 free (43.07).
Daly also represents the Nittany Lions in the conference top-10, positioned sixth in the 200 free for his season time of 1:36.58. He currently holds the school-record in the event (1:34.73).
BACKSTROKE
Daly holds a second-place ranking in the conference in both backstroke events with NCAA B-cut times in the 100 back (47.01) and 200 back (1:42.04). His personal-best in the 200 back is good for third all-time in program history.
Newcomer Jacob Oberle trails Daly in both events, swimming the team's second-fastest time this season in the 200 back (1:47.86) and third-best in the 100 back (1:47.86).
Roberson narrowly beat out Oberle in the 100 back, earning Penn States second-fastest time of the season with his lead-off split of 47.92 in the 400 medley relay.
BREASTSTROKE
Raisanen enters his second Big Ten Championship with an NCAA B-cut time in the 200 breast (1:58.06), that's good for seventh-best in the conference. He currently owns the school record in the event (1:55.73).
Senior Hayden Harlow holds the team's second-fastest time of the season in the 100 breast (55.28), while junior William Lulek swam for second-best in the 200 breast (1:59.76).
BUTTERFLY
Juniors Zac Zwijacz and Carlos Vasquez represent the Nittany Lions in the season's top-10 in the 200 fly. Zwijacz leads the team as seventh in the conference (1:47.42), while Vasquez's time of 1:47.68 ranks him eighth in the event.
Zwijacz's season-best in the 100 fly also places him tenth fastest in the conference (47.94).
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Three Nittany Lions own top-10 season times in the Big Ten in the Individual Medley events.
Daly leads the conference in the 400 IM with an NCAA B-cut time of 3:45.79. He's narrowly followed by Lulek who's B-cut time in the event (3:49.23) locks him in at fourth fastest on the season.
Harlow ranks eighth overall in the 200 IM with his season-best of 1:47.85.
NEXT UP
The men's NCAA Championships will be held from Wednesday, Mar. 24 - Saturday, Mar. 27, in Greensboro, N.C., at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
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.