UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Six Nittany Lion swimmers will represent Penn State at the 2021 NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships hosted at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C., from Mar. 24 - Mar. 27.
Junior Michael Daly qualified for two events - the 400 IM and 100 back. At Big Ten Championships, he clinched gold with a career best, NCAA B-cut, and school-record time of 3:41.09 in the 400 IM. He became Penn State's first-ever Big Ten champion in the 400 IM. In addition, he secured seventh in the 100 back with an NCAA B-cut of 46.54. He swam a personal best time of 46.47 in the preliminary heats to qualify for the A-finals. He moved up to No. 5 all-time in Penn State history.
This is his third time qualifying for NCAA's, finishing 26th overall in the 400 IM at his freshman year Championship. He currently ranks 10th in the nation for his individual medley time and 21st overall in the 100 back.
Three men were chosen to compete in the 50 free - seniors William Roberson and Gabe Castano and freshman Jake Houck.
Roberson is coming off an impressive run at the Big Ten Championships in the event, earning bronze with a career-best and NCAA B-cut time of 19.17 - tying him for 16th-fastest in the nation. Last season, he qualified for NCAA's with the 200 free relay team that currently owns the school record. He received CSCAA All-American honors after the 2020 Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Castano qualified in the 50 free for the third year in a row - achieving 17th his sophomore year (19.21). At Big Ten's, he swam for eighth overall with an NCAA B-cut time of 19.44. His season best time (19.36) in the event ranks him as the 28th-fastest in the county. Last season, he qualified for NCAA's with the nation's fifth-fastest time (19.06) and the second-fastest time in program history. Along with Roberson, he was slated to compete at the 2020 Championships before they were canceled.
Houck will enter his debut NCAA Championship meet after securing sixth in the 50 free at Big Tens (19.38). His preliminary time of 19.29 was a personal-best and NCAA B-cut, making him the fourth-fastest Nittany Lion to swim the event. He's locked in at 21st-fastest in the nation for the event.
Two relay teams also earned the chance to compete at NCAA's this year.
The 200 free relay team of Castano, Roberson, Houck, and Zane Sutton officially qualified for NCAA's at the Big Ten Championships, swimming an A-cut time of 1:17.07. Their time was only three-hundredths of a second away from the school record.
Additionally, the 200 medley team of Roberson, Daniel Raisanen, Houck, and Castano locked in a new Penn State school record, going 1:24.86 for a fifth-place finish at Big Tens and a spot at the Championships.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM, on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving, and Instagram on @pennstateswimdive.