COLUMBUS, OH. - The Penn State men's swimming team began individual events Wednesday night at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio. Will Roberson highlighted day two of the 2021 Big Ten Championships, earning bronze in the 50 free.
The Nittany Lions notched five individual top-16 finishes and 12 career-best times.
Top Swims
Will Roberson led the Nittany Lions with a top-three finish in the 50 free. His career best and NCAA B-cut time of 19.17 earned him a bronze in the event. He took over the No. 3 spot on Penn State's all-time list.
Following narrowly behind him was freshman Jake Houck who impressed with a sixth-place finish overall in the event (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.
Rounding out the A-finals was senior Gabe Castano, who swam a NCAA B-cut time of 19.44. He secured his season-best in the preliminary heat, swimming a time of 19.36.
Senior Hayden Harlow placed 13th in the 200 IM B-finals, shaving nearly a second off his preliminary race for a final time of 1:45.62. His prelim run of 1:46.35 earned him an NCAA B-cut.
Junior William Lulek swam for 1:46.64 in the 200 IM B-Finals to clinch 16th after locking in a career best and NCAA B-cut time in his prelim race. His best of 1:46.51 moves him up to sixth fastest all-time in the event in Penn State history.
In the preliminary heats, freshmen Calvin Wise, Tommy Hurley, Henry Radzikowski and Zach Brewer each notched a career best in their respective events. Wise in the 200 IM (1:50.24), Hurley in the 50 free (20.65), and Radzikowski and Brewer in the 500 free with 4:28.45 and 4:30.25, respectively.
In the 50 free, four Nittany Lions secured their best times in the event during their prelim races. Zane Sutton led the pack with a time of 20.48, followed by Devon Chenot (20.67), Jacob Deckman (20.78), and Eben Krigger (21.02).
After day two of competition, Penn State holds seventh place with 267 points. All the point totals include results from the Big Ten Diving Championship.
Nittany Lion Relays
The 400 medley relay team composed of Michael Daly, Daniel Raisanen, Houck, and Roberson swam for ninth with a final time of 3:08.38. Daly's lead-off split in the 100 back (46.07) became his personal-best and ranked him third all-time in program history.
Next Up
Penn State will face their third day of contest beginning tomorrow at 11 a.m. with the prelims in the 100 fly, 400 IM, and 200 free. They'll pick back up at 6:30 p.m. with finals in all three events. All sessions will be streamed live via BTN Plus with 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.