RICHMOND, Va. – Four members of the Penn State swimming & diving programs, three men and one woman, were named College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-Americans Tuesday for their efforts in the classroom and in competition. Michael Daly, Daniel Raisanen, Marie Schobel and Zane Sutton earned All-America accolades, with Daly honored for the third time and Schobel garnering a second appearance on the list. Nine other Nittany Lions earned honorable mention accolades for 2020-21.
Michael Daly (Pearl River, New York), studying biochemistry and molecular biology, finished seventh overall in the 400 IM and competed in three events at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month. From Pearl River, New York, he became Penn State's first Big Ten champion in the 400 IM in 2021, setting the program's event record in the process. Daly earned bids to the 2021 NCAA Championships in 100 backstroke and 400 IM, with an honorable-mention All-America performance in the 400 IM.
Owner of the school record in the 200 breaststroke and a member of school-record 200 medley relay, Daniel Raisanen (Taby, Sweden) also holds a top-10 mark for the program's 100 breaststroke, moving up to No. 7. He recorded two top-20 finishes in breaststroke events at the 2021 Big Ten Championships, and as part of the 200 medley relay team, went on to compete at the NCAA Championships, finishing 23rd nationally. Raisanen is majoring in marketing.
Marie Schobel (Sea Girt, New Jersey), a finance major, competed in the 100 backstroke B final at Wave I U.S Olympic Trials last month, the first Penn State women's swimmer with that distinction. She competed in the 2021 NCAA Championships in the 100 and 200 backstroke events with a personal best in the 100 backstroke event for 22nd.
Zane Sutton (Bentonville, Arkansas) contributed to a school record in the 200 freestyle relay as the anchor and finished the 2020-21 season with career bests in the 50 and 100 freestyle. A risk management major, Sutton also competed in the 400 freestyle relay, helping the Nittany Lions to the second-fastest mark in program history this past season.
The Scholar All-America award recognizes students who achieved a grade point average of 3.50 or higher and were invited to compete at their respective national championship. Honorable mentions similarly achieved a GPA of 3.50 and achieved a "B" time standard or competed at an NCAA Regional or Zone Diving qualifier. The CSCAA named 789 swimmers and divers to its Scholar All-American Team for the 2020-21 season.
Seven members of the women's swimming & diving team, Maddie Cooke, Carly Hart, Margaret Markvardt, Brooke Mathias, Sierra Shurts, Stephanie Szekely and Wei Wei earned honorable mention recognition for the 2020-21 year. Two individuals on the men's swimming & diving team, Hayden Harlow and Zac Zwijacz, were named to the honorable mention list.
The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) announced its Scholar All-America teams for spring 2021 with both Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving teams honored for posting team GPAs of 3.0 or higher. The Nittany Lion women earned a team GPA for the 20th-straight semester and the men have recorded 10 consecutive semesters.
Stay up to date with the Nittany Lions by following our social media pages on Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving), Instagram (@Pennstateswimdive) and Twitter (@pennstateswim).
CSCAA Scholar All-America Honors
Student – Designation – Year in School – Major
Maddie Cooke – HM – Senior -- International Affairs
Michael Daly –AA – Junior -- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Hayden Harlow – HM – Senior -- Advertising & Public Relations
Carly Hart – HM – Senior -- Advertising & Public Relations
Margaret Markvardt – HM – Sophomore -- Pre-engineering
Brooke Mathias – HM – Junior -- Accounting
Daniel Raisanen – AA – Sophomore -- Marketing
Marie Schobel – AA – Junior – Finance
Sierra Shurts – HM – Junior -- Biobehavioral Health
Zane Sutton – AA – Sophomore – Risk Management
Stephanie Szekely – HM – Senior -- Elementary and Early Childhood Education
Wei Wei – HM – Sophomore -- Biobehavioral Health
Zac Zwijacz – HM – Junior -- Community, Environment, and Development
