GREENSBORO, N.C. – The men's squad featured 20 Nittany Lions finalists on Friday at the N.C. State Invitational scoring 524.5, including two new program event records.
"Numerous best times, and just as important are the numerous tough swims," says Penn State head coach Tim Murphy. "The team is racing well. We need one more day of the same."
"Solid prelims for all. Then at consoles and finals, everyone dove better. All the divers held or improved their scores. Lots of good information for training moving forward, but also in a good spot for each athlete," says Penn State diving coach Jeff DiNicola
Top Swims:
Sophomore Victor Baganha trialed the men's 100 Fly and swam a 45.22, just 0.1 seconds off from his personal school record, clinching an NCAA B Cut for both the men's 100 Fly and 50 Free.
The men's 400 IM came with a ninth place finish for Senior+ Will Lulek who finished at 3:49.19, nearly three seconds quicker than his preliminary time. Lulek now holds a second all-time program record for the men's 400 IM with Thursday's race creating a fifth place spot, as well as an NCAA B-Cut for the men's 400 IM.
Eduardo Cisternas led the men in the 200 Free after dropping 1.41 seconds from his preliminary time to finish at 1:37.60.
Freshman Mariano Lazzerini clenched a podium finish in the men's 100 Breast with a second place finish at 52.76, creating a second place all-time program record and an NCAA B-Cut for Lazzerini in the men's 100 Breast. Senior Dan Räisänen followed close behind in fourth place with a 53.10 second finish, dropping nearly one second from his time in the prelims earlier and attaining an NCAA B-Cut for the men's 100 Breast.
Senior Lachlan Byrne completed the men's 100 Back with a ninth place finish and an NCAA B-Cut at 47.33.
Relays:
The team of Byrne, Räisänen, Baganha, and Lazzerini placed fifth in the men's 200 Medley Relay at 1:25.92 with a 2.89 time drop from earlier in the day.
Top Dives:
Hayden Elliott represented the Nittany Lions on the men's 1-meter dive, taking home a fifth place finish with a score of 332.35.
Event Winners:
400 IM – Will Lulek, Andrew Christensen, Jack Deppen, Calvin Wise
100 Fly – Matthew Bittner, Jacob Oberle, Sam Folger, Erik Bolang
200 Free – Eduardo Cisternas, Zach Brewer, Justin Schneider, Ben Musante, Ryan McNutt
100 Breast – Daniel Räisänen, Mariano Lazzerini, Tommy Hurley, Ben Doyle
100 Back – Lachlan Byrne, Matthew Bittner, Jack Harvey, Jacob Oberle
Up Next:
The Nittany Lions will continue onto compete in day three of the NC State Invitational alongside UNC, Duke, Army, Arizona State and Stanford.
Keep up with Penn State swimming and diving by following the team on Instagram (@PennStateSwimDive), Twitter (@PennStateSWIM) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).
-NITTANY LIONS-