COLUMBUS, Ohio- The Penn State Nittany Lions Men's Swimming and Diving team continued their Big Ten Championship competition for the third day Friday, with several strong swims and multiple qualifiers among several events.
The Nittany Lions now sit in sixth position of the eight teams at the event with a score of 498
Penn State had three heat A participants on the day. Mariano Lazzarini won the 100 breast while setting a new school record, while sophomore Cooper Morley finished second in the 100 back and junior Victor Baganha finished in the fifth position.
The Nittany Lions began the day in the 100 fly and Baganha stayed red hot for the Nittany Lions finishing the prelims in sixth with a time of 45.75.
Following Baganha in the 100 fly, sophomore Matthew Bittner continued his dominant weekend with a 15th place finish of 46.66. Freshman Caden Davis snuck into the finals with a great swim of 47.43 to place in 23rd.
In the final, Baganha improved with a time of 45.43 which elevated him to fifth position. Behind him, Bittner finished in the 13th position with a time of 46.61 and Davis finished in 18th, jumping five spots, with a fast time of 46.91.
The 400 IM didn't disappoint for the Nittany Lions as five Penn State swimmers qualified for the final. Sophomore Andrew Christensen led the charge finishing 14th with a time of 3:48.21. Behind him freshman Sean Honey finished in 15th place posting a time of 3:49.70. Fellow freshman Alex Karahalis (3:50.41) and Toni Slavica (3:53.90) finished 17th and 20th while senior Calvin Wise rounded out the group in 23rd with a time of 3:56.20.
In the 400 IM final, Christensen again led the group, swimming a 3:47.55 which placed him in 11th. Following him, Honey finished in 15th place with a 3:48.65, Slavica finished 17th with a 3:48.98, Karahalis finished in 18th with a time of 3:49.95 and Wise rounded out the Nittany Lions five finals swimmers in 22nd with a time of 3:51.35.
Freshman Tylor Kim highlighted the 200 free for the Nittany Lions finishing in 12th place in the prelims with a time of 1:35.94. Kim stayed hot on the weekend in the final, jumping a spot, and finishing 11th with a time of 1:35.91.
Lazzerini was the lone Nittany Lions swimmer in the 100 breast but he didn't disappoint. In the prelims, Lazzerini set a school record 51.52, good for second place in the prelims. Then he broke that school record in the final and became the 2024 Big Ten Champion in the 100 breast with a school record time of 51.08.
Rounding out the day in the 100 back prelims, four Nittany Lions made the final highlighted by sophomore Cooper Morley who won the prelim swimming a 44.74. Senior Lachlan Byrne finished 11th touching the wall in 46.58. Sophomore Matthew Bittner made his second final of the day finishing in 21st with a time of 47.26. Finally, junior Jack Harvey finished 23rd in 47.36.
The Nittany Lions had their third podium finisher of the day in the 100 back final as Morley touched in the second position with a time of 45.27. Bryne finished 15th in 47.20, Bittner with his second final of the day in 46.85 for 17th and Barvey in 21st with a time of 47.20.
From the diving platform, senior Kevin Sullivan finished the prelims in 12th with a score of 318.95 while Hayden Elliott finished 18th with a score of 291.50. In the final, Sullivan jumped one position to 11th with a great dive of 343.90.
The only relay of the day was the 200 free relay in which the team of Baganha, Hurley, Morley and Lazzerini finished in fourth place with a time of 1:17.24.
The Nittany Lions will finish the the Big Ten Championships in Columbus tomorrow March 2, with the prelims beginning at 10 a.m. and then finals at 5:30 p.m. The events that will be swam tomorrow are the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 1650 free, 400 free relay and men's platform dive.
For updates on Penn State swimming and diving, follow the team on Instagram (@pennstateswimdive), Twitter (@PennStateSwim) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).