COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Penn State swimming and diving team wrapped up day one of the Ohio State Invitational. The men’s team ends the day in fifth place while the women sit at sixth place. Notably, sophomore swimmer Alex Karahalis set a new school record for the 200 IM.
Men
Sophomore Alex Karahalis broke the school record for the 200 IM during preliminaries. He swam for a time of 1:44.60, just 0.2 seconds less than the previous school record. Karahalis was third in his heat and went on to finish eighth in finals with a time of 1:44.90, good for B-Cut honors.
Sophomore Tylor Kim set a personal best in the 50 Free of 19.64, finishing fourteenth overall. He beat his performance from the last meet, November 8 versus Ohio State, where he recorded a time of 19.77.
Junior Matthew Bitner tallied B-Cut honors after his 1:45.26, fourteenth place finish in the 200 IM.
Sophomore Sean Honey also recorded a B-Cut finish in the 200 IM, posting a time of 1:45.31.
Women
Graduate Margaret Markvardt tallied a new personal best in the 200 IM of 1:58.41, good for a seventh-place finish and B-Cut honors. She breaks her previous best of 1:59.08 from the 2024 B1G Championships.
Junior Morgan Moore added an eighth-place finish in the 500 Free with a time of 4:46.16 good for 25 team points. The finish was good for a B-Cut, her second of the day.
Senior Maura Fluehr recorded a new personal best in the 50 Free in Columbus, swimming 23.15 seconds. This tops her previous best of 23.23 from the 2024 B1G Championships.
Relays
The men’s 200 Free Relay team, made up of Tylor Kim, Cooper Morley, Jack Harvey and Mariano Lazzerini, touched fifth with a time of 1:17.77. The win is good for 56 team points.
Diving
Junior Hayden Elliot finished fourth in the 1-meter Dive, posting a score of 335.35 good for 29 points. Elliot outperformed his preliminary score of 293.70.
Top Finishes
200 IM (Men’s): Alex Karahalis (1:44.60) (School Best)
50 Free: Tylor Kim (19.64)
200 IM (Women’s): Margaret Markvardt (1:58.41)
500 Free: Morgan Moore (4:46.16)
200 Free Relay: Tylor Kim, Cooper Morley, Jack Harvey and Mariano Lazzerini (1:17.77)
Up Next
The Nittany Lions return to McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion tomorrow for day two of the Ohio State Invitational for preliminaries at 9:30 a.m. and finals at 5:30 p.m.
For updates on Penn State swimming and diving, follow the team on Instagram (@pennstateswimdive), Twitter (@PennStateSwim) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).