MADISON, Wis. – The Penn State Men’s Swimming and Diving team closed out competition at the Big Ten Championships at the Soderholm Family Aquatic Center. Finals began with Matthew Bittner setting a new school record in the 200 IM, posting a 1:43.17.
Mariano Lazzerini was named second team All-Big Ten for his efforts over the course of the competition. Lazzerini broke two school records, made the podium once, and had multiple top ten finishes.
Four athletes returned to finals from preliminary competitions: Bittner, Cooper Morley, Jack Clancy, and Tylor Kim. Clancy, Eduardo Cisternas, and Cameron Petitt also swam in the 1650 Free during finals.
Bittner’s race in the 200 IM earned him second in the respective B final, good for 10th overall. His race broke the previous program record of 1:43.55.
Morley swam a 1:41.96 in the 200 Back A Final, earning him eighth place overall.
Kim’s 42.85 in the 100 Free B Final earned him 11th overall. Clancy posted a 1:49.59 in the 200 Fly C final, good for 24th overall.
Cisternas earned 18th (15:24.87), Petitt earned 20th (15:29.62), and Clancy earned 23rd (15:54.19) in the 1650 Free.
The 400 Free relay team of Kim, Lazzerini, Rylan Anselm, and Toni Slavica placed eighth overall with a 2:52.85.
Alex Wodehouse and Hayden Elliott both scored for their respective dives. Wodehouse placed 22nd overall, with a 251.85 on the platform dive. Elliott scored a 240.25 on the platform dive, good for 23rd overall.
The Nittany Lions will return for competition at the NCAA Division I Diving Zones and at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving National Championships at the end of March.
DAY THREE:
Lazzerini, Bittner, Morley, Kim , and Jake Kennedy all advanced to finals, which took place Friday night. Lazzerini competed in the A final in the 200 breast, finishing fifth and breaking the school record with his 1:50.76 time, topping his previous school record of 1:50.93.
Bittner competed in the A final for the 100 back, swimming a 45.47, good for seventh place, while Morley competed in the B final for the same event, finishing 12th with a 45.73.
Kim and Kennedy both competed in the C final for the 50 free. Kim finished 18th, swimming a 19.68, while Kennedy finished 22nd, swimming a 19.84.
Alex Wodehouse finished 15th overall in the 3-meter diving finals, scoring a 311.55.
DAY TWO:
Thursday's event schedule consisted of 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 1-meter dive, and the 200 free relay.
Lazzerini advanced to the A final in the 100 breast, finishing second overall in the event with a time of 50.88. Lazzerini broke the school record in the event, and qualified for the NCAA Swimming Championships with his time. Lazzerini bettered his previous school record of 50.96. It was also Lazzerini's second career top two finish in the 100 breast at the Big Ten Championships after winning the event in 2024.
Bittner, Vicente Villanueva and Morley all advanced to the B finals in their respective events. Bittner finished ninth overall in the 100 fly (45.20), Villanueva finished 13th overall in the 100 breast (52.64) and Morley finished 16th overall in the 100 fly (46.75).
DAY ONE:
Wednesday’s event schedule consisted of the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay.
The 800 free relay team of Anselm, Cisternas, Kim , and Slavica took ninth overall, swimming a 6:24.60.