For a person who never seriously considered swimming at the collegiate level until his senior year at Dover (Pa.) High, Brian Wentzel has come a long way.

Unbeaten in the 50-yard freestyle in dual meets this season, Wentzel, with a time of 20.88, is edging closer to breaking the Penn State record of 20.51 in the event.

He is also a force in the 100 freestyle and a part of a 400 freestyle relay team that shattered a pool record in a meet against LaSalle this season. Wentzel did not start as a freestylist, however.

"In high school, I was a backstroker and I really didn't swim any sprints until I came to Penn State," Wentzel said.

After swimming his freshman year as the third-fastest backstroker, Coach Peter Brown decided to test the 6' 8" Wentzel at sprinting freestyle in the beginning of his sophomore year.

"He had a lot of raw speed and raw talent, along with his size," Brown said. "Put the size and the speed together and you get a nice combination."

The Dover native started swimming at a young age, first at the YMCA and in his backyard pool, but only began his competitive career after the encouragement of a high school coach and his parents.

"I didn't start swimming competitively until I was a sophomore in high school. The first year was pretty rough, but the second year, I made it to districts and states," said Wentzel, who went on to place fourth in the 100-meter backstroke his senior year.

Wentzel, who walked on to the Penn State team, has improved by a tremendous amount since he first came to Happy Valley.

"My whole stroke has changed for the better. It takes working every day and changing little things. My turns and starts have improved a lot," Wentzel said.

Improvement has not come easy for the sprinter though. He had never swum under a 22-second sprint in high school, but with serious weight-training and grueling workouts, he has channeled his talents into developing a possible record-setting speed.

"One thing I know that has helped me a lot is the weight training. I have gained a lot of strength since my freshman year," Wentzel said.

Along with Wentzel, the rest of the team endures double workouts and getting up at 5:30 a.m. for training in the fall. The teams works with weights twice a week and three times a week in the fall, said Wentzel, who had not had much experience with weight training prior to coming to Penn State.

"In high school, we had a pole attached to two coffee cans filled with cement for weights. That was the extent of our weight program," he said.

Before finishing his swimming career this season, Wentzel said he would like to be a part of two relays -- 400 freestyle and 400 medley -- that could possibly go to NCAAs. Also, at the Eastern Seaboard Championships March 3-5, he wants to make NCAA cuts for the 50 freestyle.

"I've already swum better unshaved this year than I had last year at Easterns," Wentzel said.

"He's an impressive swimmer, especially when he swims the 50 free," said Mike Miklus, 400-freestyle-relay member.

After graduating with a degree in food science, he hopes to eventually work in research and food product development.