Swimmen nip third at Big Tens, break six PSU records

Finishing third at the biggest competition of the season thus far was a good thing for the Penn State men's swimming and diving team. Breaking six school records was even better.

The team finished the 1998 Big Ten Championships with 419 points, good enough for third place -- behind only perennial powerhouses Minnesota and Michigan. The Lions, who have never finished better than sixth place since entering the conference in 1992, broke six school records during the weekend competition.

"Our swimmers caught some guys off guard," Penn State coach Peter Brown said. "We did want we had to do."

So did the other guys.

Host Minnesota won the conference championship for the second time in three years by squashing 1997 champion Michigan by 73 points. These two teams have had a history of close battles at the conference championships.

Last year, Minnesota was leading until the final event, but the Wolverines managed to steal the show and salvage their title by virtually sweeping the final day of competition.

This year, however, was different. The Golden Gophers swam almost flawlessly -- up to and including the last event.

"We could not have swam any better," Minnesota swimming head coach Dennis Dale said.

Minnesota, which won only a single individual event and just three relays, managed to beat out the Olympian-laden Wolverines because of their work ethic.

"We're a bunch of blue-collar guys who just gave it our all," Dale said. "We don't have any Olympians, but that doesn't mean much to us."

Dale added the competition was incredible and couldn't help but notice the strength and improvement of Penn State's swimmers -- it wasn't that hard to notice.

Penn State had its best showing ever at the championships due to stand-out performances by several athletes.

Stacey finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in a school-record time of 20.11 seconds.

"I had the fastest times of my life at just the right place," Stacey said. "It was very important to me to finish my career on such a high note."

Penn State's promising young swimmers held nothing back and ripped through the water like it was a wet paper bag.

Peresan had a spectacular premier at the championships by breaking a 4-year-old record in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3 minutes and 53.88 seconds. Breaking one Penn State record wasn't enough for the freshman, however. He broke another in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:50.24.

"Since this was my first time at the championships, I didn't know what to expect," Peresan said. "I just wanted to break my personal best times."

The blossoming didn't stop with Peresan, however.

Teeter also had an impressive showing by finishing fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke and fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a Penn State record time of 55.10 seconds.

Individual records were not the only ones shattered -- Penn State shined in relay competitions as well.

The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Dan Okoniewski, Hogan Thomas, Brian Hostetler and Stacey demolished a nine-year-old record with a time of 1:19.92.

Although winning was contagious for the Lions, the "winning bug" did not bite Penn State divers. Seniors Drew Jackson and Seth Kane were expected to battle the 1-meter favorites from Indiana, Tom Davidson and Mike Collier.

Instead of battling, Jackson and Kane finished sixth and seventh, respectively, about 70 points behind first-place Davidson and second-place Collier.

Despite its diving woes, Penn State lived up to and surpassed its expectations at the championships. Brown summed it up simply.

"We got the job done."