Swimmen win first Big Ten title

By ANTHONY MILLER
Collegian Staff Writer

All season long, Penn State men's swimming coach Peter Brown has called each meet a "stepping stone" to the mountain that is the Big Ten Championships.

This past weekend, not only did Brown's Nittany Lions reach that mountain, they climbed to its summit.

The Penn State men's swimming and diving team made school history Saturday night by polishing off its first-ever Big Ten Championship at Indiana's Councilman Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind.

Said freshman backstroke swimmer Josh Weaver: "It was the feeling of a lifetime."

The Lions finished just ahead of defending champion Minnesota to become the first team besides Michigan or Minnesota to win the competition since 1985, when Indiana took the prize. In fact, neither the Golden Gophers or Wolverines have even vacated the top two spots in 10 seasons.

No. 20 Penn State racked up 600 points while No. 12 Minnesota picked up 588 and No. 15 Michigan gained 576.5. The top five was rounded out by Wisconsin and Indiana, which accumulated 375 and 324 points, respectively. The rest of the field finished well below the 300 mark.

The victory was a result of team consistency rather than individual dominance. Although Penn State won just two events, it was the only team to have a swimmer score in each of the 21 events.

"It was a great team effort," Brown said. "Everyone did their part. We just capitalized on a few situations."

The Lions proved to be at their best as they broke 16 school records during the competition. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Dan Okoniewski, Brian Hostetler, Bob Molettierre and Holden Comeau set a new school mark on its way to a first-place finish with a time of 1:19.11. Molettierre (43.91) became Penn State's first individual Big Ten champion since 1993 as he broke the school and pool record in the 100-yard freestyle. Despite finishing second in the 50-yard freestyle, Hostetler broke the school, pool and Big Ten Championships record in the preliminary heat of the same event.

At the end of the first day, Penn State was in second place, but had managed to stay in striking distance. Michigan had accumulated 187.5 points to the Lions' 174. After day two, the Lions had scratched their way into first place with 404 points. At that point, it was obvious that it was a three-team race for the championship as Minnesota had 397 points and Michigan 390.5.

Thanks in part to Molettierre's win in the 100-yard freestyle and a second-place finish by Okoniewski, Hostetler, Molettierre and Comeau (2:57.38) in the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Lions were able to close out the contest.

In winning the meet, the Lions, who finished eighth in 1997 and third last year, completed the greatest two-year rise in Big Ten history, according to a Penn State press release.

"I knew we had a chance (after the second day), but so many things have to go your way," Brown said. "You have to get yourself in position and deal with each thing as it comes along. The guys did a good job with that."

Following the meet, Brown was named Big Ten Swimming Coach of the Year. Molettierre, Joe Peresan and the aforementioned 200-yard freestyle relay team also gained all-conference honors.

"He's a great coach," Weaver said of Brown. "He keeps us together as a team, he stresses team atmosphere and he knows how to motivate us."

Brown said humbly that the team practically coached itself and the award merely reflected the swimmers' performances.

Notes: The conference championship was the 15th overall Big Ten title for a Penn State team. It was the first for a men's sport since 1996, when the Penn State baseball team accomplished the feat. The 1993 men's soccer team and 1994 football team were the only other men's teams to win the crown.