FREDONIA, NY – The Penn State Behrend men's swimming and diving team set three pool records and one team, while earning three first-place finishes to take a commanding lead on day two of the Fredonia State Blue Devil Invitational on Saturday.
The Lions continue to pace the eight participating teams with a score of 538 after two days of competition.
The 400 medley relay set the team record and pool record with a time of 3:34.57. The group of Dan Simon (Harrison City, PA/Penn Trafford), Justin Pritchard (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley), Clay Altemose (Apollo, PA/Apollo-Ridge) and Peter Blazak (Sewickley, PA/Quaker Valley) set both records. Simon's lead-off 100 back also set a pool record.
The first relay of the day, the 200 free relay, set the pool record. The first-place team of Simon, Pritchard, Altemose and Hunter Backenstose (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East) touched in a record-setting time of 1:27.53.
Altemose was an individual winner for Behrend, claiming the 200 fly in 1:59.03 after winning the preliminaries. Brendan Miller (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) placed third (2:01.26) and Dane Dombrosky (Mt. Pleasant, PA/Mt. Pleasant) was sixth (2:09.07).
After setting the pool record in the 1650 free last night, Brian Mong (Franklin, PA/Franklin) was second in the 500 free with a time of 4:55.87. Dombrosky took third in 5:02.90 and Josh Schwab (Bradford, PA/Bradford) was eighth in 5:15.33.
The 100 free features four swimmers for the Lions, led by Blazak with a four-place finish. Blazak touched in 48.92. Simon was sixth (49.12), Andrew Opalewski (Slippery Rock, PA/Slippery Rock) followed in seventh (49.69) and Everett Sargent (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland) took eighth (49.72).
In the 100 breaststroke, Pritchard and Jake Sherk (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown) were the top performers for Behrend. Pritchard came in third place in 1:01.30 and Sherk was .18 seconds behind with a final time of 1:01.48 for fourth.
Jake DesRoches (Fairfax, VA/WT Woodson) was fourth in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:03.82 and Backenstose claimed ninth in 2:07.10.
Sophomore Lucas Kachurick (McKeesport, PA/Elizabeth Forward) finished third in the 3m diving, scoring 413.15 for 11 dives.
The Lions return to action tomorrow for final day of the invitational. Meet begins at 10 a.m.
