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Freestyle and backstroke specialist Molly Pedersen will be transferring from Penn State to the University of Iowa, remaining within the Big Ten Conference. She will join the Hawkeyes’ class of 2025.
The Indiana native trained with Southeastern Swim Club before committing to Penn State in 2020. Pedersen has collected Futures qualifying times in the 50 free, 100 free, 500 free and 200 back. She placed 2nd in the 200 free with a time of 1:51.00 during a dual meet between Penn State and Villanova last season. There, she also earned 4th place in the 100 free (51.84).
Her most recent lifetime best swims in her strongest events are from 2021. She posted a 23.72 in the 50 free at the 2021 IHSAA Girls High School State Championships, and she swam a 2:02.63 in the 200 back at the 2021 Indiana SSC Martin Luther King Jr Invite.
Top SCY times:
- 50 free – 23.72r
- 100 free – 50.83
- 200 free – 1:50.07
- 500 free – 5:02.55
- 100 back – 56.28
- 200 back – 2:02.63
While Pedersen did not compete at 2022 Big Ten Championships with the Nittany Lions, her lifetime best times would have made her Iowa’s fastest 100, 200, and 500 freestyler. She would have earned 44th place, 39th place, and 43rd place, respectively.
She would have come the closest to making the 2022 Big Ten ‘C’ final in the 100 and 200 backstroke where her fastest times would have placed 33rd in each event. This would have made Pedersen Iowa’s second-fastest 100 backstroker and 3rd-fastest 200 backstroker. Rising senior Kennedy Gilbertson currently leads the Hawkeyes’ backstroke group. She placed 31st in the 100 and 30th in the 200 at last season’s championships. Pedersen also would have been Iowa’s second-fastest 50 freestyler, behind Gilbertson, in 58th place.
Iowa women are coming off a 12th place finish at the 2022 Big Ten Conference Championships under head coach Nathan Mundt. This recruitment class is an important step in the program’s rebuilding process since the men’s and women’s team was reinstated in February 2021.
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This is a good move for Molly. The Penn State program has really been a big disappointment the past few years..
Way T go, MJ! Have a great big season!