Penn State Sweeps Backstroke Events En Route to Victory Over West Virginia

West Virginia vs. Penn State 

• October 15-16, 2021
• The Aquatic Center at Mylan Park, Morgantown, WV
• Short Course Yards
• Results PDF – Men’s 
• Results PDF – Women’s 

The Penn State Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams swept their meets against West Virginia (0-1 men, 2-1 women) this weekend, with both programs improving to 2-0 on the season. 

Final Score – Women’s 

• Penn State – 181
• WVU – 107

On the women’s side, Penn State was led by seniors Madison Murtagh and Marie Schobel, who each won two individual events during the meet. 

Murtagh swept the mid distance freestyle events. She first won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:51.84, coming in over a second ahead of the field. Later, Murtagh touched first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:57.12, making herself the only swimmer under the 5:00 barrier. 

Schobel picked up two wins of her own in the backstroke events. First, in the 100 backstroke, Schobel touched first in a time of 55.09, leading a 1-2-3 finish for Penn State with teammates Emma Harvey and Molly Carlson. The trio also took the top three spots in the 200 backstroke, with Schobel leading the pack in a time of 2:00.32. 

Schobel also picked up a victory as a member of Penn State’s 400 medley relay, splitting 54.74. She combined with teammates Maddie Cooke, Maura Fleuhr, and Catherine Stanford to finish in a time of 3:44.19, over 5 seconds ahead of the runners up. 

In the women’s 100 breaststroke, Penn State’s Liv Jack touched first in an impressive time of 1:04.63, coming in nearly 2 seconds ahead of the field. 

On the diving boards, West Virginia saw Sarah Krusinski post a score of 269.85 to claim the women’s 1m event, while Penn State’s Sierra Shurts narrowly won the 3m event ahead of teammate Tatum Evans with scores of 265.93 and 258.98, respectively. 

Final Score – Men’s 

• Penn State – 162
• WVU – 132

Similar to the women’s meet, the Penn State men swept the backstroke events, led by junior Lanchan Byrne. 

Byrne first won the 100 backstroke in a time of 50.81, narrowly out-touching WVU’s Justin Heimes, who finished in a time of 50.83. In a similar fashion, Byrne claimed the top spot in the 200 backstroke ahead of Heimes, with times of 1:51.67 and 1:52.32, respectively. 

In the 100 breaststroke, Penn State got a 1-2-3 finish via Tommy Hurley, William Lulek, and Will Roberson. Hurley led the group with a time of 57.01, with Lulek (57.33) and Roberson (57.80) coming in right behind him. Penn State’s Daniel Raisanen claimed a win in the 200 breaststroke, dominating the heat with a time of 2:01.47 to come in over 7 seconds ahead of the field.

Penn State’s 400 medley relay also dominated the event, touching nearly 3 seconds ahead of the field. The team of Michael Daly, Daniel Raisanen, Victor Baganha, and Will Roberson combined for a time of 3:16.72 for the victory. 

West Virginia got an individual victory in the 200 IM, where David Dixon posted a time of 1:52.69 to claim victory ahead of the field by over a second.