It’s the beginning of a new era for the Penn men’s swimming team — and Chris Swanson is leading the way.
Last weekend, the budding sophomore star turned in a brilliant performance at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, participating in two events and setting a new school record in the process.
Competing in NCAAs for the second consecutive season, Swanson was driven to make a bigger impact, and it showed.
In the 500 freestyle, Swanson finished 38th with a time of 4:20.70, a six-spot improvement from his results at the event one year ago.
But it was in the 1650 free that Swanson made his biggest impact.
Already red-hot after easily winning the Ivy League title in the event just about a month ago, Swanson broke his own school record while going up against the nation’s best — his final time of 14:49.63 shattered his old mark by just over four seconds, which was set at the aforementioned Ivy championship meet.
Swanson’s efforts were rewarded with a ninth-place finish, which made him only the second male swimmer in school history to record a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships, and the first since Steve Kuster placed ninth in the 200 fly in 1993.
Already a record-setter, Swanson’s performance will likely serve as an example for his teammates, which have a bright future after the Quakers finished third in the conference this season.
