Despite first- and second- place finishes in the final event – the 400-yard freestyle relay – the Ohio State men’s swimming and diving team fell just short of its seventh overall win, finding itself 6-2, 0-2 in the Big Ten, to finish out the dual meet season.
The Buckeyes fell to Penn State by a 122-121 margin Friday.
“I am disappointed and discouraged,” coach Bill Wadley said. “I expected to win, and I talked to the guys about that same kind of mindset.”
Not all was lost, as the Buckeye divers – led by Mitch Richeson and Kellen Harkness – dominated the Nittany Lions, posting scores of 391.28 and 350.48 on the 3-meter board. Also scoring victories for OSU, were freshman Nate King and senior Andreas Campioni.
King, a promising newcomer, won the 200-yard intermediate with a time of 1:53.07. Campioni, a team captain and season record-holder, won the 200-yard backstroke in 1:52.05.
“I would say the performance was decent,” Campioni said. “Most of the guys gave a pretty good effort.”
The accolades weren’t over for Campioni as he and his lone senior teammate, Sean Veit, competed in their last dual meet. The meet ran under a promotion called “Pack the Pool.” The first 100 fans were awarded with prizes and celebrated the individual accomplishments and team leadership of the two seniors.
“Sean has the inner determination to stay in a sport at all costs,” Wadley said. “He’s a leader in and out of the buoys.”
The coach shared similar sentiments about Campioni in relation to work ethic.
“He’s continued to get faster each year,” he said. “He’s added a ton to this program. His efforts are to be admired.”
The seniors are not only leaders and hard workers in the pool, but they are both scholar-athletes and respected members of the community.
If there was one word to describe Veit as a person, Alissa Linko, Veit’s girlfriend, would use defiant.
“He never gives up on anything he ever does,” Linko said. “He will give you nothing but 100 percent every time.”
Next up for the Buckeyes is the U.S. Nationals in Orlando, Fla. The competition starts today and goes until Sunday. The Big Ten Championship will be held soon afterwards on Feb. 26-28 in West Lafayette, Ind.
“We’ve got three weeks from now and we are still working on things,” Campioni said. “I think we are going to do very well at the Big Tens.”
