{"id":570973,"date":"2023-10-17T18:01:24","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T01:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=570973"},"modified":"2023-10-17T18:01:24","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T01:01:24","slug":"passages-penn-state-commit-marcus-papanikolaou-dies-in-car-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/passages-penn-state-commit-marcus-papanikolaou-dies-in-car-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"Passages: Penn State Commit Marcus Papanikolaou Dies in Car Accident"},"content":{"rendered":"

Passages: Penn State Commit Marcus Papanikolaou Dies in Car Accident<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marcus Papanikolaou<\/strong>, a high school senior at Central Bucks East in Pennsylvania and a sprinter committed to Penn State, died in a car accident on Oct. 13. He was 17 years old.<\/p>\n

Papanikolaou was killed in Northampton Township Friday evening in a single vehicle accident<\/a> in which his car struck a tree.<\/p>\n

The family has opened a GoFundMe in his honor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Papanikolaou was a 10-time medalist at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Championships in his three seasons. He finished fourth in the state in the 50 freestyle and third in the 100 free last year. He was second in both in 2022 and as a freshman in 2021 took home third and sixth. He also helped four CB East relays medal at states.<\/p>\n

Papanikolaou won four District 1 gold medals, including in the 50 free as a freshman. It\u2019s one of the most hotly contested districts in the state, comprising Philadelphia\u2019s immediate suburbs.<\/p>\n

Papanikolaou had gone<\/a> 20.23 in the 50 free and 44.66 in the 100 free in short-course yards. He was 23.31\/51.07 in LCM. He committed to Penn State in part to stay close to home. He also swam for BeFirst Swim Team in Warrington. Papanikolaou was selected to the 2022 USA Swimming National Select Camp<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Penn State associate head coach Dan Carrington<\/strong> posted a message to his Instagram account this week expressing his condolences:<\/p>\n

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View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A post shared by Dan Carrington (@carrington_pennstate_swim)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n