Swanson Earns Men’s Swimmer, Newcomer of the Year Honors; Lions Place Third in AMCC Championships
WEBSTER, N.Y. – Penn State Altoona freshman Isaac Swanson (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield) picked up two major awards at the conclusion of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championships on Saturday, as the Lions men's swimming team finished in third place in the standings.
As the top point-getter of any AMCC men's swimmer during this week's conference championships, Swanson took Men's Swimmer of the Year honors. Additionally, being a first-year swimmer within the conference, he also earned Men's Newcomer of the Year recognition.
Swanson had a banner week for Penn State Altoona, having a hand in seven new men's swimming team records set during the AMCC Championships. The freshman set new records in the 200 Yard Freestyle (1:41.97), 100 Yard Backstroke (52.31), and 200 Yard Backstroke (1:54.26). Swanson also set new records in the 50 Yard Freestyle (21.82) and 100 Yard Freestyle (46.83) while competing in relay events, and he was part of the foursome that set new records in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay (1:27.59) and the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay (3:13.89).
By the end of the fourth and final day of the AMCC Championships on Saturday, the Penn State Altoona men's swimming team found itself in third place with a score of 363 points. The Lions' finish marks the program's best since it was the runner-up in 2013-14.
Penn State Behrend won the AMCC crown with 774 points, followed by Alfred State College and its total of 458 points. Pitt-Bradford came in fourth with 131 points, and SUNY Delhi rounded out the pack in fifth with 119 points.
Swanson won the AMCC gold in the 200 Yard Backstroke during Saturday evening's finals, earning a time of 1:54.26 to rank ahead of all other conference swimmers in the championship final. That time set a new Penn State Altoona men's swimming record in the 200 Yard Backstroke, surpassing his own previous record of 1:57.25 that was established on November 23 earlier this season.
Taylor Bohn (Chadds Ford, PA/Unionville) and Michael Begany (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) also competed in the 200 Yard Backstroke during the consolation final. Bohn took fifth in the AMCC overall with a time of 2:04.57, while Begany was seventh by finishing in 2:13.11.
Kieran McKee (York, PA/West York) took part in the consolation final of the 100 Yard Freestyle, clocking in at 49.28 to take fourth place overall in the AMCC.
Tyler Stauss (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) competed in the 1,650 Yard Freestyle, finishing in 19:14.37 to place eighth in the AMCC.
HaoYing Hsieh (Allison Park, PA/North Allegheny) swam in the 'C' final for the 200 Yard Breaststroke, clocking in at 2:29.91 to take seventh place overall within the AMCC.
In the final event of the men's championships, the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, the team of Swanson, McKee, Bohn, and Tanner Yaw (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) came in third place in the AMCC with a combined time of 3:13.89. That mark set a new Penn State Altoona men's swimming record, beating the old record of 3:14.61 established by former swimmers Kyle Huber, Jay Wareham, Ben Porter, and Alex Fisher during the 2014 AMCC Championships.
Competing in the 'B' final for the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay was the squad of Bryce Bauer (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) Stauss, Begany, and Aravind Gnanasekaran (King of Prussia, PA/Methacton), which posted a total time of 3:39.62 to come in seventh in the AMCC.
