BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona men's swimming team closed the four-day Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championships on Saturday at the Burt Flickinger Aquatic Center, finishing in second place out of four conference teams in the meet.

The Lions totaled 376 points across four days of the championship event. The team's second-place AMCC finish is its best since the 2013-14 season, in which Penn State Altoona was also second in the conference

Penn State Behrend won the AMCC crown with 691 points and also finished second in the combined AMCC-SUNYAC meet standings. Penn State Altoona was second in the conference and fifth overall with 376 points, Alfred State College was third in the AMCC with 264.5 points, and Pitt-Bradford placed fourth in the league with 158 points.

The Lions wrapped up an impressive week in the AMCC Championships with one more strong showing in Saturday evening's finals session, including Penn State Altoona swimmers breaking two more team records.

Penn State Altoona began Saturday's finals in the 1,650 Yard Freestyle. Caden Traggiai (Sarver, PA/Knoch) scored a record-setting time, finishing in 16:21.72 to place second in both the overall and AMCC standings. Traggiai's time surpassed the previous record of 16:32.18, which he set himself during last year's AMCC Championships on February 17, 2024.

Also in the 1,650 Yard Freestyle, Andrew Miller (Easton, PA/Easton) notched a time of 17:22.66 to come in third place in the AMCC and sixth place overall, while Nick Trabucco (Carlisle, PA/Boiling Springs) posted a time of 17:30.19 to place fourth in the AMCC and ninth overall.

Penn State Altoona had two swimmers qualify for the 'B' final of the next event, the 200 Yard Backstroke. Eugene Heyman (Boiling Springs, PA/Boiling Springs) had a time of 2:00.88 to take fourth in the AMCC and 10th overall, and Miller clocked in at 2:03.87 for fifth in the conference and 12th overall.

Three more Lion swimmers qualified to compete in the meet's next event, the 100 Yard Freestyle. In the 'A' cut for that swim, Adam Dotts (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) earned third place in the AMCC and fifth overall with a time of 47.43. In the 'B' final, Rocco Solimeo (Harrisburg, PA/Bishop McDevitt) had a time of 48.92 to place fifth in the AMCC, and Lincoln Johnson (Huntingtown, MD/Huntingtown) finished in 49.35 for sixth place in the conference.

The 200 Yard Breaststroke followed, during which Brian Nguyen (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township) qualified for the 'B' final and recorded a time of 2:19.26 to place seventh in the AMCC and 14th overall.

Penn State Altoona had two swimmers qualify for the 'A' cut of the next final, the 200 Yard Butterfly, and both beat the current Lions record for that swim. Hunter McMullen (Colver, PA/Central Cambria) was the AMCC runner-up and got seventh place overall after clocking in at 1:59.60, and Benjamin Dotts (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) followed by taking third place in the conference and eighth overall with a time of 1:59.74. McMullen and Dotts' times bested the previous team record of 2:02.43.

In the meet's final event, the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, Penn State Altoona had two teams compete. In the 'A' final, Johnson, Traggiai, Solimeo, and Adam Dotts recorded a total time of 3:13.15 to earn AMCC runner-up status and take fifth place overall. In the 'B' cut, Heyman, Joseph Fazio (Conshohocken, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh), Nicolas Louis (Queens, NY/Rabun Gap Naccochee), and Trabucco combined to finish in 3:24.65 to take sixth in the AMCC.