Men’s Swimming Places Third at AMCCs, Sets New Team Points Record
WEBSTER, N.Y. – By the conclusion of the four-day Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championships on Saturday night at the Webster Aquatic Center, the Penn State Altoona men's swimming team finished in third place out of five AMCC squads.
The Lions set a new Penn State Altoona men's swimming program record for the most points accumulated during an AMCC Championship, as the team racked up a team-record 461.5 points across the four-day conference finals. That point total surpasses the previous team record, 363, which was established in the 2019-20 conference championships.
Alfred State College won the AMCC title, placing first in the conference with 1,232 points. Penn State Behrend took second place with 891 points, Pitt-Bradford was fourth with 267 points, and Wells College was fifth with two points. In the combined AMCC-Empire 8 meet, Penn State Altoona placed sixth out of 10 teams, with Alfred State winning the combined meet championship.
In the night's opening swim, Isaac Swanson (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield) placed third in the AMCC and fourth overall in the 1,650 Yard Freestyle, clocking in at 16:52.08, and Ethan Andrews (McVeytown, PA/Mifflin County) took eighth in the AMCC and 13th place overall with a time of 18:32.44. Swanson's time of 10:08.17 for the first 1,000 yards of the 1,650 Freestyle set a new Penn State Altoona men's swimming record in the 1,000 Yard Freestyle, besting the previous record of 10:09.59 that Swanson himself set on January 11, 2020 in a dual meet against Bethany College.
After that, Penn State Altoona had swimmers qualify to compete in 'A' finals for three different events, and one new team record was established during that time.
In the 200 Yard Backstroke 'A' final, Luke Pletz (Jefferson Hills, PA/Thomas Jefferson) clinched AMCC runner-up status and fourth place overall by finishing in 1:55.80. Jack Zisa (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) also made the cut for the 'A' final and took sixth place in the AMCC and 10th overall by recording a time of 2:03.06.
Adam Marawan (Dubai, UAE/GEMS Dubai American Academy) swam in the 100 Yard Freestyle 'A' final, placing fourth in the AMCC and fifth overall by registering a time of 46.78. That time set a new Penn State Altoona men's swimming program record, narrowly supplanting the previous mark of 46.83, which was set by Swanson on February 22, 2020 during that year's AMCC Championships.
In the meet's last 'A' final, the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, the team of Marawan, Swanson, Zisa, and Adam Dotts (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) combined for a time of 3:14.10 to place third in the AMCC and sixth overall.