ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's swimming and diving team relied on depth to maintain their first-place lead after day three of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships held at the Junker Center Pool on Friday.
The Lions have accumulated 519 points through three days of work and have a substantial lead over second-place Cabrini (282). Pitt-Bradford and Alfred State are tied for third place (270) and Penn State Altoona is fifth (122).
Mark Patterson (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) broke four records on the night in almost a sweep of the 200 freestyle. He clocked in at 1:41.83 to set a new team, pool, AMCC meet and conference record for the individual title. Ryan Siggins (Erie, PA/Iroquois) took third (1:45.23) and Jacob Schmidt (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) followed in fourth (1:46.27). Quinn Fischer (Fairview, PA/Cathedral Prep) and Cole Dombrosky (Mount Pleasant, PA/Mount Pleasant) were fifth and sixth, respectively.
The Lions got edged by Pitt-Bradford in the opening 200 medley relay. Patterson, Noah Babik (Penn Township, PA/Penn Trafford), Alex Croll (Honolulu, HI/Roosevelt) and Fischer made up the second-place relay team with a time of 1:36.65, falling short by .15 seconds to the Panthers.
In the following 400 IM event, Brady Mattson (Wilmington, DE/Delaware Military Academy) and Nathan Wagner (Ypsilani, MI/Lincoln) finished in the top six in the finals. Mattson took second in 4:23.72 and Wagner placed fifth (4:32.20).
Steven Owens (Erie, PA/McDowell) paced Behrend in the 100 butterfly, claiming the gold medal with a time of 52.60. Croll came in fourth in the same event in 54.00.
The Lions had three swimmers in the top six in the 100 breaststroke, led by individual champion Babik with a time of 58.72. Ryan Elsey (Hermitage, PA/Hickory) placed fifth (1:01.42) and Blair Carson earned sixth (1:01.86).
In the final swimming event of the night, Liam Watterson (Brentwood, PA/Baldwin) led Behrend in the 100 backstroke, touching in 53.53 for third place.
Freshman diver Matthew Kuchcinski (North East, PA/North East) scored 412.55 on the one-meter board to finish third overall, just 20 points shy of first place.
Behrend returns to action tomorrow for the last day of the AMCC Championships. Prelims begin at 10 a.m.