BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona men's swimming team had a strong showing in night one of the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships on Wednesday, finishing in fifth place out of 11 teams by the conclusion of the opening finals session at the Burt Flickinger Aquatic Center.

The Lions scored 76 points as a team to hold down fifth place in the standings. SUNY-Cortland finished the night in first place with 125 points, Penn State Behrend was in second with 117 points, and SUNY-Oswego was in third with 96 points.

Wednesday's finals began with the 200 Yard Medley Relay. Penn State Altoona's top group of Gabe Krizel (Allentown, PA/Parkland), Adam Dotts (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin), Ben Dotts (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin), and Johnathan Bandy (Saint Marys, PA/Saint Marys) compiled a total time of 1:36.72 to come in fifth place, while teammates Liam Fass (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley), Jackson Ketterling (Bismarck, ND/Bismarck), Nick Trabucco (Carlisle, PA/Boiling Springs), and Caden Traggiai (Saxonburg, PA/Knoch) combined for a time of 1:44.86 to place 14th.

Penn State Altoona had a record-setting performance in the next event, the 800 Yard Freestyle Relay, as the team of Traggiai, Pedro Teran (Allentown, PA/Parkland), Adam Dotts, and Shuo Sun (Falls Church, VA/China High Schools) came together for a time of 7:01.16 to set a new Lions men's swimming record for that event and finish as the conference runner-up. The time bested the previous record of 7:09.80, which was set by the same four swimmers on November 21, 2025, during the Malone University Invitational.

Also in the 800 Yard Freestyle Relay was the foursome of Trabucco, Fass, Ben Dotts, and Ketterling, who combined for a time of 7:34.79 to come in 13th place.

Day two of the SUNYAC Championships begins at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, February 19, with a round of morning preliminaries. The second finals session of the week is scheduled to get underway at 5:30 p.m. and will feature the 500 Yard Freestyle, 200 Yard IM, 50 Yard Freestyle, and 200 Yard Freestyle Relay.