Women’s Swimming Holds Fifth in SUNYAC Day Two
BUFFALO, N.Y. – After day two of the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships, the Penn State Altoona women's swimming team continued to hold fifth place out of nine teams.
The Lions had a score of 119 points through two days of the conference championships, ranking ahead of SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Fredonia, and Pitt-Bradford. SUNY Cortland held the top spot with 375 points, while Penn State Behrend was in second place with 289 points.
Penn State Altoona opened the night with a 10th-place finish in the 500 Yard Freestyle, in which Anna Heller (Chesapeake, VA/Huntingdon) competed in the 'B' final of the swim and achieved a time of 5:30.44. Alexis Buchala (Tamaqua, PA/Tamaqua) and Claire Smith (Hellertown, PA/Saucon Valley) also competed in the 'B' cut of the 500 Yard Freestyle, with Buchala taking 14th place at 5:41.14 and Smith placing 15th at 5:45.30.
In the 200 Yard IM, Drew Porter (Centreville, VA/Centreville) qualified for the 'B' cut of that swim and placed 14th after finishing with a time of 2:23.46.
Penn State Altoona closed the meet in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay. In fifth place while competing in the 'A' final, Victoria Oldford (Bucks County, PA/Palisades), Anna Heller (Chesapeake, VA/Huntington), Porter, and Julia Daley (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) combined for a time of 1:46.57. Meanwhile, the group of Paige Goray (Erie, PA/Harbor Creek), Téah Sponsler (Halifax, PA/Halifax), Sophia Cowher (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone), and Buchala posted a total time of 1:53.75 to place 14th.
Penn State Altoona women's swimming continues the SUNYAC Championships tomorrow, Friday, February 20. The day's preliminaries begin at 10 a.m., with the finals to follow at 5:30 p.m. Friday's finals session should consist of the 400 Yard IM, 100 Yard Butterfly, 200 Yard Freestyle, 100 Yard Breaststroke, 100 Yard Backstroke, and 400 Yard Medley Relay events.