BUFFALO, N.Y. - After day three of the State University of New York Athletic Championships, the Penn State Altoona women's swimming team moved up to fourth place out of nine teams. 

The Lions had a score of 224 points through three days of the conference championships, tied with SUNY Oneonta for fourth place. SUNY Cortland finished the day in first place with 659 points; Penn State Behrend placed second with 535 points, and SUNY Oswego placed third with 464 points.  

The team opened the night competing in the 'B' finals of the 400 Yard Individual Medley. Alexis Buchala (Tamaqua, PA/Tamaqua) placed 10th after clocking a time of 5:07.77 and Drew Porter placed 11th after clocking a time of 5:07.89.  

In the 'B' finals of the 100 Yard Butterfly, Téah Sponsler (Halifax, PA/Halifax) finished in 1:08.85 to place 16th.  

In the 200 Yard Freestyle, Anna Heller (Chesapeake, VA/Huntingdon) qualified for the 'A' cut of that swim and achieved a time of 2:03.28 to finish sixth. Claire Smith (Hellertown, PA/Saucon Valley) qualified for the 'B' finals and achieved a time of 2:07.57 to finish 13th.  

Penn State Altoona had a record-breaking performance in the 100 Yard Breaststroke. Victoria Oldford (Bucks County, PA/Palisades) competed for the Lions in the 'A' finals of the event, finishing in 1:08.82 to place third. The time bested her previous record of 1:09.2, which she set on November 21, 2025, during the Malone University Invitational.  

The Lions had three swimmers competing in the 100 Yard Backstroke. Paige Goray (Erie, PA/Harbor Creek) competed in the 'A' finals, clocking a time of 1:06.75 to finish eighth. Sponsler and Julia Daley (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) competed in the 'B' finals. Sponsler clocked a time of 1:07.09 to finish 11th and Daley clocked a time of 1:09.62 to finish 16th.  

Penn State Altoona closed day three of the championships competing in 400 Yard Medley Relay. Goray, Oldford, Porter, and Smith combined for a time of 4:17.36 in preliminaries. The time tied the previous record of 4:17.36, which was set by the same four swimmers on November 20, 2025, during the Malone University Invitational. Their time of 4:17.36 qualified them for the 'A' final, where they placed fourth with a time of 4:19.26. 

The final day of the SUNYAC Championships is tomorrow, February 21, and is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. with a round of morning preliminaries. The fourth finals session of the week is scheduled to get underway at 5:00 p.m. and will feature the 200 Yard Backstroke, 100 Yard Freestyle, 200 Yard Breaststroke, and 200 Yard Butterfly.