BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Penn State Altoona men's swimming team continued their strong showing in night two of the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships at Burt Flickinger Aquatic Center on Thursday, moving up to fourth place out of 11 teams. 

Before the preliminaries, sophomore Ben Dotts (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) was recognized as a SUNYAC Elite 20 Swimmer for having a 4.0 GPA among competing men's swimmers in the conference championships.  

The Lions scored 83 tonight to tally 159 through day two of the championships, moving from fifth place to fourth. Penn State Behrend took the first place tonight with 321 points, SUNY Cortland was second with 234 points, and SUNY Oswego was third with 205 points.  

Thursday's finals began with the 500 Yard Freestyle. Caden Traggiai (Saxonburg, PA/Knoch) and Pedro Teran (Allentown, PA/Parkland) both competed in the 'A' finals of the 500 Yard Freestyle, with Traggiai placing fourth after clocking a time of 4:43.11 and Teran placing fifth after clocking a time of 4:44.22.  

Ben Dotts competed in the 'B' finals of the following event, the 200 Yard Individual Medley, finishing in 1:59.80 to place 10th.  

In the 50 Yard Freestyle, Adam Dotts (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) competed in the 'A' finals, placing sixth after finishing in 21.66. Shuo Sun (Falls Church, VA/China High Schools) competed in the 'B' finals, placing 15th after finishing in 22.16.  

In the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay, the team of Jonathan Bandy (Saint Marys, PA/Saint Marys), Sun, Teran, and Adam Dotts competed in the 'A' finals, clocking a time of 1:27.74 to finish fifth. The team of Gabe Krizel (Allentown, PA/Parkland), Nick Trabucco (Carlisle, PA/Boiling Springs), Ben Dotts, and Jackson Ketterling (Bismarck, ND/Bismarck) competed in the 'B' finals, clocking a time of 1:33.22 to place 15th.  

Day three of the SUNYAC Championships begins at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, February 20, with a round of morning preliminaries. The third finals session of the week is scheduled to get underway at 5:30 p.m. and will feature the 400 Yard Individual Medley, 200 Yard Freestyle, 100 Yard Breaststroke, 100 Yard Backstroke, and 400 Yard Medley Relay.