Ithaca, NY - Junior Al Catano (Ronkonkoma, NY) broke a five-year-old school record by nearly five seconds in taking second place in the 200 backstroke and may also have qualified for the NCAA Championship meet in the process as the Clarkson University Swimming team closed out the 2014 UNYSCSA Regional Meet on Saturday evening.

The Golden Knights' men had an excellent final day to climb into 10th place overall in the scoring with 330 points, while the women finished in 14th place among 15 teams with 137 points.

Catano was third in the preliminaries and broke the record for the 200 backstroke by almost four seconds in the early heats, but then shaved off nearly nine-tenths of a second in the finals to claim second in 1:49.77. Catano qualified for an NCAA "B" cut by almost four seconds, but he will have to wait to see if he reaches the NCAA Championships as an individual. Junior Tyler Nichols (Spencerport, NY) also enjoyed some success in the event, taking 22nd in 2:01.65. Kyle Atkinson (Baldwinsville, NY) and Evan Pendleton (Beacon, NY) were also in the running, claiming 28th and 32nd, respectively.

Two others scored for the men later on in the afternoon as Jon Ketcham (East Aurora, NY) and Kyle Hancock (Essex, VT) each scored points in the 200 breaststroke. Ketcham came within a tenth of a second of breaking the school mark in the preliminaries, but slowed down slightly in his second go-round in the finals, finishing in eighth place with a finals time of 2:11.92. Hancock was also just slightly slower in his finals time than in his preliminary race, finishing in 13th in 2:12.60. Aaron Parysek (Spencerport, NY) and Chris Plummer (Spencerport, NY) also finished just outside the finals in 25th and 29th, respectively.

No other Clarkson swimmers would record points for the Knights in individual events, though sophomore Sam Zagrobelny (East Aurora, NY) finished 26th in the 100 freestyle in 48.50 seconds. The top finishes for the women were Kelly Ludeke (Burnt Hills, NY), who took 30th in the 200 breaststroke in 2:41.05, and Sarah Halstead (Milford, NH), who placed 30th in the 200 backstroke in 2:21.68. Kelly Mulvehill (Penfield, NY) also placed 33rd in the 200 breaststroke, and Deonna Coleman (Derby, NY) was 57th in the 100 freestyle.

Clarkson closed out the scoring in the 400 freestyle relay. The women finished in 13th place in 3:54.97, more than five seconds faster than their preliminary time, with a team of Ludeke, Coleman, Halstead, and Mulvehill. Clarkson's men broke the school mark in the 400 freestyle relay in both the preliminaries and then again in the finals, finishing the race in 3:13.47 (previous mark of 3:14.52). The team of Al Catano, Sam Zagrobelny, Chris Bay (Greene, NY) and Kyle Hancock had just edged the mark in the prelims.