WEBSTER, NY – The Alfred University men's swimming & diving team finished third in the Allegheny Empire Championships out of the 10 teams competing, but finished second within the Empire 8, defeating Hartwick College and Utica College after concluding day four of the meet on Saturday.
 
The Saxons were behind Alfred State College and Nazareth College in the overall meet as the Golden Flyers took the Empire 8 crown.
 
The Saxons got things started on Saturday with Jordan Fixsen (Fairport, NY/Fairport) earning ninth place overall with a time of 17:26.58 in the mile freestyle. In the next event, AU placed a Saxon on top of the podium as Phillip Volaski (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) won the meet's 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:53.51. He was followed by William LaMastus (Maumee, OH/Anthony Wayne) in second place with a time of 1:55.67. The one-two finish also grants the pair First and Second Team All-Empire 8 honors. Nathan Sponenberg (Bloomsburg, PA/Central Columbia) tacked on a sixth place finish in the event with  time of 2:02.82, being the fourth E8 swimmer to touch the wall.
 
Paul Tuttle (Irondequoit, NY/Irondequoit) swam a 48.30 in the 100-yard freestyle to earn the top finish for AU in that event with Fernando Lagos (Tegucigalpa, Honduras/Escuela e Instituo Lincoln) following in 10^th place with a time of 48.87.
 
AU had another event that mirrored the efforts of its backstrokers as Emiliano Terrazas (La Paz, Bolivia/Saint Andrew's) and Colin Schultz (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) went one-two in the 200-yard breaststroke. Terrazas earned All-Empire 8 First Team with a time of 2:06.50 while Schultz earned All-E8 Second Team with a time of 2:08.09. Wade LaMastus (Maumee, OH/Anthony Wayne) was the next E8 swimmer to touch the wall in the event with a time of 2:10.34, making it the only event in which AU swept the top three spots amongst Empire 8 competitors. Wade was fourth overall in the event, narrowly missing the encompassing third place finish by 0.09 seconds. Justin Jarmer (Flagstaff, AZ/Northland Preparatory Academy) also competed in the A-finals for the Saxons in that event, swimming a 2:15.04 for eighth place overall and sixth in the E8.
 
Lagos took fifth in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:58.59 as he was the third place finisher for the E8.
 
The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Lagos, William, Tuttle and Colby Watkins (New Orleans, LA/St. Martin's Episcopal) closed the day out with a fifth place finishing time of 3:13.72. The time was good for third in the Empire 8 and fifth overall.