BUFFALO, N.Y. – Cortland's 200-yard freestyle relay team of freshman Matt Distler (Glens Falls), sophomore Dan Maximowicz (Binghamton/Chenango Forks), freshman Luke Strothenke (New Paltz) and sophomore Ben Strickland (Stanfordville/HomeSchool) won a conference title during the first full day of competition at the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at Erie Community College's Flickinger Center.

Cortland sits in second-place in the team standings with two days remaining. Geneseo leads with 236 points, followed by Cortland with 207 points. New Paltz (132), Fredonia (123) and Oswego (96) round out the top five in the nine-team field.

Cortland won the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:25.81 in the finals. The Red Dragons also placed third in the 400-yard medley relay as junior Dan Drew (Farmington/Victor), junior Danny Salvatore (Clarence), junior Judd Simon (Oneida) and Distler were clocked at 3:33.46 in the finals (3:33.16 in prelims).

Distler finished second in the 500-yard freestyle (4:43.13) to earn All-SUNYAC second-team honors. Maximowicz placed fourth in the 50-yard freestyle (21.62) and Strickland finished fifth in the 200-yard individual medley (1:57.82, 1:56.64 in prelims).

Two Cortland divers earned top-eight finishes. Junior Travis Burke (Massapequa) finished fifth on the one-meter board with a score of 429.05 points, while sophomore Kyle Kaznowski (Kingston) was eighth with 400.50 points.

Freshman Mark Hanifin (Fort Plain) was sixth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:49.60) and Salvatore finished eighth in the 200-yard individual medley (2:00.00, 1:59.46 in prelims).

Competition continues on Friday, starting with prelims at 10 a.m. followed by the finals at 6 p.m., and concludes on Saturday with a similar schedule.


STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1

1) Geneseo – 236
2) Cortland – 207
3) New Paltz – 132
4) Fredonia – 123
5) Oswego – 96
6) Buffalo St. – 89
7) Brockport – 85
8) Oneonta – 70
9) Potsdam - 62