LANCASTER, Pa.- The Centennial Conference Swimming Championship returns to the Kunkel Aquatic Center this Thursday, February 19, through Sunday, February 22, as the Diplomats look to follow up on back-to-back third-place finishes.

The men's swimming team has posted a 5-4, 3-2 Centennial Conference record under head coach Ben Delia. The team has secured in-conference wins over Ursinus, Dickinson, and Washington College plus non-conference victories over Division II Kutztown and Elizabethtown.

In individual events, the top eight swimmers in each preliminary will advance to the championship finals, while the ninth through 16th swimmers will advance to the consolation finals.

Ben Lockey enters the weekend in the top eight in both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, as the senior ranks fifth in the 100 freestyle and eighth in the 50 freestyle. Sam Kamdin ranks tenth, while Brady Saunders is 15th.

The duo of Patrick Rooney and Luke Healey each earned A Final seeding for both the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke events. In the 200 breaststroke, Rooney is fifth and Healey is sixth, while Rooney is sixth followed by Healey in seventh in the 100 breaststroke seeding. Two Diplomats are currently projected for a place in the B Final, as Lockey is 13th and Noah Drexler ranks 16th. 

Matthew Tilghman is seeded for three B Finals including both the 500 freestyle (15th) and 1650 freestyle (13th) plus the 400 IM (13th). He's joined by teammates in the distance freestyle events, as Noah Drexler is seeded 16th in the 500 freestyle, and Joe Clarkson ranks 15th in the 1650 freestyle. 

Sam Kamdin sits in 13th place in 100 backstroke seeding, while Ethan Ferris is 12th in the 200 butterfly seeding.
 
The relay events will see the top teams ("A" team) from each school compete in an A Final, while schools have an additional team entered for the B Final. 

In relay competition, the Diplomats have the fifth-highest A seed across all five events that include the 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay, and 800 freestyle relay. 

Live video and live results for the entire weekend will be available through 'Championship Central' link. The link also includes a full schedule and psych-sheet. Both a team championship and individual accolades will be presented at the end of the competition, with first-team, second-team and honorable mention All-Centennial Conference honors going to the top-three finishers in each individual event. First and second-team honors will be awarded to the top-two finishers in relay races.

Franklin & Marshall Top 16 Seeds

200 Medley Relay
8. A (5th of A Teams)
11. B (4th of B Teams)

400 Medley Relay
7. A (5th of A Teams)
11. B (4th of B Teams)

200 Freestyle Relay
6. A (5th of A Teams)
11. B (5th of B Teams)

400 Freestyle Relay
8. A (5th of A Teams)
10. B (4th of B Teams)

800 Freestyle Relay
8. A (5th of A Teams)
10. B (4th of B Teams)

Individual Events Guide:
Bold Indicates Projected for A Final
Underline Indicates Projected for B Final 

50 Freestyle
8. Ben Lockey
10. Sam Kamdin
15. Brady Saunders

100 Freestyle
5. Ben Lockey

500 Freestyle 
15. Matthew Tilghman
16. Noah Drexler

1650 Freestyle
13. Matthew Tilghman
15. Joe Clarkson

100 Backstroke
13. Sam Kamdin

100 Breaststroke
6. Patrick Rooney
7. Luke Healey
13. Ben Lockey
16. Noah Drexler

200 Breaststroke
5. Patrick Rooney
6. Luke Healey

200 Butterfly
12. Ethan Ferris

400 IM
13. Matthew Tilghman