BRADFORD, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's swimming team will begin its 2017-18 season on Saturday at the Paul C. Duke III Aquatic Center, hosting the Panther Relays.

This event kicks off the five-month season that features 10 different meets and the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championships on Feb. 14-17. 

The Panther Relays is a team-oriented meet comprised of only relays and will have mixed-gender events, the only meet of its kind all season.

Among the teams competing will be Penn State-Altoona, Franciscan, Jamestown Community College and Genesee Community College. 

"I am extremely excited for this year's team," Head Coach Douglas Alban said. "We have a lot of talent, and a lot of depth in our talent."

The Panthers welcome many newcomers who will make immediate impacts this season, most notably improving the Panthers' relay teams. 

"Our A-relays are all returning, but we brought in so many fast swimmers, that our A-relays from last year are now our B-relays, and our A-relays are now made up by our newcomers," Alban said. 

Of the team's five incoming freshmen, Bradford native Jared Schwab, Kersey, Pa., native and  Benjamin Koss stand out as top sprinters for Alban's squad.

"They will join Nicholas Boyd on the shorter relays," Alban explained. "Those teams will be moving pretty fast. I can see all five of our school relay records going down this year, which is really exciting." 

Kevin Wang and Justin Aharrah are the other two freshmen on the roster.

"Kevin is going to build some depth in breaststroke, and Justin surprises me every day in practice as he's just a real go-getter," Alban said.

For long distance events, Alban will look to junior Carey Behm and the versatile Boyd. 

"Boyd is a good example of what this team is looking to do," Alban said. "Everyone is looking toward events they can take on in order to help the team. We have a very unselfish group."

Devin Kerr and Noah Frederick join Boyd as the sophomores on the roster. Behm, Lucas Cerchiaro and Devyn Condon are the juniors for the Panthers while Corey Koss, Chandler Nickel and Jayden Pire are the team's three seniors.

"There's a lot of excitement around every single person on the roster," Alban concluded. "With our conference going with both A and B relays at the AMCC meet, this team's depth is going to make it a lot of fun."