Freedom High School swimmer, Sam Magnan, won the silver medal in the 500 free at the PIAA State Swimming Championships last week at Bucknell University.

Initially disappointed with his second place finish, Magnan said, "I' still happy, but in warm-up, I should have worked on some turns better."

North Allegheny's Zack Buerger won the gold medal with a time of 4:22.75.

"He had great walls, and that's where I lost a lot of ground. I wasn't happy with my time," Magnan said.

Magnan's time was 4:25.05, three tenths of a second faster than his personal best.

"I definitely felt like I could have had the top time in states all year. I'm still disappointed with it," he said.

Magnan also competed in the 200 free and placed 9th.

"I didn't have a good swim in the morning [in preliminaries], but at night [in the consolation], I swam two seconds faster," Magnan said.

Had Magnan made finals, he would have placed sixth based on time.

Magnan, a junior, will have a second chance to place higher in both events next year.

"I'll definitely work harder on getting a feel for the walls, but I felt good in the water, aerobically," he said.