Mark Patterson Proud to Carry on Behrend Swimming Tradition

The sport of swimming is a complete body workout. It is a sport that features grueling workouts and training in order to help these athletes compete at their best. Swimming is also the perfect blend between a team sport and an individual sport. For Behrend swimmer Mark Patterson, the sport of swimming represents this perfect balance of fun and socialization.

“I have never gotten sick of the sport at any point in my life.” Patterson said. “I have been swimming competitively since I was five years old. I watched my older brother (Matthew) and older sister (Carrie) swim since I was a baby. Nobody in my family ever persuaded me or convinced me to try it except myself.” Since his early childhood, Mark has swam all year round which has proven to be a wise choice when it comes to his overall career in the sport. During his high school days at Norwin Junior-Senior High School, Mark lettered in swimming three times. He also set the Westmoreland County Coaches Association (WCCA) swim records in the 100 meter backstroke while winning this championship twice during his high school career. Patterson was able to break both the school and pool record in the 100 meter backstroke as well. In addition, he won the WCCA 200 meter freestyle race once during his high school career. Mark enjoyed great success in high school, and this led to schools including Florida Tech, Westminster, Pitt Bradford, and of course Penn State Behrend to recruit him.

After visits to each of these schools, Patterson felt most at home at Penn State Behrend. It also was a university that allowed Mark to start there before transferring to University Park. A contributing factor as to why Patterson picked Behrend was the opportunity to swim for two years at a Penn State branch campus before heading to University Park to finish his desired degree of Aerospace Engineering. However, it did not take Mark long to realize that he loved Behrend and also the chance to compete as a college swimmer. He suddenly had a change of heart and decided mechanical engineering was the major he desired after all. Picking mechanical engineering allowed Mark to compete as a college swimmer for a full four years and work towards competing for more AMCC championships and also many individual milestones as well.

The decision to stay at Behrend was one that has truly paid dividends for him as he has built one of the best athletic resumes both the swim program and any athlete at Behrend has ever built. However, if anyone knows Mark well, he remains humble despite all of his success in the pool. During his swimming career, Mark has been named the AMCC Newcomer of the Year in his first year with the program. It was a sign of what was to come as he went on to be named the AMCC Swimmer of the Year in his sophomore, junior, and now senior seasons. During his career, Patterson has helped lead Behrend to four conference titles which brings the Lions streak to 13 overall.

As for individual accomplishments as a swimmer, Mark has been named First Team All-AMCC 16 times in his career already without the First Team being announced for this current season yet. He has also been named Second Team All-AMCC three times which brings his total to 19 appearances so far on the AMCC teams. Mark has also been named All-AMCC in a total of seven different events to date which speaks of his versatility as a swimmer. Primarily, Mark is a specialist in the backstroke and freestyle and lists backstroke as his favorite events. “Backstroke to me is something that allows me complete independence to push myself. Unlike in all other swimming strokes, you cannot really see anyone you are competing against other than on turns. It takes a great amount of determination to race more against the clock in backstroke races than other swimmers.” Aside from his great performances in the pool, Mark has also excelled in the classroom and has been named AMCC All-Academic.

Being an athlete who is an engineering major is quite a tough task, and Mark is no exception. “I remember many of times we had night practice and I would stay up nearly all night to prepare for exams the next day. I would then get up for a 6AM practice and then go take all my tests. Junior year was by far the hardest year, but I was able to find a way and I am proud of that.” His great discipline has allowed him to work as an intern at two different companies. Most recently and currently, Patterson works as an intern for Ameridrives in Erie. He spent this past summer in Erie training for his final college season while also gaining great engineering experience. After graduation in May, Mark will be making his way to Washington, D.C. to begin his first full time job as a project engineer in construction for Whiting Turner Contracting Company. It will be quite a change, but it is an excellent opportunity for Patterson.

Being a college swimmer allowed Patterson to meet a few hundred people including around 50 teammates during his college career over four years. It also allowed him to form a close bond with the engineering majors within the program. “My fellow teammates who are engineers and I would go to the lab together after late practices to help each other study for exams. In engineering, we need one another to help understand the material. It became fun to study with those teammates because we tried to learn and make it as enjoyable as we could. I actually will miss some of the late nights we shared together.” Patterson said.

While Mark has swam in a lot of different venues, meets, and pools, he listed his favorite time was heading to training camp at Florida International University to prepare for the season. “Those were absolutely some of the most intense and demanding workouts I have ever encountered. At the time, I had no idea how I was going to get through that. All of those workouts really took me to a level I never thought I could be at both physically and mentally.” Trips like these also provide a great social time for large teams to bond and grow closer to one another. While Mark has had a great support system in his major and from his teammates, Mark was quick to talk about what Behrend swimming coach Jen Wallace has meant to him these last four years.“Coach has always found a way to push me as much as she possibly could when it is time to practice or workout, but she would never do it without then helping me recover and explain why she is making us do a particular workout or exercise. I would not be in the same positions I am today or close without her. She has molded me into a swimmer I never thought I could be and for that I am grateful. If I had the chance to go back and do all my swimming career again, I unquestionably would because I enjoyed swimming for her and Behrend that much.” Patterson also made mention of his family especially his parents Paula and David and how they believed and supported all of his decisions and progress for such a long time. He also elaborated and listed his professors as quite flexible and understanding of his commitment to swimming at Behrend as well. They helped him as much as they could in managing such a busy lifestyle. Patterson also listed the trainers at Behrend for the remarkable job they do for him and all other athletes. Mark battled some nagging injuries this year, but he was able to compete and feel better because of their help throughout the season.

While his career is wrapping up, Mark Patterson has a full career of memories to reflect on for the rest of his life. As of now, he is uncertain what his future in swimming will hold. Mark hopes to join a masters swim club at some point, but does not have much of a desire or interest in coaching. Wherever life takes Patterson, he has quite a story to share about his discipline to participate in a college sport while also graduating with an engineering degree. Mark Patterson has cemented himself as an all-time great Behrend athlete, but his career is not quite over just yet.