Mandie Huffman is leaving one successful swimming program for another.

The recent Seneca Valley graduate was a member of the Raiders' girls swimming team last winter that finished with a record of 10-3. She also swam the breaststroke leg on the team's WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA 200 medley relay championships.

"The state title win this year, that was an amazing feeling," said Huffman. "I knew we could do it, and when we did, I was so proud to be part of it.

"That's when I realized I wanted to keep competing and continue to get better."

Huffman has decided to continue her academic and swimming careers at Westminster College.

"I was also looking at Chatham College and California University (Pa.)," said Huffman. "The women's swimming program at Chatham was just started last year and I was looking for a more competitive atmosphere."

"Mandie now gets to move on to another level, another phase of her swimming career and that's great," said Seneca Valley coach Tom Donati.

Huffman, a Cranberry Township resident, will become part of a Titans program that is used to winning.

The team is currently on a streak of seven consecutive winning seasons, tallying a mark of 54-14 in that span.

Westminster competes in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. The Titans won two straight PAC titles in 2003 and 2004 before finishing second in the conference this past season with a 7-3 record.

"We've been fortunate enough to have a lot of good swimmers like Mandie join our program," said Westminster coach Rob Klamut.

"I've been watching (Huffman) for a number of years," the coach added. "She's got good mechanics and looks to be a nice team player."

Though she swam the 200 individual medley throughout her high school career, the breaststroke always has been Huffman's best event.

She began swimming when she was 4 years old and later developed into one of the best youth swimmers around.

She swam for Donati when he was leading Team Pitt, the elite youth team in the area at that time.

"When it came to the breaststroke, she was the elite of the elite," said Donati of Huffman. "She had a lot of expectations placed upon her at a young age.

"As she got older, the competition began to catch up to her a bit," Donati added. "But she fought through that and overcame it."

Besides her accomplishments on this past season's team, Huffman also helped Seneca Valley to a WPIAL title in the 200-medley relay in 2004.

"The breaststroke is an event that requires timing and coordination, and Mandie has good technique and endurance," said Klamut.

Donati swam for Klamut and graduated from Westminster in 1990.

"We've got a good connection with Seneca Valley, with Tom being one of my former swimmers," said Klamut.

Huffman graduated from high school earlier this month with a grade-point average of 3.5. She plans to major in elementary education.

She is the daughter of Mark and Lana Huffman.