He also holds numerous age group titles, including seven golds from the Philippine National Games, and more than five Filipino records in long-distance freestyle (400 and 1500 m) and in individual medley (400 m) during his sporting career.

During his two-year visit, he lived with his aunt in Tustin, California, and later transferred to his foster father Brian Goodell, a 1976 Olympic champion in long-distance freestyle double (both 400 and 1500 m), in Mission Viejo.

[4] Piccio studied in his junior and senior season at the Mission Viejo High School, where he played for the Davie Nadadores Club, along with two other world-elite swimmers Juan Veloz of Mexico and Torwai Sethsothorn of Thailand.

[11][12] In the 400 m individual medley, Piccio challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including his high school teammate Juan Veloz of Mexico, 1996 Olympic silver medalist Jani Sievinen of Finland, and 16-year-old George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago.

[3][18] Piccio was expected to compete in three swimming events at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, but arrived late as he was stranded in Japan for a long period because of a strong typhoon.

On February 18, 2004, Piccio, along with Molina, Miguel Mendoza, and Mark Kalaw, reinstated their gold medals in the event, after the Philippine Olympic Committee, headed by Celso Dayrit, lodged an official protest to the SEA Games organizers about the Omega automatic timing system's erroneous results.

[21] Piccio also sought his bid for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, but eventually lost to Molina, who registered a much faster time in the 400 m individual medley under a FINA B-standard (a country was allowed to enter one swimmer per event).