BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — CSUB men's swimming and diving Head Coach Chris Hansen garnered national recognition for his first full recruiting class since taking charge of the Roadrunner program. Back in June, the collective addition of 16 had CSUB pegged as owning the No. 19 best recruiting class, according to CollegeSwimming.com. Now, four months later, Hansen and his squad will put that ranking to the test, opening the 2009-10 season at the USC Invitational on Saturday.
“Being ranked on paper was exciting,” said Hansen. “But it doesn't mean anything unless we get it done in the water.”
The sixteen newcomers join eight returners a noticeably larger squad than recent years. Seniors Adam Pawlowski (distance free), Malcolm Reid (sprint free) and Erik Torres (sprint free) have assumed captain's honors, helping lead the predominantly underclassman squad. Hansen will also look for returning juniors Griffin Bracke (breast/IM) and Michael Schwartz (back/fly) to begin stepping up into leadership roles.
Of the newcomers, Hansen expects immediate results from freshman Jake Priest (breast/IM) and junior transfers Matt Parsonage (fly/free/breast) Chad McKenzie (breast/IM). Priest prepped at Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas, leading his squad to four region championships and a pair of Nevada state championships. Parsonage and McKenzie spent the past two seasons at Limestone College, each earning NCAA Division II All-American honors in 2008 and 2009.
“Jake has been training out of his mind and Matt and Chad come in with a lot of Division II experience,” said Hansen.
Freshmen Kevin Miller (frees) and Nick Cavazos (sprint free) have also stood out in recent workouts and Hansen is excited to see them get their first taste of collegiate competition this weekend.
“We're excited to get up and going against one of the country's best (in USC),” said Hansen. “This year will be different in that we will have a number of races that will be very close. Getting the chance to swim against the elite early on will only be better for us for the rest of the season.”
