LOS ANGELES — Led by multiple individual event wins by Jake Priest, Keenan Natyzak and Matt Parsonage, the CSUB men's swim team dominated four-time defending NAIA National Champion Cal Baptist in a 170-119 final Saturday on the campus of Loyola Marymount.
The Roadrunners took first place in 10 events, and earned the fastest time in the final relay of the day, though they exhibitioned the race and therefore did not officially win the event.
Priest, a freshman from Las Vegas, won a trio of events, including the 200 fly in 1:54.50, the 200 breast in 2:11.65 and the 200 IM in 1:56.01. Natyzak earned a pair of first-place finishes, winning the 200 free in 1:41.48 and the 500 free in 4:40.86. Parsonage also claimed first in two events, winning the 100 breast in 58.88 and the 50 free in 21.58.
However, it was the solid performances of the remainder of the team that pushed the Roadrunners ahead in team points. Bakersfield racked up points with second, third and fourth place times in support of the first-place finishers.
Adam Pawlowski recorded a season-best 10:06.69 for second place in the 1,000 free. He was followed closely by Vance Elmore, who placed third in 10:07.22 and Bobby Klagge in fourth in 10:07.87.
Chad McKenzie, who has been rehabbing an injured knee, turned in a gusty performance, placing second in the 100 breast in 1:00.51 and third in the 200 back in 1:56.97.
Jay Jones had a pair of second-place finishes just behind teammate Priest, swimming a 1:54.75 in the 200 fly and 2:12.62 in the 200 breast. Logan Peeples was third in the 200 breast in 2:01.22, while Malcolm Reid won the 100 free in 47.53 and was a close second to Parsonage in the 50 free in 21.78.
Bakersfield native Bryce Ogden won both the one and three-meter springboard diving events, which were held on the UCLA campus. Scores from the events were not available.
The Roadrunners also got solid team efforts in the relay events, winning the 200 medley relay in 1:36.01 and turning in the fastest time in the 400 free relay in 3:11.93. Cal Baptist officially won the event as CSUB exhibitioned the race.
“It was exciting to see Jay, Logan and others step up today,” said Head Coach Chris Hansen. “In meets like this we need to get points from second and third place finishes.
“These guys have been training really hard and looked really tired last week. With such a young team I didn't know how they would handle that coming into this met, but you'd never know how tired they are with the way they competed today.”
The squad breaks briefly for the winter holiday, then returns to action Jan. 6 in an exhibition dual meet against the University of Sydney. That competition is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Hillman Aquatics Center.
