HOUSTON ? Senior Henry Holmberg claimed first place in the 500 freestyle finals Thursday evening, giving the CSUB men's swim team its first individual title at the 2009 Conference USA Championships at the CRWC Natatorium on the campus of the University of Houston.
Holmberg was seeded second in the finals after turning in a preliminary time of 4:25.44, just behind East Carolina's Thi Cavalcanti (4:25.13). In the championship finals, Holmberg held a narrow .18 second lead after the first 50 yard split and never trailed, touching the wall in a personal-best 4:23.62. The time is also the third fastest in Roadrunner school history and would stand as an NCAA Division I “B” standard if CSUB were postseason eligible.
“Henry was a stud tonight,” said CSUB Head Coach Chris Hansen. “He often struggles with his finishes, but tonight he took control of the last 100 yards and pushed his way through.”
Fellow senior Nathan Vizcarra earned a spot in the consolation finals, placing fifth in that heat and 13th overall, with a time of 4:36.53. Vizcarra's preliminary time of 4:35.86 was a personal best.
Two ?Runners made the consolation finals of the 200 individual medley, with Sampo Sissala taking fourth in 1:54.19 and Griffin Bracke taking seventh in 1:57.98. Sissala's time was a personal best, while Bracke's was second only to his 1:55.39 finish at the C-USA Championships in 2008.
In the 50 free, Malcolm Reid swam a personal best 20.85 in Thursday morning's prelims, earning a position in the consolation finals. In that race, he placed fourth and lowered his PR time to 20.69.
The session ended emphatically for the Roadrunners as the 400 medley relay team of Luka Leskur, Rene Hjorth, Sissala and Reid held on for a nail-biting second place finish in the final event of night. With Southern Methodist taking first place in 3:12.52, it went down to the wire for Bakersfield and third place finisher East Carolina. CSUB's anchor, Reid, touched the wall in 3:20.16, followed by ECU's Junior Temotio in 3:20.17. The Roadrunner finish is the third fastest in school history.
“Henry started things off for us and the 400 medley relay ended it,” said Hansen. “We're beating good teams and I couldn't be happier with our performance.”
Through 14 events, SMU leads the team standings with 320 points. With a small squad and no divers, the ?Runners currently sit in fifth place with 125.5 points.
Friday's sessions include the 200 free relay, the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast and 100 back. Live results can be found by visiting www.conferenceusa.com.
