BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- The Bakersfield men's and women's swimming teams will be heading to the biggest meet of their young seasons this week. The 'Runners will travel south to Monterey Park to take on the A3 Performance Invitational (formerly known as the Arena Invitational), hosted by UC San Diego Nov. 20-22. Meanwhile, the diving teams will take part in the Pomona-Pitzer Diving Invitational in Claremont on the 22nd.
The Roadrunner swimmers will compete in what will likely be its largest team meet of the season as Bakersfield is one of eight men's teams and one of fifteen women's teams entered. The three-day meet will feature morning preliminary heats and evening finals on each day and the 'Runners hope to make a big impact in the East Los Angeles College pool. In order to do so, the squad will have to conquer tough opponents.
On the men's side of the competition, the 'Runners will be competing against teams of the likes of Hawai'i, USC, Cal Baptist, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara. The Trojans of Southern California are currently ranked in the Top 15 NCAA Div. I men's programs and will challenge the 'Runners and the rest of the field. For the women, Bakersfield enters a large pool of teams which includes two teams ranked in the Top 25 in USC (5th) and UCLA (21st).
“The A3 Invitational is an important meet,” said Chris Hansen, Bakersfield Director of Swimming. “For the men, with so many freshmen, it gives them experience with a championship style meet before the WAC championships. The men's meet will have us competing among the best with USC attending. We also look forward to competing against strong teams like Hawai'i and Santa Barbara.” Hansen knows a meet like this is an opportunity for his top swimmers to step up: “Mitchell Huxhold and Mihael Vukic are looking to climb the ranks at the national level with some fast swims in the distance and sprint events, respectively. Others to watch will be freshman Bryant Fascio who is seeded in the Top 8 in the 1650. Senior Gabriel Bertrand, freshman Lovre Soric, and sophomore Luka Seles are also seeded high in their events.”
For the women, Hansen also relishes the opportunity to face tough competitors: “The women's meet is jam-packed with USC and UCLA attending. What's exciting, even with these big schools attending, Paola Hernandez, Michaela Paige, Kelsey Lange, and Delise Batiza are all seeded in the top five in their events.” Despite facing top-level opponents, Hansen believes his women have a chance to make waves in the pool: “I think Paola has a shot to race and beat some big names. Michaela has been battling an injury but she is one of the toughest swimmers I know and I expect her to race hard. I'm excited to see what Lauren Kaufman and Dylana Milobar are going to do; they have been training hard. I think Dylana could shock some folks.”
The A3 Performance Invitational will begin Thursday, Nov. 20, with the morning session starting at 9 a.m. in Southern California. There will be a morning preliminary session at 9 a.m. each day, followed by an evening finals session that will begin at 5 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 22, they will swim an extra session scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. that will feature the finals of the men's and women's 1650 free.
For the divers heading to Claremont for the Pomona-Pitzer Diving Invitational on Saturday, Hansen has high expectations: “The meet will be jam-packed with California schools. This is a greet meet to see where Carlee Burks and Melissa Gore stand. The Greenwald brothers should fight for some titles.”
Live results for the A3 Performance Invitational are not available for desktop computer, but are accessible through the free, downloadable app MeetMobile (Apple App Store and Android Google Play). Full results and a recap will be posted here upon the conclusion of each day of competition.
~www.GoRunners.com~
