MONTEREY PARK, Calif.-- The Roadrunner women's swimming team concluded the A3 Performance Invitational on Saturday night behind the strong performance of Lucy Sanderson. Bakersfield finished 11th in the field of 15 teams with a team total of 326 points. The overall champion was San Diego State, which edged out UCLA with 1166 points.
Sanderson (So., London, England, Kelley College) opened the day with a fast time in the 200 fly preliminary (2:07.26). The sophomore from England was less than half a second outside of the CSUB all-time Top 5 in the event. Unscathed by the near miss, Sanderson went on to drop that time even lower in the final with a finish of 2:06.36, helping her crack the Bakersfield Top 5. “Lucy had an amazing 200 back!” said Chris Hansen, Bakersfield's Director of Swimming. “This is her personal best time and very much needed for our team. She split this race like a true champion.”
Delise Batiza (Sr., San Ramon, Calif., Oregon State) narrowly missed out on the Bakersfield all-time Top 5 in the prelim of the 200 back. The senior posted a time of 2:04.68, a season best time that sits less than one second out of fifth all-time. Sanderson was not done with good performances for the day as the Londoner impressed her coach in the 200 back as well: “Lucy swam a very hard double 200 back, 200 fly, and she ended up with another best time. She had a great day.” Sanderson posted a time of 2:05.02 in the 200 back final.
The women's 400 free relay team of Michaela Paige (Jr., Lompoc, Calif., Cabrillo HS), Paola Hernandez (So., Lompoc, Calif., Cabrillo HS), Lauren Kaufman (Sr., Renton, Wash., TCU), and Kelsey Lange (Jr., San José, Calif., Santa Teresa HS) finished in eighth place with a time of 3:27.86. The quartet reset the CSUB record twice last year and got their time down to 3:21.03 with a win at the 2014 WAC Championships. The group is looking as if they will take another run at the school record in 2015.
Hernandez lowered her personal best in the 100 free from 50.80 to 50.76 in the prelim. She remains fifth all-time for CSUB in the event, closing in on Paige (50.60) who is fourth. The sophomore from California would go on to finish eighth in the final, scoring points for Bakersfield. Kaufman and Lange also dropped season best times in the event. Hansen was pleased with his sprinters: “Kelsey really is swimming fast this season because she is fixing the things that needed to be fixed. Her turns and breathing are so much better. Paola swam a personal best time in the prelims which placed her in the finals with some of the country's best.”
“These ladies are pumped!” said Hansen. “They want to swim fast and they represent CSUB with pride. We are definitely short in numbers this year, but on deck, we look like a larger team! That is because they are full of loyalty for each other and have tons of pride.”
Some of the Roadrunners will return to action after the Thanksgiving break when they take on the US Nationals, Dec. 4-7, in Greensboro, N.C. The rest of the squad will return to the Hillman Aquatics Complex on campus, Saturday, Dec. 13, to host Cal Baptist in a dual.
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