LOS ANGELES, Calif.-- Behind strong efforts from the distance swimmers, the Roadrunner men's swimming and diving team dropped a close loss to UC San Diego on Saturday at the Burns Aquatic Center. CSU Bakersfield swam and dove well, but ultimately could not hang on to win, falling by a score of 160-139.
“It's a shame we lost again,” said Chris Hansen, Bakersfield's Director of Swimming. “We out swim and dive them every year, but our numbers hurt us. Mitchell Huxhold, Gabriel Bertrand, Nick Vargas, Bryant Fascio, and Dennis Cassidy swam great today. The sprint free and fly events hurt us. We normally depend on those events and we came up short today. Going into conference, we need to know that we can depend on everyone.”
Huxhold (Sr., Escondido, Calif., San Pasqual HS) led the way for the 'Runners, picking up another triple as has become the ordinary for the All-American. After opening the dual meet with a win in the 1000 (9:35.85), the senior would go on to win the 200 (1:41.44) and 500 free (4:40.46) as well to pick up vital points for CSUB. He also anchored the 400 free relay team which placed second with CSUB's third-fastest time of the season (3:08.36).
While leading the team has become a norm for Huxhold, the California native received some help from his fellow distance swimmers. Fascio (Los Angeles, Calif., Rancho Cucamonga HS), a true freshman, stepped up in a huge way for the 'Runners on Saturday, finishing in second place just behind Huxhold in the 1000 (9:37.51) and 500 (4:41.70). Not to be outdone, Bertrand (Sr., Tibro, Sweden, Nykopingssimg Gymnasium) was right on the heels of his teammates, placing second in the 200 free behind Huxhold with a time of 1:42.75 and helping the trio sweep the top three spots in the 500 free (4:43.05).
Jan Duerkop (R-Fr., Coburg, Germany, Kaiser-Heinrich-Gymnasium) earned a win in the 100 back with a time of 52.66 while Vargas put up a strong showing in the 200 fly to pick up his first win of the season. Vargas finished the race in a time of 1:55.94, just three tenths off of his best time of the year.
Tyler Greenwald (So., Henderson, Nev., Coronado HS) and his younger brother Brayden Greenwald (Fr., Henderson, Nev., Coronado HS) put on shows in the diving well as the brothers continued to battle it out for dominance. Brayden fared better in the 1m board with his second-best score of the season (268.20) which resulted in a second-place finish. Tyler exploded on the 3m board for a career-high 291.15 points and a win on the 3m board while Brayden answered with 281.95 points of his own, another second-best. Tyler raised his career best by over 10 points and his total in the 3m will rank him sixth in the WAC so far this season, just behind Brayden who is fifth.
The Roadrunners will take next weekend off before returning to competition Sunday, Jan. 25, to face off against UC Santa Cruz at home. The dual will be the final meet of the season before CSUB heads to San Antonio, Texas for the WAC Championships.
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