BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- The CSU Bakersfield swimming and diving teams opened the 2015-16 season Saturday morning at the Hillman Aquatic Center by welcoming fellow WAC member Grand Canyon for the first meet of the year. The Antelopes squeezed out a win on the women's side, 156.5-143.5, while the GCU men defeated CSUB 176-122.
After the meet, CSUB's Director of Swimming, Chris Hansen, was pleased with the overall results in the season opener: “The women have something to prove this year and we are off to a great start. I am really proud of both squads today.”
For the 'Runner women, Carlee Burks, Kelsey Lange, Dylana Milobar, and Paola Hernandez led the women in a close meet. Lange, a senior who is the defending WAC champion in both the 100 and 200 freestyle, won the 200 (1:56.63) on Saturday and finished third in the 100 (53.96). The San Jose, Calif. native also helped the women's 400 free relay team to a first place finish against GCU.
Burks, a junior from Bakersfield, picked up a pair of wins on both the 1- and 3-meter boards. The Centennial High School graduate scored 235.65 points on the 1-meter to defeat GCU's Mennattalah Elmidany by less than three points. Later in the meet, Burks trounced all competitors, scoring 250.05 points on the 3-meter and winning by a 40-point margin.
Milobar, a junior from British Columbia, won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:06.00, just two and a half seconds slower than her All-Conference time from 2014-15. She also finished first for the 'Runners and third overall in the 200 breast (2:25.03).
Hernandez upset her teammate, Lange, in the 100 free with a first-place time of 52.26. The performance was good enough to defeat her closest competitor by 0.95 seconds. The junior from Lompoc, Calif. also swam well in the 200 IM and 50 free, earning second-place finishes in both events.
“I'm also psyched to see newcomers Emily Vose and Sabrina Zavala picked up wins today,” said Hansen. Vose and Zavala alternated first and second place finishes in the 1000 and 500 free on Saturday with Vose winning the longer event. The freshman from England posted a time of 10:42.35 to take the 1000, which places her only 10 seconds outside of the CSUB Top 5 all-time. Zavala, a freshman from South Pasadena, Calif., won the 500 in 5:11.36, a mere 12 seconds outside of the Top 5. Junior Felicia Zamora helped the 'Runners complete a 1-2-3 sweep in the 1000 free as well.
The CSUB men struggled to keep up with a strong Grand Canyon squad on Sunday, but, Hansen was pleased with several individual performances: “Lovre Soric swam his best dual meet season times in both the 100 free and the 200 IM today. He has been a tremendous leader for us on land and proved he can be a leader in the pool.”
Grand Canyon, a squad known for powerful sprinters, had their hands full with Soric on Saturday. The native of Croatia won the 100 free in a time of 46.11, faster than his best time from a year ago and under 1.5 seconds outside of the CSUB Top 5 all-time. The sophomore also gave the 'Lopes a run in the 200 IM and 200 free as well as Soric earned second place in both events just behind Iegor Lytvenok, a WAC Champion several times over.
Sophomore Bryant Fascio and freshman Owen van Krimpen both earned wins for the 'Runners on Saturday as well. Just like their female counterparts, Fascio and van Krimpen traded first and second on the 500 and 1000 freestyle races. Fascio earned gold in the longer event with a time of 9:47.56 while van Krimpen took the 500 in 4:46.59.
The CSUB men's 400 free relay team put together an impressive performance at the Hillman Aquatic Complex. The quartet of Christopher Salcido, Bryce Timonera, Joe Cobarrubias, and Mihael Vukic earned a win with a time of 3:06.72, less than half a second off of CSUB's second-best time of the year last season. “The 400 free relay was also big,” said Hansen. “They pulled out a great in-season time.”
The Roadrunners will return to action next weekend, Oct. 16-17, when the both the men and women head south for the Malibu Invitational hosted by Pepperdine.
~GoRunners.com~
