LA JOLLA, Calif.—The Roadrunner men's and women's swimming and diving teams are exactly where Chris Hansen, Director of Swimming for CSU Bakersfield, wants his student-athletes to be for this time of year. After coming off a hard month of December with rigorous training, the 'Runners are posted strong times at a multi-team meet hosted by UC San Diego. The CSUB women went 2-1 in the meet while junior diver Carlee Burks smashed a CSUB record and the men split their duals on Saturday.
Women
“We beat LMU and Colorado Mesa pretty bad today,” said Hansen. “Unfortunately, we had to pull Michaela Paige due to an injury, which made UCSD hard to beat. However, the ladies were awesome today. This was, by far, our best meet of the season for the women.”
The Roadrunner women (3-5) defeated both Colorado Mesa and Loyola Marymount handily this weekend. Without Paige, the 'Runners fell to UCSD, a squad currently ranked No. 2 among all NCAA Division II teams, 193-105.
One of the many highlights of the day for CSUB was Burks' record-breaking performance on the 3-meter board. A native of Bakersfield, Calif., the junior came into the meet ranked third all-time for the 'Runners with a mark of 294.75 from a season ago. On Saturday, the Centennial High School graduate posted a score of 337.28, leap frogging her way to the top of the school record book.
Burks' mark smashed the 11-year-old record held by Laura Lafranchise (310.80) while the junior has the top dive in the Western Athletic Conference this season by over 55 points. She went on to win the 1-meter board as well, with another personal best mark (301.50), raising her previous best by 16 points and jumping from third to second all-time for CSUB in the event.
Junior Paola Hernandez swam in the 200 IM and earned a victory on Saturday with her fastest dual meet swim this year. The junior from Cabrillo, Calif. outpaced the next closest competitor by over a second with a winning time of 2:07.55. The mark in La Jolla sets Hernandez up for a good shot at breaking her own CSUB record in the event (2:03.34) later this year.
Nicolette Goncalves, a senior from Mississauga, Ontario, finished second in the 200 back. Her time of 2:07.96 was Goncalves' third-best of the season, but her fastest time since the 'Runners went to the A3 Performance Invitational in November. “Nicolette's 200 back was her fastest dual meet time ever!” said Hansen. “I'm psyched to see her setting herself up for a great WAC. Fellow seniors Chrisy Vo and Kelsey Lange also had great swims today.”
Men
CSUB's men defeated Colorado Mesa 213-81, but fell to UCSD 165-133 in a tight dual. The Tritons are ranked No. 5 in Division II on the men's side and presented a tough matchup for the 'Runners, who pleased their coach with their performances: “We swam and dove great today. It was great to see freshmen Justice Kramer and Christopher Salcido step up and attack their races.”
Kramer, a native of Federal Way, Wash., finished second in the 200 fly (1:55.76), sixth in the 200 back (1:58.24), and fourth in the 200 IM (1:58.15) on Saturday. His time in the 200 back was a collegiate-best mark for the freshman while his other two marks are strong for this time of the season.
“Chris had a great meet today, winning both the 100 and 200 free,” said Hansen of Salcido. “Both were big times for the freshman. He really is racing smart.” Salcido edged out a tight win in the 100 free with a time of 46.19 before taking the 200 free by over a second (1:41.38). The freshman from Maryville, Tenn. was only off his collegiate-best time by .28 seconds in the 100 and lowered his best 200 time by .20.
“Joe Cobarrubias also had a great 200 free today,” Hansen said after his sophomore swimmer posted a time of 1:44.57 to finish fourth. “He is swimming for a spot on the WAC 800 free relay.”
While Brayden Greenwald was unable to break any school records, he dove nearly as well as Burks on Saturday. The sophomore from Henderson, Nev. earned victories on both the 1-meter (307.43) and 3-meter (299.93) boards. His 1-meter score raised Greenwald's personal best by 23 points and moved him from fifth all-time for the 'Runners to second.
Two of Hansen's international swimmers also impressed their coach on Saturday: “Lovre Soric and Mihael Vukic really stepped up and raced hard today. Both put up fast times for this part of the season. Mihael, Chris, Joe, and Lovre really swam a fast 400 free relay. We haven't swam that fast in season in a long time.”
For full results and times from today's meet, please open the linked PDF.
What's Next?
The Roadrunner swimmers will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 23, when CSUB heads to a tri-meet against Fresno Pacific and UC Santa Cruz. Before those duals, the 'Runner divers will have their next chance to qualify for the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships. Burks has already qualified in one event and she and the rest of the 'Runners will tackle the UCLA Diving Invitational, Jan. 16-17.
~GoRunners.com~
