LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Roadrunner men's swimming and diving team kicked off the 2017-18 season with one of its toughest tests of the year. CSU Bakersfield traveled to face Southern California, a team that finished ranked in the Top 15 in NCAA Division I a year ago. The `Runners swam well, but fell to the Trojans on the road.
"I'm really pumped about how we performed tonight," said Chris Hansen, CSUB's Director of Swimming. "This was a blast! Jake Chir had two big swims tonight, winning both of his events. His summer is setting him up for another successful season."
Chir, a junior from Henderson, Nev., won both the 100 breaststroke (56.17) and 200 breaststroke (2:05.66), out touching USC's Billy Monjay by a mere tenth of a second in the latter race.
Hansen went on to applaud the performances of several other `Runners on Friday: "Our men's 200 medley relay team of Kris Rogic, Jake, Loren Gillilan, and Lovre Soric had our fastest dual-meet swim in my ten years at CSUB." The quartet posted a time of 1:32.35 in Los Angeles, less than three seconds outside of CSUB's Top 5 all-time list.
"Ethan Trieu's 100 back was a great swim for him this early," Hansen continued. "Loren had a big night. Winning the 50 as a freshman is huge. Lovre and Kris also had big nights." Trieu, a freshman from Fontana, Calif., finished fourth in the 100 back with a time of 51.82.
Gillilan, who fails from Fort Collins, Colo., beat USC's Cash Deloache by almost two tenths of a second in the 50 free with a time of 21.12. In his first collegiate meet, the 5-foot-11 freshman is only 1.08 seconds off of the CSUB all-time record.
Soric and Rogic, a pair of `Runners from Zagreb, Croatia, are at opposite ends of their careers. AÂ senior, Soric finished fourth in the 500 free (4:43.06) while Rogic, a freshman, placed fourth in the 200 back (1:53.50).
CSUB fell to USC by a score of 201-94 on Friday.
The Roadrunners will open their home schedule Saturday, Oct. 14, when CSUB hosts Pacific at the Hillman Aquatic Center. The first event is scheduled for 1 p.m. and parking on meet day is free in Lot I while admission is always free for CSUB swim and dive events.
~GoRunners.com~
