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WAC Swimming & Diving Championship in March 01, 2019 in Houston. (Photo by: Juan DeLeon)
Western Athletic Conference

Men's Swim & Dive

Popham Headlines Strong Season Opener for CSUB Swim



LOS ANGELES – The CSU Bakersfield swimming and diving teams kicked off the 2019-20 season with the first of two days of competition at the Trojan Swim Invite, a highly-competitive meet hosted by USC. While several Roadrunners put together impressive swims in a strong field that includes a pair NCAA Top 10 teams from 2018-19, freshman Mikayla Popham highlighted the day with a CSUB Top 5 all-time mark in her first collegiate meet.

A native of Australia, Popham posted a time of 4:53.07 in the 500 freestyle, fast enough to rank her second all-time for the `Runners behind only Michaela Paige (2014). "This is a giant swim this early in the season," said Chris Hansen, CSUB's Director of Swimming. "They don't swim yards in Australia, so, once Mikayla gets used to yards, she will be a contender to win the WAC."

Hansen went on to applaud the effort of his squad against a deep field that includes professional-level club athletes: "I'm really impressed with how everyone swam today; it was a fun meet. Our freshmen did a great job today and I'm excited for tomorrow."

Popham was not CSUB's only strong performer in the 500 free as Ariane Skeggs (5:01.38), Maddie Cosgrove (5:02.52), and Jayssie Haynes (5:06.95) all posted good first swims of the season. On the men's side, Alex Rodriguez (4:41.07) and Noah Hultner (4:43.24) both impressed their coach as the pair placed in the Top 25 in the 500 free.

Fresh off a standout freshman campaign, Autumn D'Arcy opened her sophomore season with a solid mark in the 200 IM, placing 10th with a time of 2:02.36. Alix Neilan (2:10.20) and Cara Le (2:10.96) also posted strong times this early in the season with a pair of Top 25 finishes.

The `Runner men looked to Croatians Kris Rogic and Antonio Milin to lead the way in the 200 IM. Rogic, who brought home four Croatian national titles this past summer, finished ninth in the event on Friday with a best in-season time of 1:51.00 to place ninth in the stacked field. Milin, a sophomore transfer from the University of Indianapolis, out-touched his teammate and fellow countryman by less than a second (1:50.60) in a great `Runner debut and a seventh-place finish.

In the last individual event of the day, the `Runner sprinters got off to a good start in the 50 free. "Loren Gillilan and Richie Campbell both swam hot today in the 50!" Hansen said excitedly. "Going 20 points [under 21 seconds] this early in the season is great for us."

Gillilan, a junior from Fort Collins, Colo., placed 16th among some of the nation's top sprinters with a time of 20.81. Campbell, a senior from San Dimas, Calif., snuck into the Top 20 with a 20.97 swim Friday afternoon. Freshman Ellice Richman (24.14) led the `Runner women with Tabea Mose (24.30) and Mia Bailey (24.35) not far behind in the 50 free.

With the first day of the Trojan Swim Invite in the books, CSUB will return to the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on Saturday for a full day of competition, broken into two sessions. The morning session will kick off at 8:30 a.m. while the afternoon session is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in Los Angeles. Live results from the meet are available on mobile devices via the Meet Mobile app.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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Players Mentioned

Richie Campbell

Richie Campbell

Sprint
6' 2"
Senior
Loren Gillilan

Loren Gillilan

Sprints/Fly
6' 0"
Junior
Noah Hultner

Noah Hultner

DFree
5' 10"
Senior
Kris Rogic

Kris Rogic

IM/Sprint
6' 1"
Junior
Antonio Milin

Antonio Milin

Breast
6' 0"
Sophomore
Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez

Free
5' 8"
Freshman
Mia Bailey

Mia Bailey

Free
6' 0"
Junior
Maddie Cosgrove

Maddie Cosgrove

Fly/Free
5' 9"
Senior
Autumn D

Autumn D'Arcy

Fly/ IM
5' 9"
Sophomore
Jayssie Haynes

Jayssie Haynes

Free/Breast/IM
5' 4"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Richie Campbell

Richie Campbell

6' 2"
Senior
Sprint
Loren Gillilan

Loren Gillilan

6' 0"
Junior
Sprints/Fly
Noah Hultner

Noah Hultner

5' 10"
Senior
DFree
Kris Rogic

Kris Rogic

6' 1"
Junior
IM/Sprint
Antonio Milin

Antonio Milin

6' 0"
Sophomore
Breast
Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez

5' 8"
Freshman
Free
Mia Bailey

Mia Bailey

6' 0"
Junior
Free
Maddie Cosgrove

Maddie Cosgrove

5' 9"
Senior
Fly/Free
Autumn D

Autumn D'Arcy

5' 9"
Sophomore
Fly/ IM
Jayssie Haynes

Jayssie Haynes

5' 4"
Senior
Free/Breast/IM
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