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JayssieHaynesWAC02

Men's Swim & Dive

School Record and Top 5 Times Highlight Season Opener



LOS ANGELES – CSU Bakersfield's swimming and diving teams closed the Trojan Swim Invite, a highly-competitive meet hosted by USC, on a high note on Saturday. Several Roadrunners put together another day of impressive swims against Top 10 opponents while Autumn D'Arcy reset a school record and Mikayla Popham and Maya Valdoria posted CSUB Top 5 all-time marks.
 
A native of Sunshine Coast, Australia, Popham posted a time of 50.39 in the 100 freestyle, fast enough to rank her fifth all-time for the Roadrunners behind Loni Burton (2005), Paola Hernandez (2017), Rachel McCall (2011) and current teammate Autumn D'Arcy (2019). Popham was not the only swimmer to crack the Top 5 list on Saturday as junior Maya Valdoria (2:05.14) swam a fifth-best all-time finish in the 200 butterfly.
 
D'Arcy, a sophomore coming off an outstanding freshman season, not only broke the CSUB school record in the 200 fly (1:59.37), but placed fourth in a field of twenty-three competitors. The native of Redlands, Calif. also recorded a big swim in the 100 butterfly. A time of 52.88 "will rank her high in D1 early," said CSUB Director of Swimming, Chris Hansen. Maddie Cosgrove and Valdoria also had personal best times in the event. 
 
D'Arcy, Lindsey Sohoel-Smith (1:05.54 100 Breast) and Tabea Mose (56.94 100 backstroke) did well in their respective 100 yard sprints. D'Arcy swam the 100-yard backstroke in 56.62 seconds which prompted Hansen to notice how D'Arcy will be "big time for us and great for our relays." 
 
Popham's leadoff of 23.20 in the 200-yard freestyle relay is another CSUB Top 5 time. Her impact in sprinting events makes it difficult for the Bakersfield coaching staff to narrow down her events, but she's "slaying everything she swims," Hansen said.
 
Jayssie Haynes rounds out the women's strong performers in the 400 IM. She posted a time of 4:29.57 which Hansen believes will set the senior up nicely for the WAC Championships.
 
On the men's side, Loren Gillilan tallied a time of 47.85 seconds in the 100 butterfly. A time this low and this early in the season "should scare conference opponents," Hansen remarked. Kris Rogis continues to dominate in his events while Antonio Milin swam a 56.11 in the 100 breast, which "is great for the team since we lost Jake Chir and Greg Lee to graduation."
 
Ryan Brimer recorded his first dual meet with a time under 1:40 in the 200 free (1:39.94). Hansen added, "Ryan has really grown into this event and I expect big things this year – Linus Richter also made a big step today." Richter came in close behind Brimer at 1:44.20. Brimer put together another strong swim in the 100 free with a mark of 45.56.
 
Milin and Rogic had big time lead offs in CSUB's 200 free relays. The duo posted 20.75 and 21.18 times, respectively, which are CSUB's fastest 50 free times.
 
In the afternoon session, CSUB did not let off the brakes. Newcomers Ariane Skeggs and Alex Rodriguez had great swims in the 1650 freestyle while Rogic swam his first time under 1:50 in the 200 backstroke (1:49.57) at a dual meet. Milin added a top time for CSUB (2:03.30) at a dual meet in the 200-yard breaststroke.
 
Michael Hart, Linus Richter, Richie Campbell, Kaden Miller and Noah Hickman all posted times of 46.9 or faster, which was huge for CSUB early in the 2019-20 season. Hansen concluded with saying, "We swam amazing this weekend. This was one of, if not the best season openers we have had since I came to Bakersfield. We will have some nationally-ranked swims for sure. I'm proud of everyone."
 
Bakersfield returns to the pool next weekend with a dual meet against UNLV Oct. 12. The `Runners and Rebels will dive into the pool at 11 a.m. in Las Vegas, Nev., with the CSUB divers getting their first chance to make an impact.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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Players Mentioned

Paola Hernandez

Paola Hernandez

Back/Fly
5' 6"
Senior
Jake Chir

Jake Chir

Breast/Free
6' 0"
Senior
Greg Lee

Greg Lee

Breaststroke/IM
5' 10"
Senior
Ryan Brimer

Ryan Brimer

Free
6' 1"
Junior
Richie Campbell

Richie Campbell

Sprint
6' 2"
Senior
Loren Gillilan

Loren Gillilan

Sprints/Fly
6' 0"
Junior
Michael Hart

Michael Hart

Fly/Free
5' 9"
Senior
Noah Hickman

Noah Hickman

Sprints
5' 9"
Junior
Kaden Miller

Kaden Miller

Free/Fly
5' 9"
Sophomore
Linus Richter

Linus Richter

Free
6' 2"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Paola Hernandez

Paola Hernandez

5' 6"
Senior
Back/Fly
Jake Chir

Jake Chir

6' 0"
Senior
Breast/Free
Greg Lee

Greg Lee

5' 10"
Senior
Breaststroke/IM
Ryan Brimer

Ryan Brimer

6' 1"
Junior
Free
Richie Campbell

Richie Campbell

6' 2"
Senior
Sprint
Loren Gillilan

Loren Gillilan

6' 0"
Junior
Sprints/Fly
Michael Hart

Michael Hart

5' 9"
Senior
Fly/Free
Noah Hickman

Noah Hickman

5' 9"
Junior
Sprints
Kaden Miller

Kaden Miller

5' 9"
Sophomore
Free/Fly
Linus Richter

Linus Richter

6' 2"
Sophomore
Free
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