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RyanBrimerIC03
Isaac Comelli, CSUB Athletic Communications

Men's Swim & Dive

`Runners Show Well on First Day of US Open

Rogic and Brimer Clock Personal Bests to Lead CSUB



Bakersfield, Calif. – Nine members of the CSU Bakersfield swimming team competed among the best swimmers in the world at the Toyota US Open, on Thursday morning. Juniors Kris Rogic and Ryan Brimer each turned in personal best times in their respective events, as Roadrunner student-athletes totaled 11 swims during a long morning on the pool deck at Georgia Tech University's McAuley Aquatic Center.
 
"This is a very large meet with a lot of great competitors," said CSUB Director of Swimming Chris Hansen. "Long days like this one require a real level of mental toughness and I'm proud of our swimmers for how they handled the day and how well they swam."
 
Rogic, a junior, turned in a personal best time of 2:05.57 in the Men's 200m individual medley and was narrowly edged at the wall, finishing second in his heat. Rogic will swim in the 100m backstroke tomorrow, before rounding out the event with a 200m backstroke swim on Saturday.
 
"Kris had a great swim and his backstroke split was his fastest time yet," said Hansen. "He is in a great spot heading into both of his backstroke swims this weekend."
 
Brimer set the pace for five Roadrunner swimmers competing in the 50m freestyle with a personal best time of 24.11, good enough for third in his heat. He'll compete in the 200m freestyle, one of his best events, on Saturday morning.
 
"Ryan was really fast," said Hansen. "I expect he'll race really well tomorrow and is absolutely a candidate for an evening swim in the 200m."
 
Richie Campbell finished his 50m heat in 24.24, while Noah Hickman (24.34), Loren Gillilan (24.51) and Michael Hart (24.79) also raced the event for CSUB.
 
Gillilan will race the 100m butterfly event at tomorrow's competition and the 200m discipline on Saturday. He has already qualified for next summer's US Olympic trials at the 100m distance.
 
Antonio Milin turned in a time of 2:13.93 in the 200m IM. The sophomore will be back in the pool tomorrow morning as part of the 100m breast stroke competition.
 
On the women's side, sophomore Mikayla Popham competed in three A-flight events in a row, beginning with the 400m freestyle, which she finished in a time of 4:28.05. The Sunshine Coast, Australia, native was quickly back in the pool racing the 200m IM and the 50m freestyle in near personal best times of 2:24.66 and 26.60, respectively.
 
Originally slated to scratch in the 200 IM, Popham decided to add the event to an already heavy event schedule late Wednesday night.
 
"Mikayla has already hit her qualifying times in Australia so she doesn't need to hunt times here at the US Open," Hansen explained. "This was a great opportunity to test herself and her fitness level against some of the best swimmers in her events. She faced a very difficult work load today and she responded, getting stronger as the day went on."  

Popham is expected to compete in just the 200m freestyle tomorrow, but also owns a US Open cut in the 400m IM.
 
Sophomore Autumn D'Arcy posted a time of 2:25.58 in the 200m IM to edge Popham's time in the event. D'Arcy will compete tomorrow in her best event, the 100m butterfly. The Redlands, Calif., native is the school record holder in the short-course 100 fly, with a standard of 52.53. That time has already qualified her to join Gillilan at the US Olympic Trials this summer. 
 
"We had some great swims today," Hansen continued. "But most of our best events come tomorrow. We're expecting to be very competitive for finals berths in a number of events."  
 
To catch all nine `Runner swimmers as they continue competition at the US Open, fans can tune into the live stream on USASwimming.org.
 

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Players Mentioned

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
Kris Rogic

Kris Rogic

IM/Sprint
6' 1"
Junior
Antonio Milin

Antonio Milin

Breast
6' 0"
Sophomore
Autumn D

Autumn D'Arcy

Fly/ IM
5' 9"
Sophomore
Mikayla Popham

Mikayla Popham

Free/IM
5' 9"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

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
Kris Rogic

Kris Rogic

6' 1"
Junior
IM/Sprint
Antonio Milin

Antonio Milin

6' 0"
Sophomore
Breast
Autumn D

Autumn D'Arcy

5' 9"
Sophomore
Fly/ IM
Mikayla Popham

Mikayla Popham

5' 9"
Freshman
Free/IM
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