CSUB Swimmers Wrap Up Competition at US Open

Popham, Brimer Shine in 100m Freestyle

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Bakersfield, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield wrapped up competition at the 2019 Toyota US Open with five more swims Saturday morning. Mikayla Popham and Ryan Brimer each posted strong swims in the 100m freestyle, capping a strong weekend of individual performances against elite competition at Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center.

"We got exactly what we wanted out of this meet," said CSUB Director of Swimming Chris Hansen. "We came here for long-course experience, with hopes of swimming in an evening finals and to earn exposure for our program. We're walking away with all three goals accomplished."

Popham once again flirted with her personal best time in the 100m freestyle, turning in a strong effort of 57.92. The Sunshine Coast, Australia native was on the heels of her international times all weekend and will be strongly positioned for competition in her home country this summer. All told, Popham swam five individual events this weekend.

"Mikayla had a great meet with strong swims in all five events," said Hansen. "She was near personal best times in every one despite carrying an incredibly heavy workload."

Brimer clocked in at 52.51 in his 100m freestyle heat and narrowed the gap even further between himself and a qualifying time for this summer's Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb.

"Ryan continues to make great progress," Hansen added. "If he continues to improve at this rate he'll be in the hunt for a cut come April."

After swimming three times in the 100m backstroke on Friday, junior Kris Rogic was back in the pool less than ten hours after his finals swim from the night before. He posted a 200m backstroke time of 2:09.80.

"It was great to see Kris swim against the best in the world on Friday night," said Hansen. "That result may have worn him down today, but will set him up nicely for the rest of the season and this coming summer in Croatia."

Loren Gillilan continued his acclimation to the 200m butterfly, an event he added to his repertoire just last summer. He finished his preliminary swim in 2:12.75.

Antonio Milin swam his third event of the weekend, posting a time of 2:28.52 in the 200m breaststroke.

The Roadrunner swim team returns to the pool for a dual meet at Fresno State on December 14 at 12 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Ryan Brimer: Free; 6' 1"; Junior

Loren Gillilan: Sprints/Fly; 6' 0"; Junior

Kris Rogic: IM/Sprint; 6' 1"; Junior

Antonio Milin: Breast; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Mikayla Popham: Free/IM; 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Ryan Brimer
: 6' 1"; Junior
: Free

Loren Gillilan
: 6' 0"; Junior
: Sprints/Fly

Kris Rogic
: 6' 1"; Junior
: IM/Sprint

Antonio Milin
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: Breast

Mikayla Popham
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: Free/IM