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WAC Swimming & Diving Championship, Wednesday, February 27, 2019 in Houston, TX. Photo by : Juan DeLeon/WAC Sports
Western Athletic Conference

Men's Swim & Dive

CSUB Preparing for Season with Olympic Aspirations



BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield men's and women's swimming and diving teams are a mere seven days away from kicking off the 2019-20 season. While the Roadrunners are currently concentrated on preparing for dual season with postseason championships on the horizon, the ultimate goal for multiple student-athletes this season is to compete their best at the 2020 Olympic Trials.

With the bigger objective of national and even international competition in the cards for the `Runners, CSUB's Director of Swimming, Chris Hansen, said that this year's strategy is much different than during a normal season: "We've really changed everything. We have been to Trials before with CSUB, but all of a sudden we're talking about World Championships, European Championships, and Olympic Trials and it's a bigger group. We have to gear things towards preparing those athletes."

On the women's side, sophomore Autumn D'Arcy already has qualifying times after a standout freshman season and will represent the `Runner women at the 2020 US Olympic Trials in Anaheim this upcoming June. Joining D'Arcy from the `Runner men will be junior Loren Gillilan, who also sped his way to a spot in the Trials. A native of Croatia, junior Kris Rogic does not have the same qualification system, but after winning four Croatian national titles this summer, he is expected to make the European Champions in Budapest, Hungary in May with a trip to the Olympics possible with a fast swim.

Before the top group of `Runners can take their shots at the next level, there is much work to be done. The work started long ago and will continue through preseason training and into the regular season, which kicks off at the Trojan Swim Invite next week.

"We open up against Southern California and Virginia, a pair of Top 10 teams," Hansen said of the season opener. "It's fun to open up against some powerhouses in our first meet. It might be a little nerve-wracking for our freshmen, but our top swimmers are at the level where they can compete against some of the best in the country."

In the middle of the season, CSUB will send a large group of swimmers to compete at the US Open in Atlanta. "We have a chunk of people going to the US Open this December," Hansen said. "Kris, Loren, Autumn, Richie Campbell, Noah Hickman, Michael Hart, Antonio Milin, and Mikayla Popham all will be competing." This meet will give the `Runners some early practice at competing on a bigger stage.

The 2019-20 regular season culminates in the Western Athletic Conference Championships, scheduled for Feb. 26-29 in Houston, Texas. While the rest of the CSUB Athletics Department is gearing up for its final season in the WAC, the Big West does not currently sponsor men's and women's swimming and diving. The conference is considering options to begin sponsoring those sports, but the `Runner programs are not necessarily ruling out another year in the WAC.

Taking a look at the 2019-20 CSUB women's squad, Hansen said he believes his squad could post its highest finish at the WAC Championships this year: "Mikayla Popham and Lindsay Sohoel-Smith have been doing really well. Devyn Wingender has also been doing really well. We're going to rely on our seniors to step up. If that happens, our women could perhaps crack the Top 3 at the WAC."

For the `Runner men, Hansen said he was excited about his group of young divers who can make a big impact: "If Sam Stinson, Adam Estrella, Andrew Heurta, and Nate Cummins all score, that's huge. I definitely think our diving Top 5 records will be changing this year."

On the swimming side of the men's squad, Hansen expects consistency from his top performers from 2018-19: "Loren and Kris are coming off a great summer and are exactly where they should be. Ryan Brimer has been doing really good as well. We brought in Antonio Milin, which is super helpful because we just graduated two of our best breaststrokers in Jake Chir and Greg Lee."

The 2019-20 season officially kicks off for CSUB at the Trojan Swim Invite, Oct. 4-5. Fans can follow along all year long both here on GoRunners.com and on Twitter @CSUB_Swim (link above) for the most up-to-date information on the `Runner swim and dive teams.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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Players Mentioned

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
Nate Cummins

Nate Cummins

Diving
5' 9"
Sophomore
Adam Estrella

Adam Estrella

Dive
6' 1"
Junior
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

Players Mentioned

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
Nate Cummins

Nate Cummins

5' 9"
Sophomore
Diving
Adam Estrella

Adam Estrella

6' 1"
Junior
Dive
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
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