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Isaac Comelli, CSUB Athletic Communications

Men's Swim & Dive

Bakersfield Men Swim to Winning Season in 2019-20



Bakersfield, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield men's swimming and diving team won four of its final five dual meets to finish the 2019-20 campaign with a 4-2 record and the Roadrunners' first winning season since 2015. The `Runner men also grabbed six All-Western Athletic Conference nods and broke a number of longstanding school records, before capping of the season in style when eight swimmers advanced to the National Invitational Championship. 

"The men came into this season with a strong upper-class presence and a lot of experience," said CSUB Director of Swimming and Diving Chris Hansen. "As a group they were driven to make this a special season and they did just that when they turned in a break through regular season and successfully handled the pressure of timed finals and disrupted meets late in the year."  

Bakersfield posted dominating team victories over UC Santa Cruz and Fresno Pacific to lock up a winning season and enter the WAC Championship meet in style. The `Runners averaged 172.5 points in six dual meets during the regular season and carried that momentum into another record breaking post-season in the pool.

Junior Kris Rogic led CSUB all season, posting nine individual wins and 20 top-three finishes on the year. He saved his best racing for the conference championship meet, setting six school records and earning four All-Conference honors over four days in Houston, Tex.

"Kris had an exceptional year," said Hansen. "He established himself as one of the best swimmers in school history and as a legitimate factor on the world stage this season. It started at the World Championship's last summer and he's only going to have more International opportunity moving forward."

Rogic earned individual Second-Team All-WAC honors with top-eight finishes in the 100 Back (47.08), the 200 Back (1:43.84) and the 200 IM (1:47.41), setting school records in both backstroke events. The Zagreb, Croatia native, also swam the lead-off leg on CSUB's 800 Free Relay team, earning another Second-Team All-League selection as the team finished third overall.

Rogic continued his strong push towards the European Championships with another strong performance at the NIC, when he placed second in the 200 IM with a school record time of 1:45.48 – nearly a full two seconds faster than his WAC Championship time.

The junior also announced his presence on the national stage with an 18th-place finish in the 100 Back, competing against the best swimmers in the United States at the Toyota US Open in December.

Rogic grabbed his first career WAC Swimmer of the Week award when on Jan. 7 when he won the 200 Back and the 200 IM in a dual meet with UC San Diego.

Loren Gillilan continued his own record-setting Bakersfield career when he posted a team-high 14 individual wins, adding eight more top-5 finishes and qualifying for the US Olympic Trials in the 100 Fly. Gillilan now boasts 32 first-place finishes in three seasons at CSUB.

The junior from Fort Collins, Colo., earned his place in the national competition with a 47.58 in a dual meet with California Baptist and Pomona Pitzer.

Gillilan posted top-10 finishes in both the 100 and 200 Fly at this season's WAC Championship, before ending the 2019-20 campaign with an electric effort at the NIC. Gillilan swam four races on the opening day of the National Championship, taking third in the 200 IM and fourth in the 50 Fly.

"Loren had a great season, qualifying for an Olympic Trial and pushing towards an NCAA berth," Hansen noted. "He's a dominant butterflyer and should be even stronger next year as a senior!"

Gillilan was also twice tabbed as the WAC Swimmer of the Week this season.

Ryan Brimer also made major contributions as a junior. The Santa Clarita, Calif., native won three individual races and garnered 11 top-5 finishes in 2019-20. Seven of those top-5 placements came in Brimer's bread and butter event, the 200 Freestyle.

His success in the lengthy sprint carried over to the WAC Championships, where he placed third to grab CSUB's lone First-Team All-WAC honor of the season. Brimer's time of 1:35.02 snapped the school record, set by Rogic just a day earlier, by a quarter of a second.

"Ryan improved by leaps and bounds this season," Hansen explained. "He's gotten really fast, especially in the 200 Free, and with another year to train he'll be in the mix for NCAA and Olympic Trial cuts."

The junior was also a stalwart on CSUB relays this season, and anchored both the `Runners third-place finish in the 800 Free Relay at the WAC Championships and the team's record-setting entry in the 400 Medley Relay at the NIC. Brimer also swam a leg on CSUB's second-place 200 Free Relay quartet in the national meet.

Bakersfield competed just three senior swimmers during the 2019-20 season, but Richie Campbell, Michael Hart and Noah Hultner led by example in and out of the pool for the `Runners.

Campbell and Hart joined Rogic, Gillilan, Brimer, Noah Hickman and Antonio Milin at the Toyota US Open Championships in December. Campbell added four individual wins in the sprint freestyle events this season, and was a major factor in CSUB's relays, while Hart collected 13 top-10 finishes on the year.

Hultner was a distance specialist for the `Runners, winning three times in the 1000 Free and scoring with a 14th-place finish in the 1650 at the WAC Championship meet. All told, Hultner racked up 13 top-10 finishes of his own in 2019-20.
The Roadrunners will roster nine seniors next season, including breaststroker Alex Dragan, sprinter Noah Hickman and the versatile Benji Duenas.

"Alex, Noah and Benji will be a part of a special senior class next year," said Hansen. "All three stepped up this year with strong performances. I can't remember the last time we had a senior class with this much experience heading into a season. They're an extremely loyal group with great enthusiasm for success."  

Dragan took his swimming to another level late in the season, earning final swims in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke disciplines at the WAC Championship and in the 50 Breast at the NIC.

Hickman and Duenas each posted 10 top-5 finishes on the season. Hickman was a part of the `Runners' NIC contingent in 2019-20, while Duenas exhibited his potential winning both the 100 and 200 Butterflies in a dual meet with UC Santa Cruz.

Underclassmen Antonio Milin, Adrian Paseta and Zach Serrano should also impact CSUB next season, on the heels of strong 2019-20 campaigns.

Milin debuted for the `Runners this season, after transferring from the University of Indianapolis last summer. The sophomore made an immediate impact in Bakersfield, reaching the podium ten times in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke events. Milin scored in both events at the WAC Championships in Houston, Tex.

Serrano, just a freshman, finished sixth in the 400 IM at the conference championship meet to cap his season with Second-Team All-WAC accolades in the event, while classmate Paseta scored in both the 200 Fly and the 400 IM.

Adam Estrella and Sam Stinson keyed a strong season for the Bakersfield divers.

Estrella won twice on each board in 2019-20, including a sweep of the diving events in a dual with UC Santa Cruz on Jan. 11. Following that performance the junior was named WAC Diver of the Week for the first time in his career. He reached the finals on both boards and in the platform competition at the conference meet.

Stinson finished in the top-3 on 12 occasions and capped his strong season with a ninth-place effort on the 3-Meter board at the WAC Championship meet. He posted the team's highest score of the season when he garnered a 329.95 in the 3-Meter competition to win the California Baptist Diving Invitational.

Nate Cummins gave CSUB three divers with individual victories this season. Cummins finished sixth on the 1-Meter board in Houston, Tex.

Twenty-two student-athletes are eligible to return for the `Runners as they begin competition in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation next fall.

"Our men's team will be deep and experienced next season," Hansen concluded. "It's a group with great versatility and a lot of talent. I can't wait to see what they're able to do in the MPSF."

 
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Players Mentioned

Ryan Brimer

Ryan Brimer

Free
6' 1"
Junior
Richie Campbell

Richie Campbell

Sprint
6' 2"
Senior
Nate Cummins

Nate Cummins

Diving
5' 9"
Sophomore
Alex Dragan

Alex Dragan

Free/Breast
6' 1"
Junior
Benji Duenas

Benji Duenas

DFree/IM/Fly
6' 0"
Junior
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
Noah Hultner

Noah Hultner

DFree
5' 10"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Ryan Brimer

Ryan Brimer

6' 1"
Junior
Free
Richie Campbell

Richie Campbell

6' 2"
Senior
Sprint
Nate Cummins

Nate Cummins

5' 9"
Sophomore
Diving
Alex Dragan

Alex Dragan

6' 1"
Junior
Free/Breast
Benji Duenas

Benji Duenas

6' 0"
Junior
DFree/IM/Fly
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
Noah Hultner

Noah Hultner

5' 10"
Senior
DFree
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