Men's Swim & Dive February 23, 2021

An Oral History: CSUB's 2011 MPSF Championship

Bakersfield, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield Swimming and Diving left the Western Athletic Conference for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation ahead of the 2020-21 swimming season. An ironic coincidence on the 10^th anniversary of Bakersfield's inaugural MPSF season, the 2010-11 campaign, following the program's departure from Conference USA.

More than a mere footnote, the 2010-11 swimming season remains one of the most successful in program history, as a deep and experienced men's roster burst onto the MPSF scene and ran away with the first Division I conference championship in Roadrunner history.

Senior Jake Priest was named the MPSF Swimmer of the Year, winning individual league championships in the 200 Butterfly, and the 200 and 400 Individual Medleys, while swimming the lead-off leg on CSUB's title-winning 800 Free Relay team.

Peter Bardessono, Chad McKenzie, Brian Martinez, Matt Parsonage and Evan Vizcarra also won individual championships, and the `Runners swept all five relay events, cruising to the team title by nearly a 200-point margin over second-place Seattle U.

Recently Priest, Bardessono and McKenzie, joined by teammates Dane Oleson and Dan Wickensheimer, shared their memories of the 2010-11 season and the connections they share to this day.

The 2010-11 Campaign was just the sixth at the Division I level for CSUB, a decorated program at the Division II level. Like most championship stories, this one began with recruiting…

McKenzie: I had been swimming at a Division II school in South Carolina and CSUB's success at that level was well established. Getting recruited to a D1 program was a goal of mine, so it was an opportunity for the best of both worlds. The added attraction was the outdoor pool and sunny weather in Bakersfield.

Bardessono: Knowing CSUB had so much DII success was promising, because I knew success would be rooted in a program's history and that my coaches, teammates and the alumni would demand success at the D1 level. Chris sold me on the idea that the team he was assembling could do big things and I knew the guys on the roster would challenge me and make me a better swimmer every day. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Wickensheimer: The simplicity of Chris' pitch was the most attractive part for me. He wanted to put together a squad of guys who were driven to continue the storied tradition of championships, but this time at the highest level of NCAA competition.

Priest: We were of one mind and our goal was to be the best. It also helped put a chip on our shoulder when outsiders looked down upon us as a small school moving up from the DII level.

McKenzie: The outdoor pool and sunny weather in Bakersfield, didn't hurt either!

Coach Hansen's high expectations for CSUB Swimming started coming to fruition in 2010, when the `Runners swam to a third-place finish in the conference meet, setting a tone for 2011 and the MPSF…

Priest: We knew we had a fast young team at the Conference USA meet, but I think a lot of us were just excited to be there. I really leaned on our upper-class guys like, Chad (McKenzie), Matt Parsonage, and Luca Leskur - they kept us focused and grounded but also pushed us to compete.

Oleson: This was my first conference championship meet, so I didn't really know what to expect. What stood out to me was the powerful connection between the team and learning from the older and faster guys what the expectations were to 'finish' a season. They set a high standard for the rest of my college career.

McKenzie: We didn't have much expectation for conference that season, other than hoping to perform our best individual and as a team, finishing third was an exciting and a launching pad for our future together. We had some great individual performances and that created an energy around our team moving forward.

Bardessono: I wasn't a part of the team in 2010, but the progression I saw from 2009 to 2010 and the performance at the conference meet was a big reason why I decided to sign at CSUB. I wanted to be a part of that next wave of recruiting and hopefully one of the final pieces we needed to win a championship!

Wickensheimer: After that result, we started to imagine the opportunity to be the first ever team champion in the MPSF and it was pretty exciting! We saw each other getting better every day in practice and in competition and we knew we were getting pretty good.

In 2011, the team opened the season placing second at the USC Invitational against some of the top teams in the country…

Priest: I remember heading to that meet and wanting to prove to USC, Stanford and all of those schools that we weren't just fast on paper, that we were coming to compete! I knew a lot of their swimmers, especially in the 400 IM, and I hated being overlooked.

Wickensheimer: The USC meet was VERY fast – and some of us younger guys on the team were still trying to get the hang of college swimming. Then Chad McKenzie set the meet record in the 100 IM and it opened a lot of our eyes. It didn't matter who was on the block next to us, we were fast too!

McKenzie: USC is a powerhouse and always has some of the fastest swimmers in the World. Finishing second proved to us that we could swim with anyone.

Oleson: The USC Invitational is always fun, because you get to see who stayed in shape all summer! That finish showed how dedicated we were over the summer and all the work we had put in ahead of the season.

The `Runners posted a 6-3 record in duals that season, dropping three meets against Pac-12 opponents but picking up valuable experience along the way…

Bardessono: It's always good to get in the water against big time programs. Arizona State was a team we all had our eyes on to beat that year. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way, but I do believe that those meets really helped us find ourselves and become a championship level team.

Priest: I loved and hated these meets. You want to try to win them all, but we were always in the middle of our hardest training when those matchups rolled around. We were always tired, so we didn't swim our best, but they were the perfect tune-ups for post-season swimming.

Bardessono: Those meets allowed us to see how the best in the nation focus on doing the little things right. Seeing and adopting their habits helped us become the championship team we wanted to be.

Oleson: This was my freshman year of college and I had played more water polo before coming to CSUB. All of a sudden, I'm standing behind the blocks and looking over to see Olympic Rings tattooed on the guy next to me. You learn so much about racing when you're competing against the best, even if they're faster than you that day.

McKenzie: Standing on the block against Nathan Adrian, Tom Shields and a host of other Olympians from around the World adds a sense of the magnitude to an event.

Wickensheimer: It was an incredible opportunity to race against the fastest swimmers in the country. I used those meets as a chance to observe and learn and then apply what I learned in our championship meet.

McKenzie: That experience competing against such high caliber swimmers definitely instilled a confidence in us that we carried forward and gave us a lot to draw upon in our championship races.

After a February 5 dual with Cal, Bakersfield had three weeks away from competition to prepare for the MPSF Championship meet…

Oleson: I remember after our meet at Cal it was a long and quiet bus ride home, but this gave us time to reflect and prepare our mindset for Conference.

McKenzie: We weren't competing, but it wasn't exactly three weeks off! The training load was less, and gym sessions were lighter, but we still had to get ready for a conference championship meet.

Wickensheimer: It was three weeks of preparation to be our absolute best. It was a chance to rest, recover and focus on all of the little things. But we were also preparing for battle.

Bardessono: It's a relief when you get a big break, especially before the biggest meet of the season. For sprinters and middle-distance guys like me, we would begin to taper off our workouts and focus on what your day-to-day routine will look like on race day. Those three weeks helped get my mind in the right spot and allowed my body to rest.

Priest: It's the best time of the year for a swimmer; we focused on breaking down our races and working on splits, turns and starts - anything that would give us an edge.

Heading into the Championship meet, there was only one goal…

Wickensheimer: We knew we were the best team at the meet - it was all about execution at that point.

McKenzie: It was simple, we wanted to win.

Oleson: Since day one our goal was to win.

Bardessono: Flat out, we wanted to win.

Priest: We knew we could win.

The `Runners got off to a fast start at the championship meet, dominating the early relays – a team strength…

Bardessono: In my view relays make all the difference in a meet and they show which team is truly the deepest and the best. As a team you can weather a poor individual swim, but one bad leg on a relay can beat you.

Priest: We had an amazing line-up that season. You needed to be swimming on point, or you'd get taken off the relay teams.

McKenzie: I expected us to do well in the relays. As a team we generally raised our performances when we were swimming for each other and when we put aside our own ambitions to focus on our relay finishes.

Oleson: I'm not sure we expected to win all five, but I knew we liked our chances in each race. The relays are the most exciting part of any meet and we always got up for those races.

Wickensheimer: Just thinking about the relays at that meet gets my heart pumping. The whole team behind the blocks for the 200 and 400 freestyle relays is something that I'll remember for the rest of my life! Our mindset going into those races was the same it had been all season, swim fast and kick butt.

Bardessono: I was especially proud of our relay success as the only individual to be on all of the wining relays. Any time Chris placed relay responsibility on me that year it meant a lot - It showed the team trusted my ability to perform under pressure. I love that type of pressure and It always brought out the best in me.

As the meet dragged on, it became as much a test of will as of skill and speed…

Oleson: In a typical conference championship you'll race multiple times per session and have two sessions a day, which means that while you're swimming 8,000-10,000 yards per day when accounting for warm-up and cool down. That distance really adds up fast. It was amazing to watch the transition from the first day, where everyone is fresh, to the third, when you really get into grind of real racing. We had prepared correctly and were really able to solidify our win and out swim other teams who hadn't worked as hard all season.

Bardessono: As the days wore on the fatigue started to kick and we just tried to relax and save energy.

Oleson: We had prepared correctly and were able to solidify our standing late on day three, when we out swam other teams who hadn't worked as hard as we did all season.

In addition to sweeping all five relay events, CSUB captured eight individual MPSF titles that weekend…

Bardessono: When Jake stepped up and won the 200 IM on the second night it put a stamp on the meet and put the other teams on notice that we were here to win.

Priest: my favorite race that year was the 200 IM, but Chad was just so fast in the breaststroke and I had to sprint my hardest to stay with him – I don't think I beat him that whole year in practice.

McKenzie: I remember all those battles in the 200 IM!

Priest: That race was my primary focus at the conference meet, and I remember feeling fast – my splits were on point and I couldn't see anyone, but I knew Chad was right with me and that we were well out in front. I could just barely see his splashes, so I knew he was close. I purposely turned toward him on the breaststroke leg, and I remember us locking eyes. We were dead equal! I grinned because this was what I trained all year! Chad was my greatest competitor that year, training with him that year made me faster and I finally got him!

Wickensheimer: Jake also won the 400 IM with an amazing performance. Matt Parsonage out-touched me for gold in the 100 Fly – I remember that all but one swimmer in that entire heat was from CSUB.

Bardessono: The 100 Fly stands out for me too - I was a part of the final with Dan and Matt, and Jay Jones and Michael Swartz, and I don't think I have ever been a part of a final like that in my career. We definitely dominated that event!

Wickensheimer: I'll never forget Chad's 100 Breast performance either, he absolutely dominated that race.

McKenzie: Personally, it was a bitter-sweet race, I won in a school record time, but was hoping to qualify for NCAA's. I was incredibly proud of my performance, but ultimately, I knew it wasn't enough to get me to where I want to be. We won a few races after we knew we had won the Championship; I remember those races because it was a statement that we would never give up and never wanted to lose.

Bardessono: For me the 100 Backstroke was a memorable one - I won the race with a lifetime best at that time and I had to fight off my Luka Leskur for the win. Luka was one of the best backstrokers CSUB has ever had and I came to CSUB to learn from, and compete with, him.

Jake Priest would win three MPSF Championships that weekend, and as a result was named the Conference Swimmer of the Year at the conclusion of the meet…

Oleson: Jake was a fierce competitor and a fantastic athlete. One thing that always stood out about Jake was his commitment in and out of the pool - He would put the same effort into running, lifting and dry land workouts that he put into the pool.

McKenzie: I was fortunate enough to compete against Jake. He was exceptionally hard working and that shone through in his performance. It was the epitome of hard work paying off.

Wickensheimer: Jake's training sets made me cringe just looking at them on the board. That dude was an incredible athlete and the kind of guy you could put into any race and expect him to find a way to win.

Bardessono: Jake was my roommate both years that I was at CSUB, and he was a really fun guy to be around, but he was also an absolute work horse. He swam a lot of events that most other guys really don't want to swim. I know we respected him for that alone. Jake was a great all-around swimmer and I think he got exactly what was coming to him that season. He earned it, I saw firsthand how disciplined he was in and out of the pool. We didn't spend our time outside of the pool on any nonsense, instead we were focused on being good students, working hard in the pool and taking care of our bodies. He worked his tail off and that hard worked showed up on championship week, when he won all of his individual races.

CSUB was dominant en route to its MPSF championship, posting an astounding 647 team points and outdistancing second-place Pacific by 148 points. It was just the third Division I championship for the university and the first since the entire athletic department had made the move to college athletics' highest level…

McKenzie: Winning that championship was a sense of finally arriving as a DI athletic department. We were competing against the best college athletes in the country, if not the world, and we deserved to be there.

Oleson: We always defined our goals at the beginning of season, and we understood what winning would mean to our school. It was a great experience to be able to show that CSUB was up to the DI transition and had come prepared.

Wickensheimer: A lot of us knew, that was the first DI Championship since the move, and you can bet we wanted to be able to make that claim! I like to think that championship was a big part of what CSUB swimming has become today. And the program's expectation of being a champion!

Bardessono: It meant a lot to be a part of the first team to have that type of success. thought it was cool that we were able to lead the way during the transition to DI sports. It was a special thing to be a part of!

Priest: It was our goal to win conference from the beginning and I wasn't at all surprised that we accomplished our goal so quickly. We knew the school had the potential to be a DI threat and we wanted to lead that effort.

There is always something special about being a part of a collegiate team, but even more so when you share in the joy of winning a championship…

Wickensheimer: I think being part of a college team is the greatest experience someone can have. My bond with my teammates is for life, and that goes for everyone who was there with us. For the most part, we all still are a part of each other's lives today.

McKenzie: I think the bond is there regardless of a championship, but it definitely helps improve the relationships as the win was a culmination of all the work we endured as a team. Seeing that work pay off for all of us was an amazing experience.

Preist: We were brothers then and we are brothers know. The championship didn't help create our bond. Our bond helped create that championship.

Oleson: I always say that my decision to swim in college was the fourth best decision I've made in my life, behind only my faith in God, marrying my wife and deciding to have our child. My wife was also a CSUB swimmer and we met on that pool deck. Winning a championship definitely strengthened our bond, but it was always there. I still keep in touch with a majority of that team to this day!

Bardessono: I started in the sport really late, around age 14, and I'd had high levels of individual success but had never really been a part of a winning team in swimming. Swimming is such an individual sport at times, that I think people lose sight of how much of a team game it really can be. You wake up at crazy hours of the morning to get into a freezing pool and go through some really difficult workouts. You dream that all of the time you're putting in will mean raising a trophy at the end of the year and when you go through something like that with a group of guys, you're going to create a special bond. Two of the guys on that championship team, Evan Vizcarra and Mark Silvius, were groomsman in my wedding. Those bonds don't just disappear.

McKenzie: It's always easy to reflect on the good times, but I also reflect on the difficult times because those difficult times lay the foundation for success. In swimming, everyone hurts, and everyone goes through the workouts and the cold walks to the pool. It's being together and enduring together that makes the team a special group. Without teammates, the training doesn't get done and the championship doesn't happen.

Oleson: The guys taught me how to compete, how to race and how to be a part of a team. I wouldn't have been as successful in my swimming career, or since, without going through that process with this special group and learning those lessons!

Bardessono: I think our team really bonded during our training camp – I had never been through a training camp like that before, we were just getting hammered in the pool every day, and one practice in particular I'll never forget. We were so beat, and Chris knew we were beat, but after practice he asked for three volunteers to step up and swim one more 200 Freestyle under two minutes. No one stepped up, so I volunteered along with Jake and our team captain Vance – and we all made it!

But Chris was disappointed that only three of us had volunteered – and only after we realized we needed to volunteer. He had expected us to be hungry and meet the challenge. The next day was supposed to be an off day, but he adjusted our schedule and brought us right back to the pool. At the time, I remember we were all so angry.

We talked as a team following that second practice and realized what he was trying to accomplish. He knew that a four-day championship meet wouldn't be easy and was preparing us to step up and push through the pain. We decided from then on we would always step up for our teammates. It brought us closer together and forged the bonds for our successful season, more importantly It forged those bonds for life. I'll never forget that practice, or that team.

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An Oral History: CSUB's 2011 MPSF Championship