• Cal State Bakersfield's Wrestling traveled up to Las Vegas this weekend for the Cliff Keen Invitational. 
• Bakersfield's highlight of the weekend was redshirt-sophomore Richard Castro-Sandoval, who won by decision (7-4) over #11 nationally ranked wrestler from Iowa State, Kysen Terukina, in the 125 weight class. He also won by decision against Evan Tallmadge from the Navy.
• Castro-Sandoval took a early lead with a buzzer-beating takedown, earning him three points to start of the match.
• To close off the match, Richie was in danger of losing his lead with an attempted take down by the Iowa State wrestler, but reversed the take down despite falling to his back. He quickly turned over to avoid losing any back points. 
• As the final seconds ticked away, Castro-Sandoval held on for the upset win.

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• Sophomore Vili Sivec dazzled throughout the meet. Below are the highlights of his accomplishments:
  • On Thursday in long course competition (preparatory races for international meets), Sivec became the fastest Croatian ever in the 200-meter butterfly, posting a time of 1:58.09 while breaking his country’s National Record. The performance sets him up nicely for international competition, possibly including the 2024 World Championships and the Olympics.
  • Throughout the meet, Sivec reset four of CSUB’s all-time records: 50 free (19.86), 100 free (43:11), 100 fly (46.62), and 200 fly (1:44.01)
  • Sivec also stacked up well against the rest of the deep field, earning a silver medal in the 200 fly and a bronze in the 100 fly
• Chelaine Van der Westhuizen (South Africa) and Venna Andersen (Canada) also swam well on Thursday, setting themselves up for international competition in the 100-meter breaststroke. Van der Westhuizen qualified for her National Qualifiers while Andersen will be headed to the Canadian Olympic Trials.
• A pair of `Runners joined Sivec in breaking CSUB records this weekend:
  • Dyson Modica – diving Platform (234.70 points)
  • Kylie Ney – 1000 free (10:04.30) and 1650 free (16:37.44)
• As a team, the `Runners etched their name all over the CSUB record book. In total, six men and eight women tallied marks that rank in CSUB Top 5 all-time.
• The CSUB men’s and women’s teams both finished eighth of ten teams. The stacked field included four squads – North Carolina, Princeton, Penn State, and Penn – that finished in the Top 35 teams at the NCAA Championships last season.

Day 0 (Thursday)

• A select group of Bakersfield’s top student-athletes competed in long course races (they’re in meters, like international races are, instead of yards). 
• Vili Sivec highlighted the day becoming the fastest Croatian ever in the 200-meter butterfly, posting a time of 1:58.09
• Chelaine Van der Westhuizen and Venna Andersen also showed out in the 100-meter breaststroke. A native of South Africa, Van der Westhuizen’s time of 1:10.71 qualified the swimmer for a spot at her National Team Qualifiers. Andersen posted a mark of 1:11.93, good enough for a Canadian Olympic Trials cut.

Day 1 (Friday)

• Vili Sivec stood out once again, becoming the fastest man in CSUB history. His 50 freestyle time of 19.86 reset the program record while shaving off almost three tenths of a second off his previous best time.
• Kylie Ney and Josiane Hill both etched their names into the Bakersfield record books as well. Ney posted the third-fastest time in the 500 freestyle (4:50.13) Friday morning while Hill’s 100 back time (55.82) in the evening finals was also the third-best in CSUB history.
• The CSUB women’s 400 medley relay team of Josiane Hill, Chelaine Van der Westhuizen, Lorena Jerebic, and Venna Andersen combined to record the third-fastest time (3:42.92) by any Roadrunner quartet on Friday night.

Day 2 (Saturday)

• Vili Sivec picked up another school record on Saturday morning, this time, in the 100 butterfly. His 46.62 time was the third-best qualifying time in the prelims and he earned a bronze medal with another third-place finish in the evening finals.
• Hannah Marsh improved her third-best all-time mark in the 400 IM in the morning prelims to 4:25.25. Kylie Ney settled in right behind Marsh in the finals, posting the fourth-best time (4:26.16) in the finals.
• A trio of `Runner women all qualified for the A-final of the 100 breaststroke race, earning massive points for the squad. Chelaine Van der Westhuizen placed fourth in the finals, Venna Andersen finished fifth, and Danielle Albright took the eighth-place spot.
• The men’s 800 free relay team of Vili Sivec, Arthur Schneider, Yigit Saglam, and Jacob Folsom finish seventh overall with a time of 6:36.88.

Day 3 (Sunday)

• Dyson Modica represented the `Runner divers well by resetting the school record on the Platform with a score of 234.70 points.
• Kylie Ney reset a pair of CSUB records in one race. Competing in the 1650 freestyle, the sophomore smashed CSUB’s record by nine seconds (16:37.44). Ney’s 1000-yard split (10:04.30) also broke CSUB’s record in that event.
• Bakersfield put another pair of breaststrokers in the 200-yard finals, where Danielle Albright posted the third-fastest time in CSUB history (2:15.97). Albright placed seventh, just milliseconds behind teammate Chelaine Van der Westhuizen (2:15.92) who was sixth.
• Vili Sivec earned a silver medal in the 200 butterfly finals while resetting yet another school record (1:44.01).
• Merely minutes later, Vili Sivec led off the 400 free relay team with a 100 free split of 43:11, breaking the program’s best mark in that event as well.
• Sivec’s leadoff leg aided the 400 free relay team, including Yigit Saglam, Arthur Schneider, and Jacob Folsom, in posting the second-fastest time in program history.

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CSUB 65, #11 Gonzaga 81 – Tuesday, November 28

• CSUB kept the game within reach in the first half with Gonzaga, until Bakersfield hit a dry spell when the score was 20-26.
• In the second half the Roadrunners scored 36 points, while the Bulldogs scored 37.
• Kaleb Higgins got back to his old ways and showed up under the bright lights drop- ping 21 points on the #11 team in the nation. Higgins was one point behind the games leading scorer, Ryan Nembhard of Gonzaga.
• An 11-2 run for the Bulldogs in the second half helped them create enough distance from Bakersfield to secure the win of 81-65.
• This loss was the shortest margin in the history between the two teams, which was previously 19 points in their first matchup back in 2010. 

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