• The Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball team opened Big West play at the Icardo Center last week with games against UC Irvine and UC San Diego.
• Ally Dioli had an impressive Big West debut, averaging 12 points per game and shooting 47.4% from the field, while also contributing 5.5 rebounds. Redshirt freshman Caitie Gingras continued her sharp shooting, finishing the weekend with a .545 shooting percentage. Meanwhile, Dizonremains the Big West leader in blocks, averaging 2.6 blocks per game. She now ranks 8th nationally in blocks per game, 15th in total blocks, and
• second in the Big West.

CSUB 40, UC Irvine 65

• The Roadrunners struggled in their Big West opener against UC Irvine, falling behind early as the Anteaters built a strong lead.
• UC Irvine's defense stifled Bakersfield’s offense, forcing turnovers and limiting second-chance opportunities.
• Marley Langi and Caitie Gingras led the team with 9 points each, but UC Irvine's pressure proved too much to overcome.
• The Roadrunners trailed 40-21 at halftime and despite some improvement in the second half, they couldn’t close the gap.
• UC Irvine maintained its defensive dominance and efficient offense, sealing a 65-40 win.

CSUB 40, UC San Diego 55

• The game against UC San Diego saw the teams exchange baskets in the first quarter, with the Tritons leading 14-12.
• In the first half, Bakersfield scored 23 points, but UC San Diego had a slight edge with 30. The Roadrunners faced a tough third quarter, managing just 3 points, and despite a 14-point rally in the fourth, Bakersfield came up short.
• Ally Dioli led the team with 16 points, but the Roadrunners fell to their second consecutive conference defeat during Bold Week.

CSUB 66, UCI 82

• The Roadrunners opened conference play versus the reigning Big West regular season conference champions.
• UCI entered this game 8-0, with a seven-game win streak in head-to-head matches with CSUB
• The two played a tight first half exchanging buckets and ending the half with the Anteaters up 38-35
• In the second half Bakersfield took the lead early in the second half, and were down just six with six minutes to go
  • Irvine pulled away late and held the `Runners to just four more points after the four-minute mark
• Jemel Jones and Corey Stephenson led the Roadrunners and combined for 42 points and 16 rebounds, as well as a perfect 14-14 in free throws
  • Jones (10-10 FT) finds himself in the Roadrunner record book for best free throw percentage in a single game along with Stephon Carter, Jarkel Joiner, and Kaleb Higgins.

CSUB 60, UCSD 81

• The Roadrunners traveled to UC San Diego for the second game of conference’s B0ld Week
• UCSD came off a win at UC Santa Barbara in their first conference matchup
• The Tritons shot 42.9%  (15-35) from three-point land
• UC San Diego forced 21 turnovers, which turned into 26 points for them
• Bakersfield shot 91.7% from the free throw line
  • CJ Hardy led the `Runners in scoring with 11 points along with two assists and three steals
  • Corey Stephenson had 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds and dished out two assists

• The Cal State Bakersfield wrestling team continued the 2024-25 season by taking on one of the toughest tournaments in the country, the annual Cliff Keen Invitational.
• Four Roadrunners earned a win against a tough field in Las Vegas.
• CSUB has returned to national recognition with four `Runners recently recognized by FloWrestling in the national rankings: Richard Castro-Sandoval (125), Gerrit Nijenhuis (174), AJ Ferrari (197), and Jake Andrews (32).
• FloWrestling also ranked Cal State Bakersfield #24 as a team coming into this weekend's action.
• Former NCAA Champion AJ Ferrari is ranked the #13 Pound-for-Pound wrestler in the country by FloWrestling, which also ranks him #4 in the 197-pound weight class. InterMat ranked Ferrari #1 at 197. 
• Bakersfield native Jake Andrews started his season 6-0, won Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week, and came into this week ranked #27 in the heavyweight class.

CSUB at Cliff Keen Invitational

• Cal State Bakersfield sent nine Roadrunners to Las Vegas for the annual Cliff Keen Invitational.
• Four `Runners picked up early-round victories, finishing the tough tournament with 1-2 records overall: Jose Farias (157), Guillermo Escobedo (165), Gerrit Nijenhuis (184), and #27 Jake Andrews (285).
• Bakersfield's men totaled 11 matches against nationally-ranked foes.
• Not picking up any wins, but showing up to battle well was 125 pounder Richard Castro-Sandoval. The 125 pounder dropped a narrow, 8-7 decision to #10 Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State) before dropping a 4-1 decision against Kyle Gollhofer (Northern Iowa).
• Join the `Runners for their first home dual, Dec. 15, vs. Michigan State. Get your tickets now at GoRunners.com/Tickets

Schedule & Links

Silver State Invitational – Friday-Saturday, Dec. 6-7

• The Cal State Bakersfield women’s indoor track and field squad competed well at their first indoor meet.
• The Silver State Invitational was the first time in over a decade that the Nevada Wolf Pack hosted the meet.
• CSUB was one of the first schools to race on the brand-new track.
• Bakersfield saw 10 different all-time performances in program history.
• On day one of the Reno meet, Mackenzie Okonta marked a 5.19 in the women’s long jump. The jump is the second-best for the long jump in CSUB history.
• Coming off a historic Cross Country season, Rain Gomez clocked in a 5:22.69 in the women’s one mile. She now holds the #4 time in program history.
• Newcomer Crystal Torrecillas raced the 800m for the first time in four years and crossed the finish line in 2:24.16. Torrecillas is now fifth in program history for the event.
• Freshman Makiah Parker ran the 400m in 58.38, good for #3 all-time.
• Julie Johnson, Makiah Parker, and Emilia Mandela all made history by landing in the history books with all-time marks. Johnson led the way with a personal best of 25.42.
• On day two of the invitational, Emilia Mandela ran the third-best time in program history in the 60mH with a time of 9.10.
• Makiah Parker finished the 60m with a time of 7.74 a new #5 time on the CSUB all-time list. Parker is now in the top-five for three different events.
• Micky McAlexander was the highest finisher over the weekend with a seventh-place finish in the women’s shot put. McAlexander threw a 12.94m and a new #3 all-time mark.
• The `Runners are back in action next month on Jan. 10 for the Axe ‘Em Open in Flagstaff, Arizona hosted by Northern Arizona University.
• Schedule & Links

• The Cal State Bakersfield swim and dive teams sent a pair of elite student-athletes to Greensboro, N.C. for the U.S. Open.
• Junior Vili Sivec became the U.S. Open Champion in the 200 Butterfly in a neck-and-neck with elite competition.
• The Roadrunners showed out among some of the fastest swimmers in the country, earning spots in the evening finals that were broadcasted live on Peacock and tape delayed on NBC.
• Next up, Cal State Bakersfield will host a pair of duals, Dec. 18 and Dec. 21, against Big West foes UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego.

CSUB at U.S. Open

• Juniors Vili Sivec and Arthur Amaral Schneider represented the `Runners at the U.S. Open in Greensboro, N.C.
• Sivec posted multiple outstanding swims across the three-day meet:
• On Thursday, Sivec time trialed the 100 Butterfly and his time of 46.50 was the fastest in The Big West this season and the fifth-fastest among NCAA Division I Mid Major swimmers.
• Sivec qualified 4th overall for the A-final in the 200 Freestyle (1:35.36) on Friday, racing against a pair of Olympians and two NCAA All-Americans.
• In his final swim, Sivec became the U.S. Open Champion in the 200 Butterfly, out-touching his competition in a thrilling finals.
• His time of 1:43.18 smashed his own CSUB record in the process.
• Amaral Schneider showed out in a pair of strong performances:
  • He joined Sivec in the 200 Free finals, qualifying 14th overall with a personal best time of 1:37.41.
  • On Saturday, the Brazilian shaved nearly three tenths of a second off his personal best in the 100 freestyle (45.15).
• Schedule & Links