California Men Announce Six Signings

BERKELEY, California, November 25. THE No. 3-ranked California men's swimming program has signed six high school athletes, it was announced today (Nov. 25) by head coach David Durden. The Golden Bears' list of 2009 signees features standouts Jeremy Bagshaw, Scott Farley, Shayne Fleming, Greg Harper, Sam Metz and Ryan Studebaker.

Jeremy Bagshaw is a talented freestyler from St. Michaels University School in Victoria, British Columbia. Bagshaw has top long course meters times of 3:52.03 in the 400 free, 1:50.51 in the 200 free, 8:06.70 in the 800 free and 51.99 in the 100 free. Last August at the North American Challenge Cup he won the 400-meter freestyle (3:52.03), setting a new Canadian record for 15-17 year old boys.

A leading distance freestyler/IMer, Scott Farley, from San Marino High School in San Marino, Calif., has clocked bests of 4:27.85 in the 500 free and 9:20.64 in the 1000 free. In the individual medley, Farley has bests of 1:50.33 in the 200 IM and 3:57.96 in the 400 IM. Last spring, he set league championship records in both the 200 IM and 500 free.

Shayne Fleming is considered one of the nation's top sprint freestylers and is a member of the USA National Junior Team. The 6-7 Fleming is from Valley Christian High School in San Jose where he has produced top marks of 19.89 in the 50 free, 43.71 in the 100 free and 1:37.33 in the 200 free. In long course meters, he has times of 22.47 in the 50 free and 49.95 in the 100 free. Last January, Fleming placed fourth in the 50 free (23.06) at the 2009 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Guam.

"Jeremy (Bagshaw) is one of the top 400-meter freestylers in the world for his age," said Durden, who has led his Bears to back-to-back fourth place NCAA finishes in two years at Cal. "He has a beautiful stroke with a great kick, and will come into our program ready to compete at the Pac-10 and NCAA levels. Scott (Farley) is an athlete with good range, whether in the freestyle or the IM events. He has been coached extremely well and with the world-class academics here at Cal, I look forward to helping him achieve both his athletic and academic ambitions. Shayne (Fleming) is one of top young sprint talents in the U.S. and comes to Berkeley following the footsteps of current and former Cal sprint legends. Having spent time with Shayne and his family through this process, I feel that Cal is the perfect fit for him. We couldn't be happier welcoming Shayne to the Cal family."

Coming to Cal from Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek is middle distance freestyler and butterflyer Greg Harper. Harper, also a member of the USA National Junior Team, has recorded bests of 1:39.64 in the 200 free, 4:29.00 in the 500 free and 1:50.68 in the 200 fly. For long course meters, he has recorded times of 2:01.54 in the 200 fly and 3:59.23 in the 400 free.

A 6-3 multi-talented swimmer from New Trier High School in Chicago, Sam Metz excels in the middle distance free, IM, breaststroke and butterfly. Metz has bests of 4:33.87 in the 500 free, 1:50.90 in the 200 IM, 2:03.13 in the 200 breast and 1:50.09 in the 200 fly. For long course meters, he clocks in at 3:56.93 for the 400 free, 2:03.79 for the 200 IM, 2:18.50 for the 200 breast and 2:04.73 for the 200 fly. Metz is a member of the USA National Junior Team as well. Last March he was on a 400 free relay team that set a national high school public school record with a time of 3:02.24.

Ryan Studebaker is a 6-4 breaststroker from Placer High School in Auburn, Calif. with top marks of 56.47 in the 100 breast and 2:04.01 in the 200 breast. Studebaker earned 2008-09 high school All-America honors in the 100 breast and is a 2009 Scholastic All-American.

"I really grew to appreciate Greg (Harper) the past couple of months through our conversations," said Durden. "He is a tremendous talent who for the first time has focused on swimming in the fall. Greg will immediately add to our young and talented middle distance freestyle and butterfly group. Sam's (Metz) energy is contagious and he is certainly one of the most versatile athletes in this recruiting class. I can't wait to work with Sam on a daily basis. He can go anywhere from the 500 free to the 200 breast and will most certainly impact our program the moment he walks through the door. Ryan (Studebaker) came for an unofficial visit this past summer and we immediately knew he was an athlete we wanted in our program. He does a lot of things well, has a good frame and is just scratching the surface of how good he can be."

"I couldn't be happier with how this class has come together. We stayed very patient through this recruiting process, and this group of athletes chose Cal for all the right reasons. Greg Meehan, Nort Thornton, Nick Folker and I all look forward to helping this group of young men grow into great athletes, great scholars and more importantly, a great group of men."

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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