By Sarah Lloyd, Swimming World College Intern
The No. 2 California men started off their weekend right (and a little early) with a win on the road against Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday. The Golden Bears switched it up and swam some off events, proving that their talent goes beyond their usual training events.
A team of Ryan Murphy, Andrew Seliskar, Josh Prenot, and Dillon Williams grabbed first in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:29.55 to kick things off. They were followed by the California B team of Michael Thomas, Connor Hoppe, Justin Lynche, and Tyler Messerschmidt, who rolled in with a time of 1:29.72. Junior Janardan Burns grabbed first in the 1000 free (9:21.30), just ahead of his freshman teammate Ken Takahashi (9:21.57). Cal State Bakersfield’s junior Carson May was a distant third with a 9:55.49.
The California senior Jacob Pebley added to the Golden Bears’ momentum with a win in the 200 free (1:38.30), ahead of freshman teammate Nick Norman (1:43.19). The junior Dillon Williams took first in the 50 free (21.05), while Murphy and Seliskar went 1-2 in the 200 IM, going 1:48.17 and 1:48.99, respectively. Lynch claimed the 200 fly (1:48.66) and was followed by sophomore teammate Ryan Kao (1:51.20) for second. Messerschmidt’s 45.93 was good enough for first in the 100 free, while Williams was third (47.13).
Prenot and Thomas grabbed 1-2 in the 200 back with 1:47.71 and 1:50.42, respectively, while the senior Trent Williams was first in the 500 free (4:32.98), ahead of fellow senior Jeremie Dezwirek (4:47.40). The remaining events of the meet (200 breast and 200 free relay) were scored exhibition and the Golden Bears came away with a 119-113 victory of Cal State Bakersfield.
Full results: 2016 California vs. Cal State Bakersfield – Results