California State University, Bakersfield
therunneronline.com March 4, 2020
Vol. 45, No. 12
Scan for 2020 primary election coverage.
Clarissa Alderete/The Runner
AnthonyAlexander, a junior at Independence High School getting excited for the Bernie Sanders’“Get Out the Vote” rally held at the SpetrumAmpitheater in Riverwalk Park on Feb. 21.
CSUB recieves $1 million from Chevron By Gabriela Reyes Reporter CSU Bakersfield has received $1 million gift from the Chevron Corporation. The donation will go towards a new engineerig builing at CSUB. The event’s special guests speakers included Vice President of Chevron’s San Joaquin Valley Business Unit Billy Lacobie, a CSUB scholar athlete and alumni who is a current Chevron employee, Garrett Pierce, and CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny. “Chevron has demonstrated its corporate conscience again and again over the decades in areas of concern and opportunity across the spectrum. It’s that commitment to education that brings us here today to announce and celebrate a major transformational gift. A gift that signifies Chevron’s hopes for the future of our region,” Zelezny said. Zelezny highlighted the commitment that Chevron has had to CSUB, and attributed the completion of the FabLab, a digital fabrication lab open to students and public, to the generosity of Chevron. She mentioned the Summer Undergraduate Re-
Eli Miranda/The Runner
CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny shakes hands with William Lacobie, vice president of Chevron’s San Joaquin Velley Business unit.
search Experience, or SURE, is also being powered as a result of Chevron’s contributions to the school. “I am absolutely ecstatic. It is a gift that is going to directly impact our students, our faculty, and also help us with student success and innovation. This is a very powerful and transformational gift,” Zelezny said. The benefits from the part-
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nership between Chevron and CSUB have been notorious, since it has helped the building of infrastructure in the school and the improve the quality of education that students from school of Natural Science, Mathematics, and Engineering (NSME). Former CSUB electrical engineering student and current Chevron employee Garrett Pierce spoke about the importance and
the impact the partnership with Chevron had on his education. “In 2013, CSUB opened the doors to a brand-new, 5000 square-foot engineering building. When the doors opened to that building, I was so excited to get my hands on it. Chevron’s contributions were instrumental in making this possible. I certainly
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Entrepreneurs gather for Techstars By Katrina Singleton News Editor Techstars Start up Weekend hosted their second annual event at CSU Bakersfield. The event is intended to give young entrepreneurs the opportunity to network with brands and get endorsements for their prototype ideas. From Friday, Feb. 21 through Sunday, Feb, 23, ten groups spent 54 hours putting together business presentations for a panel of four judges. Ranging from a new food location app to a new approach to online dating, the room was filled with entrepreneurs ready to change the game with their business ideas. Over $40,000 was awarded to the ten teams that participated in the startup weekend, and of that $40,000, half was donated from Bank of America, the sponsor of this year’s Techstars Start Up Week-
end. Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh was a guest speaker. “The full range of creativity that’s in this room is so exciting,” said Goh. Goh said the newest slogan for Bakersfield, which will help bring entrepreneurship to the forefront of Bakersfield along with the oil and agriculture industries, is “Bakersfield: The sound of something better.” At the end of the presentations, three groups were awarded prizes for their business ideas. Third place was Team Traction. This team developed an online dating site with the sole focus of helping single people find matches that will develop into long lasting connections. Traction starts off as a free trial that allows you to take quizzes and creates an online user profile. The user is then matched with seven other Traction users
Clarissa Alderete/The Runner
(Left to right)Assistant Professor of Management Sumita Sarma, Dr. Woods, Mayor Goh, President Zelezny, and Bank of America Vice President Karen Zuber applauding all of the participants and mentors at the Techstars Start up event.
who are compatible based on the way the quiz questions are answered. Team Traction is considering staying together as team and building their business. This team met for the first time on Friday
Feb. 21 during registration and stayed on CSUB campus late in the night brainstorming their idea before even starting to build the online dating site. “We were here until 1 a.m. last night putting together our presentation,” Sabrina Ziegler, one of the team members of Traction, said. Team Traction are interested in testing their website in a campus environment in order to get more feedback from their key demographic, which is people aged 18-25. Second place was Team Tagfolio. Tagfolio’s product is an attempt at getting rid of resumes and business cards. Tagfolio is a small wooden square equipped with a chip which allows colleagues to sync their resumes, portfolios, or even social media accounts
to it. Then, with a tap of a phone, the resume will appear on that same device. Team Tagfolio has already started to build revenue since the end of their presentation on Sunday Feb. 23. Tagfolio were selling some prototypes they made for $5, and had already sold five or six Tagfolio chips. First place was Team Corner. Team Corner developed a map tracking application to locate moving food enterprises such as food trucks, as they are constantly moving from one place to another and current mapping services do not list these type of food enterprises in their data. “We were shocked. There’s so many good teams, so we were betting on the other teams to win,”
Morgan Cupp, one of Team Corner’s members, said. Team Corner’s next step is to use all of the resources accumulated by their win to help solidify their business. CSUB President Lynette Zelezny made an appearance at the event with a few words for the entrepreneurs. “We know that Bakersfield and CSUB are gaining a reputation for being a leader in entrepreneurship, and we are proud of those who have stepped up to really show who we are as a city and as a county,” Zelezny said. Zelezny said that Bakersfield has outpaced larger cities such as Seattle, Boston and cities in the Bay Area in launching start-ups.
Cont’d: Chevron gift [CHEVRON cont. from p 1] knew that if my circuit did not work properly, that it was an error in my design and not faulty equipment,” Pierce said. “My journey to becoming an engineer would not have been possible without Chevron’s commitments to building CSUB’s engineering program.” Chevron’s Vice President of San Joaquin Valley Business Unit, William Lacobie addressed Chevron’s purpose to enable human progress, as he tied the company’s success with the prosperity of the community. “We contribute to local
community by making strategic social investments in three core areas: education, economic development, and health. Our education investments are centered on science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM. Chevron has continued to support the growth and development of the NSME program through additional donations over the years,” Lacobie said. Chevron funded the first FabLab in the UC and CSU systems, and continued sharing the impact that the company has had in the education sector. Lacobie then proceeded to present the $1 million
dollar gift to CSUB. The gift will be going towards the SURE program, the FabLab, and a new machine shop. Kathleen Madden, dean of NSME, provided more information about the SURE program. “There is still time for students to apply. It is pretty much for incoming students and rising sophomores. We have a lot of other opportunities for the upper class.” Madden said that the next building on campus will be an engineering building. This will make space in the existing module, which will be the location of the new machine shop.
Features
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March 4, 2020
Bakersfield greets Trump with
By Amy Pachla Copy Chief President Donald Trump’s visit to Bakersfield Wednesday, Feb. 19 brought both supporters as well as protestors out into the streets. In the morning, protestors and local political candidates gathered beneath the Cesar Chavez mural at 18th and L Streets downtown. There, they prepared signs and made plans to gather on the north side of Meadows Field Airport when Air Force One touched down. Carlos Ramos, a community activist who helped organize the protest, said it was as much about setting an example for others to get more involved in the political process as about opposing the Trump administration. Ramos believes the most relevant deciding factor in Trump’s 2016 victory was not the number of people who voted for him, but the number of people who did
not vote at all. Indeed, Ramos’ belief is borne out by the numbers. During the 2016 presidential election, there were about 229 million people over the age of 18 living in the United States according to U.S. Census data, but only about 129 million votes cast in the presidential race for both major party candidates combined. This amounts to slightly more than half of the qualified electorate actually participating. The trend holds in Kern County as well. According to elections division figures, there are 395,643 registered voters living in Kern County. However, 2016 election night numbers compiled by Politico show only 217,725 votes were cast for president in Kern County for all candidates combined. Again, this indicates that about half the people who could be voting aren’t. Ramos hopes that staging a visible, public protest will motivate others to take a more active interest in
government. “We’re out here to show them that you have to be an active participant in this process,” Ramos said. The protest was not without issues. In the hours following the president’s visit, several videos circulated on social media depicting confrontations between pro-Trump and anti-Trump demonstrators. The Bakersfield Police Department is not aware of any arrests directly related to the protest activities. While the protestors remained on the north side of the airport, the atmosphere at the south end was ebullient, if slightly wary. Trump supporters and people simply there to watch shaded their eyes and recorded on phones as Air Force One landed. Some perched on top of their hastily parked vehicles to get a better view. Many waved American flags. “He’s right there! He’s right there!” a young woman in a red cap sang out,
Destinee Sims/The Runner
Tina Sickle uses her American flag to encourage passing traffic to honk and demonstrate their support of President Trump’s arrival at Meadows Field Airport on Feb. 19.
watching Air Force One on the tarmac, an American flag waving against her shoulder. Tanya Bowling, an employee at the Shell gas station located at Airport and Norris Roads, said people began gathering
two to three hours prior to the president’s arrival, but the day remained business as usual. “Everyone right here stayed pretty calm,” Bowling said. President Trump was in Bakersfield on Wednesday
to talk about water issues in the Central Valley and sign an agreement that will transfer more water from sources in Northern California to farmers in the valley.
Many faiths, one love: Interfaith Resource Fair By Lauren Hill Features Editor
The Common Grounds Club on CSU Bakersfield’s campus works tirelessly to display the colors of belief and religion that cover the world. Groups of students surrounded tables, and the smiles of representatives and attendees told the whole narrative of the Interfaith Resource Fair. The Interfaith Resource Fair, held by the Common Grounds Club for their “Better Together Days,” took place on Feb. 19 in the Cafe Quad. Various tables were set up with representatives of religions such as Baha’i, New Thought, Islam, Unitarian Universalist, Judaism, Jainism, and Hinduism. President of the Common Grounds Club Sumaiya Olia said the purpose of the Interfaith Resource Fair was to create a relaxed environment for students and to raise awareness of the different religions
represented on campus. “It’s a safe area to fulfill our curiosity [...] It provides space for questions and increases discussion,” Olia said. Fellow member of the Common Grounds Club Alejandro Oropeza said that the event also helps students get to know the different people and faces around campus. Attendees grabbed pizza and walked around the different tables, meeting people and talking about what faith means to them. The Baha’i table displayed a sign which showed “The Golden Rule” as it applies to different religions. The theme remained the same throughout; “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” They suggested that the different religions may not be so different after all, as another sign reads, “The essence of all the Prophets of God is one and the same.” Portia Choi attended, rep-
resenting the Unity Center of Bakersfield, an interdenominational church which practices New Thought. According to Choi, New Thought is the belief that there is truth and wisdom in many practices of faith, and it’s an allied group that accepts everyone’s beliefs. Choi also mentions Ernest Holmes, a New Thought writer and leader. “He never wanted an organization, he just wanted to lecture,” Choi said. The Unitarian Universalist group had a fold out table coated in a rainbow tablecloth with pamphlets and bracelets and stickers for passersby to take. Three representatives talked to students, one being Elizabeth Jackson. Jackson said that the Unitarian Universalist faith is action-based rather than belief-based. Unitarians embrace acceptance of marginalized groups to find a common ground. “The only true doctrine of the church is Love,”
Lauren Hill/The Runner
Students gather at the Hinduism resource table to speak with representatives at the Interfaith Resource Fair on Feb. 19.
Jackson said. A pamphlet offered at the table read, “We value spiritual growth and respect new learnings, so this community will always be available to you as a spiritual home regardless
of how your beliefs may change.” The Common Grounds Club held two other events during their Better Together Days. There was a viewing and discussion for the film
“What Do You Believe?” and a luncheon discussion for staff and faculty to speak about engaging religious diversity at a public university.
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For exclusive online-only content, please visit therunneronline.com.
The Runner Staff Volume 45, Issue 12
The Runner California State University, Bakersfield 9001 Stockdale Hwy. Bakersfield, CA 93311-1099 661-654-2165 runner@csub.edu ADVISER Jennifer Burger jburger1@csub.edu EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sam Underwood sunderwood6@csub.edu MANAGING EDITOR DIGITAL Carlos Hernandez chernandez16@csub.edu PHOTO EDITOR Mari Woodmansee mwoodmansee@csub.edu PODCAST EDITOR Damian Lopez dlopez@csub.edu ASST PODCAST EDITOR Briana Lopez blopez51@csub.edu SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Allea Nalaine Paguia apaguia@csub.edu NEWS EDITOR Katrina Singleton ksingleton@csub.edu ASST NEWS EDITOR Paige Atkison patkison@csub.edu FEATURES EDITOR Lauren Hill lhill17@csub.edu OPINIONS EDITOR Destinee Sims dsims7@csub.edu CO-SPORTS EDITOR Elisa Fuentes efuentes18@csub.edu CO-SPORTS EDITOR Chris Burdick cburdick@csub.edu COPY CHIEF Amy Pachla apachla@csub.edu MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Ace Harrison aharrison5@csub.edu COPYRIGHT Copyright belongs to the Communications Department at California State University, Bakersfield.
BUSINESS MANAGER Sidney Wicks swicks1@csub.edu
MARKETING MANAGER Edgar Noriega enoriega-banos@csub.edu DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Kimberly Benitez-Anguiano kbenites@csub.edu STAFF Marci Ruiz, Adriana Hernandez, Megan Tishman, Gabriela Reyes, Rachel Russ, Yoana Andrade, Francisco Ruiz, Estafany Henriquez, Braden Moss-Ennis, Erin Dailey, Chase Anderson, Angela Jordan, Brian Melgar, Pearl Hernandez, Carla Alvarado, Dalton Bell, Eli Miranda, Clarissa Alderete, Chasadee Sims, Caleb Melson, Joe Youngblood, Jenn Pardinas, Rosie Callejas, Gabriella Lopez, Faith Okoli, Briana G. Hendrix. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send letters to runner@ csub.edu All letters must be signed, verified, and be no more than 300 words in length. Letters may be edited for clarity and length. OUR MISSION The Runner is an independent student news organization, operated under the communication department at CSUB. The Runner is committed to exposing truth and promoting accountability while upholding professional journalistic integrity. We engage with the community through print, digital and social media publications as the premier news outlet for the student body. DISCLAIMERS Views and opinions expressed in The Runner are not necessarily those of the editors, staff or the Communications Department. The staff of The Runner reserve the right to refuse or omit any advertising or material which advocates illegal activity, or which may be considered libelous, irresponsible or tasteless.
Tips for saving money that every broke student can use in college By Angela Jordan Opinions Columnist Students have a lot to pay for when attending school but they still want to spend money to have fun, whether it’s attending school events or taking trips during spring break. Balance is needed to live a responsible and exciting college life. Here are a few tips to help college students enjoy life without breaking the bank. 1. Buy used books Aside from tuition, books are a huge expense at school. One way to save money is to buy used books. You can buy used books through book stores or sites including: Abebooks, Barnes and Noble, and Chegg. There is even a group on Facebook for CSUB where you can sell, buy or trade books with other students (CSUB STUDENT SWAP)! You can also rent books from other sites like these or even from our school library. 2. Make your own coffee A grande coffee at Starbucks costs around four dollars and according to the long lines at our campus Starbucks, students aren’t only buying coffee once a week. If a student goes to Starbucks five times out of the week before class, they’ll be spending around twenty dollars a week on coffee alone. You can buy a coffee maker for fifteen bucks and Folgers ground coffee for four. They even have affordable flavored syrups made by Torani that you can use for a slightly more “gourmet” touch; Starbucks also has a line of syrups, but they tend to be more on the pricey side. If you don’t want to quit Starbucks completely, sign up for their reward system so you can earn free coffee, bakery items and more. 3. Limit eating out
Eating out is nice because it’s easy, but making your own food can be too. Fresh produce ranges from fifteen cents to two dollars. Pasta and sauce can be purchased for under five dollars, and that is for more than one serving. This means
you have left overs for the next couple of days, allowing you to save even more money on groceries. 4. Budgeting Although most of us don’t make a lot of money as college students, there is so much we want to experience. These experiences can be costly, but we can’t allow ourselves to go broke. Budgeting can help you avoid running out of money. Try splitting your money into groups like groceries,
Illustration by Eli Miranda/The Runner
easier for students to see what discounts they have just because they are in school. The sites have discounts for fashion, beauty, food, technology and traveling.
“Balance is needed to live a responsible and exciting college life.” Angela Jordan, Opinions Columnist
school supplies, bills, fun, and savings may help in the long run. 5. Utilize college student discounts Another way to save money is to make use of college student discounts. Websites like UNiDAYS and StudentBeans make it
6. Go to free events Bakersfield often has free events for you to go out a hand full of times a month. There are trivia nights, yoga classes, and live music at old fashion bars. You can check out other free events on Eventbrite to see what’s going on in Kern
County, or even attend one of CSUB’s free events. If you want to take a break and get out of Bakersfield, it may be time to plan a trip and head to LA. There are almost unlimited free events. They have free museums such as the Broad and the Getty Center, flashy food events such as Smorgasburg and the 626 Night Market, and free concerts at clubs and bars. Of course gas isn’t free, but you can cut down your share of costs by carpooling. 7. Apply for scholarships and finacial aid There are many scholarships that don’t get claimed because students don’t apply for them. Make more use of your education and apply for the general application for CSUB online. For more information, check out the links on therunneronline.com.
Opinions
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March 4, 2020
RUNNER ON THE STREET
By Destinee Sims
“What is your biggest turnoff in a romantic relationship?”
Franky Schaffer Freshman, Communications
Rashel Puerto Sophomore, Liberal Studies
“Probably a lack of communication. When someone doesn’t speak their mind, it’s a real turnoff.”
“Jealousy. There’s a limit to jealousy.”
Alex Anzar Junior, Business
“If she doesn’t shave or brush her teeth.”
Suleyma James-Haggerty Sophomore, Biology “Dishonesty. If they’re dishonest, they’re not a hundred percent in.”
Students affected by campus tumbleweed burning By Megan Tishma News Reporter Imagine stepping out of your classroom and immediately breathing in the scent of smoke. You don’t know what it is or where it’s coming from. You may have asthma, Valley Fever, allergies, or just be sensitive to smoke. The damage is already done for some, as the brief exposure is just enough to trigger that miserable, health-issue-filled day. This became reality for some students at CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 10. If you got hit in the face with a burning smell on Monday around 11 a.m., you were probably smelling tumbleweeds burning on the south end of campus. Maybe you had heard about the tumbleweed burn, or maybe you just found out about it when you smelled the burning, like most students. Notice was given to students only two hours prior, with the email’s time stamp indicating it was sent out at 9:14 a.m. to notify students of an 11 a.m. scheduled burn time. “[Students] usually get an email about it, but not this time around,” junior Sofia
Martinez notes. Personally, I was walking out of class in the DDH building when I smelled something burning. I didn’t know what the source was. When I got outside, I saw a plume of smoke on the south end of campus. I checked my email to see what was going on in case I needed to evacuate. That’s when I saw that Facilities Management sent out an email saying they were burning something I’m highly allergic to - tumbleweeds. So I went home to get an inhaler and medication, and decided to stay home until I thought it would be clear to return. I was angry because I was not sure if I could miss my next class, but I could not risk my health either to go to school. The email also did not state an estimated time for it to be over, so I was just hoping it would be over by the time class started. “We put in a request well before the holiday break. Our hope was to burn the tumbleweeds while everyone was away during the holiday. Unfortunately, we only received one-day notice from the Valley Air Pollution Control District,” Faust Gorham, Associate
Vice President of Information Technology and Administrative Services & Chief Information Officer, said in an email. The Valley Air Pollution and Control District’s late approval for the permit, as well as the school’s delay to get the word out to the CSUB community, may come across to some as a simple miscommunication. This failure to communicate legitimately harmed others. 23.7% of Kern County residents have been diagnosed with asthma at some point in their life, according to the California Department of Public Health website. With asthma being prevalent in our county, it should be taken more seriously. Students with sensitivities, such as asthma and allergies, should be warned more than two hours ahead of time when they do this annual tumbleweed burn. There needs to be better communication between Valley Air and the university; the student body deserves to be notified sooner so they can make the proper arrangements to avoid the campus while their medical triggers are present. Illustration by Sam Underwood/The Runner
COMIC STRIP HERE
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Sports
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March 4, 2020
CSUB falls to Aggies on Homecoming night By: Brian Melgar Sports Writer
CSU Bakersfield’s homecoming game was one to remember, with the Roadrunners pulling out all the stops against rival New Mexico State Aggies in their final Western Athletic Conference home game. The atmosphere in the Icardo Center was intense, and redshirt junior guard De’Monte Buckingham cut through that tension with a quick three-pointer to pick up the first points
for the ‘Runners. From there, it was a tough battle between the Runners and the undefeated Aggies. The ‘Runners showed their defensive prowess, keeping the Aggies at bay as much as possible, finishing the first half of the game trailing behind at 32-22. Following an energetic halftime performance by the Spirit Squad and the crowning of homecoming royalty, the second half of the game commenced, and both teams continued the fierce fight for the win
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Clarissa Alderete/The Runner
Redshirt junior Taze Moore leading the Roadrunner offense up the court on Homecoming night in the Icardo Center on Feb. 29.
in CSUB’s final game at home in the WAC. The ‘Runners did everything to hold off the Aggies’ aggressive offense but just couldn’t pull it up. The final score of the game was 62-46 with the win going to the Aggies. With this defeat, the home stand for the ‘Runners in the WAC has come to an end, and the team will be looking ahead to the future. Redshirt junior guards Justin Edler-Davis and Taze Moore both spoke at the postgame press conference, where they discussed the game and the future of the team. “They’ve always been a good team,” Moore said upon being asked how he felt about the Aggies. “We put ourselves in the hole.” “You can’t shoot yourself in the foot or they’ll take advantage,” Edler-Davis said, following up on Moore’s comments. Both players agreed that the Aggies were an impressive team, and they felt they learned a lot about their own positions playing against them. When asked about the mindset they had going
into this game knowing that it was the final home game in the WAC, Edler-Davis responded by saying they just want to win a game. They always have the mindset of taking everything one game at a time and always going in with the goal of winning a game. With the WAC championship tournament right around the corner, Edler-Davis stated that it will be a fun three days and that and the team believes that everyone in the WAC this year is beatable. Moore commented on the upcoming challenge as well, saying, “We’re one of the hardest working programs in the WAC,” and asserting that they will continue to grow and improve. Head coach Rod Barnes also spoke about the Aggies’ performance during the postgame conference, echoing sentiments from his players, stating, “[the Aggies] have a really good basketball team. They basically dominated our league.” When asked how he felt following the game,
Clarissa Alderete/The Runner Junior forward Justin McCall shooting over Aggies defense on Homecoming night in the Icardo Center on Feb. 29.
Barnes said, “I thought we had some things early that hurt us, like not making free throws, but I’m proud of our kids, and we’re gonna take this next week, work and get better.” Barnes said that a loss on the court is not a loss of morale, and that he knows his players are still confident in their skills and can take that confidence to the next level with more hard work and determination. The CSUB Roadrunners’ next game is on March 7
at 5 p.m. in the Arena at Grand Canyon University where they will face off against the Grand Canyon ‘Lopes in their final regular season game. This will also be the ‘Runners’ final game in the WAC until the WAC Championship on March 11, which will be the team’s last appearance in the tournament. ‘Runner basketball will be in the Big West Conference starting next season.
and began training even closer with Rogic and Gillilan in order to reach his goals of qualifying for NCAA and Olympic trials like his teammates. “Last year, I wasn’t always the best about training as hard as I could,” Brimer said. “I think we’ve really stepped it up because I’ve been training with Kris a lot this year, so he has really helped push me.” Brimer claims that the change in training has benefitted his performance and times, and that the constant support from Rogic and push from Gillilan is what motivates him the most during practice. As they travel to Texas this week, the Roadrunners will look to continue their momentum and set more school records in their final run in the Western Athletic Conference Championship Tournament. Gillilan and Brimer both are confident that the team will perform well during the upcoming tournament. Rogic, on the other hand, is focused on redeeming himself from his performance in last year’s WAC Championships. “I wasn’t exactly to hap-
py with last year’s WAC,” Rogic said. “As a team we did really well, but I know I was capable of more, so that’s something I’m looking to show this year.” Rogic hopes his performance in this year’s WAC Championships will propel him back into first team All-WAC like his freshman season, and potentially close the gap to qualifying for NCAA Championships as well. Both Gillilan and Rogic predict that after the WAC races are finished, CSUB could have multiple participants in this year’s NCAA Championships on both the men’s and women’s teams, something CSUB has never had in the history of the program. “I think we are going to probably surprise ourselves, our teams, and our coaches,” Gillian claims. “I think there is a lot of potential for some phenomenal swims that we haven’t seen before.” The Roadrunners will begin their final splash in the WAC Championship on Feb. 26, at the CRWC Natatorium in Houston, Texas. For a full recap, go to therunneronline.com.
CSUB swim strives to bring home gold in their final WAC tournament By: Chris Burdick Sports Co-Editor The CSU Bakersfield swimming teams have had one of their most successful seasons in program history. Setting numerous records and taking on the nation’s top competition, the team has held nothing back in their pursuit of gold this year. Junior swimmer Loren Gillilan said, “It’s the team aspect that keeps us all going. It’s a second family, so being able to break these records is not so much an individual accomplishment, it’s kind of a team accomplishment. You kind of break these records for them, and you do things for the team. When others break records, I feel a part of it.” Junior swimmers Kris Rogic, Loren Gillilan, and Ryan Brimer are three of the fastest competitors that CSUB has in their ranks. Rogic currently holds the CSUB record for fastest time in the 100 back-stroke, is a six-time National Champion for his native nation of Croatia, and represented CSUB at last summer’s FINA World Championships in South
Mari Woodmansee/The Runner Junior swimmers Kris Rogic, Ryan Briner, and Loren Gillian competing together in the relay event against the University of California, Santa Cruz on Jan 11.
Korea. Gillilan was selected first team All-WAC last season for the 100 fly-stroke and currently holds the second fastest time in the WAC in the same event. He currently holds 32 total wins for his career, and joins sophomore Autumn D’Arcy as qualifiers for Olympic trials in the 100 fly-stroke. Brimer was selected second-team All-WAC last season for the 200 freestyle and has been a key contributor to the team’s
success this year. Recording 10 top-3 finishes in the freestyle stroke events, he has also recorded the eight fastest time in the WAC for the 200-freestyle. Individually, these three swimmers are all setting highly competitive times in their events, but together, they create the fastest 400-Medley Relay team in CSUB history. At last year’s WAC Championships, they broke the school record for the 400-medley relay and took fourth place overall. They
also teamed up to record the second fastest school time and take fifth place in the 400-freestyle relay. They are looking to break those top times again this year. The CSUB men’s swim team as a whole have cleared another hurdle this year by completing their first winning season in dual meets in 10 years, with a final record of 4-2. “When we came in, I never thought I’d be a part of that,” Brimer said. “I didn’t come in very fast, so I thought I’d be on the slower end, so it’s great to see that we might be the guys to go to Olympic trials or go to NC’s and push other kids that think they can do that too.” Coming into this year, the three swimmers all have hopes of qualifying for NCAA Championships in their event and being first team All-WAC selections. To achieve this goal, they turned up the intensity in their preparations, competing against some challenging competition during the US Open in Atlanta, Georgia. Brimer also went a step further to change the consistency of his training,
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Sports March 4, 2020
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The Runner Spotlight:
Russell Rohlfling
By Mari Woodmansee Photo Editor
Senior wrestler Russell Rohlfing has been wrestling for about twelve years now. He was born and raised in La Habra Heights, CA and is the youngest of 6 siblings. Growing up, Rohlfing was encouraged by his parents to try out all different types of sports, such as baseball, football, kickboxing, and ju-jitsu. It was while playing Pop Warner Football in 6th grade that one of his teammates asked him if he wanted to wrestle. After church on Sundays Rohlfing and his teammate would wrestle in the gymnasium of the church. “Wrestling is my hobby, I love it. It’s my life right now.” Rohlfing chose wrestling because he is into the individuality of the sport and that fact that the spotlight is on him and him alone, win or lose. When he wins, it is because he worked for it, and when he loses, it’s on himself and he can’t blame anyone else. He also doesn’t have to depend on anyone except himself. “It’s like hating to work on a group project because you get stuck with all the work,” Rohlfing said, emphasizing that he likes being in a sport where the outcome depends on him. The style of Bakersfield wrestling is what brought Rohlfing to CSU Bakersfield. Rohlfing believes that CSUB was a perfect fit for him because of the grittiness and hard work the wrestling program is known for instilling into their athletes. Even though wrestling is an individual sport, Rohlfing states, “There is
absolutely a team aspect to it, and bonding. Just like with any sport you cannot do it on your own.” He explains that the team aspect comes through during practices, as the wrestlers put each other through hell to better each other and themselves. “Going through something that difficult creates a special bond with your teammates,” Rohlfing said. “You want your teammates to do well, and you want to do well yourself, so you’re constantly bring each other
“Wrestling is my hobby, I love it. It’s my life right now” Russell Rohlfing, Senior Wrestler up, encouraging each other, like brothers.” Recently, Rohfling earned his 84th career win in wrestling as a ‘Runner. “I’m just really excited for the opportunity to compete one last time for Bakersfield at conference, and hopefully at nationals.” With the season over and only the PAC 12 championships left on Mar. 7, Rohlfing said, “I’m just going in with the goal of being a PAC 12 champion. My mind set is not to settle for anything else. I’m going in there to win the tournament.” As a team, Rohlfing feels like they are prepared for the PAC 12 championships. “Our coach is giving us everything that we need to prepare to succeed at the tournament. As long as our guys buy in and do everything that is asked of them and go beyond what is asked of them, we will have success.”
Family is a huge support system who Rohlfing says he is lucky to have. According to Rohlfing, his parents have been to the majority of his wrestling meets since high school. Being the youngest of six, he also has the full support of all his siblings. One of his brothers, Joseph Alvarado, came to his last dual meet for Senior Night and for the dual meet against Northern Colorado. His sister Maureen Stehlik, who lives in Colorado, surprised him by attending. “I am so grateful to have this support system. It’s really cool and humbling to have this kind of support system behind me,” Rohfing says. He especially looks up to and aspires to be like his dad by going into law, as his father is a lawyer. Outside of wrestling Rohlfing’s biggest interest is animals. While bottlenose dolphins are his favorite due to their intelligence fascinating him, he does have an interest in snakes as well. When Rohlfing was a boy, his parents gave him a corn snake after he begged them for one because one of his older brothers had a ball python. Right now, Rohlfing has two red tail boa constrictors over a year old. Being able to hold his pet snakes is a kind of stress reliever for him. “If I wasn’t going into law, I would want to do something with animals,” Rohlfing said. Since it is Rohlfing’s last season as a ‘Runner, he is getting ready to start the next chapter in his life. He’s currently applying to law schools because he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Mari Woodmansee/The Runner Senior Russell Rohlfing pins wrestler from Arizona State University during the “Fued on the Field” meet on Sunday Feb. 16.