GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa University swimming and diving teams will resume their season and begin the 2020 calendar year with Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action on Friday and Saturday at home in the El Pomar Natatorium. 
 
The Maverick men, ranked 13^th in the latest TYR/CSCAA Division II National Poll, will square off with No. 23 Colorado School of Mines Orediggers in their final dual of the season.
 
Meanwhile, the ninth-ranked Maverick women will face Mines and Dixie State in a RMAC double-dual.
 
The meet will be CMU's first competitive action in nearly seven weeks since they easily won the A3 Performance Invitational before Thanksgiving (Nov. 20-24).
 
Meet Format
 
The meet will include 18 swimming events for each gender broken up into three sessions over the two days.  Friday's session will begin at 3 p.m.  Saturday will have sessions at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.  No diving will be contested.
 
Live streaming (natural sound only) and live results can be accessed at the links above throughout the meet.
 
Here is a complete listing of the schedule of events.
 
Session I (3 p.m., Friday)
200 Free Relay
500 Free
200 IM
50 Free
400 Medley Relay
 
Session II (10 a.m., Saturday)
400 IM
100 Fly
200 Free
100 Breast
100 Back
200 Medley Relay
 
Session III (3 p.m., Saturday)
1000 Free
100 IM
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly
400 Free Relay
 
Last Time Out
 
In the A3 Performance Invitational, contested Nov. 20-24, the Maverick men won every event as they scored 1,604 ½ team points to easily out-distance runner-up Mines and the rest of the field by 631.  The meet win was their fourth straight and ninth in the 10-year history of the mid-season invitational.
 
Meanwhile, the Maverick women also dominated the meet winning each of the relays and 14 events overall to score a meet-record 1,465 team points, more than doubling runner-up Dixie State's total of 710.  Mines finished third with 697.  The Mavericks' 755-point final margin of victory also equaled the 2018 meet record.
 
In addition to the dominating team efforts, the Mavericks also racked up 65 total NCAA qualifying marks and set numerous meet and school-records.
 
Maverick sophomore Jackson Wuthrich was named as the Male Swimmer of the Meet after scoring a meet-high 73 points in his four individual events while winning the 200, 5000 and 1,000-yard freestyle events on consecutive days before finishing sixth in the 1,650 free.
 
Mines' Mia Wood won four individual events and was named as the Female Swimmer of the Meet.
 
To review that meet, please click on the daily recaps.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5 (Long Course Time Trials)
 
More RMAC honors
 
For their individual efforts at the A3 Performance Invitational, three Mavericks received RMAC Athlete of the Week awards on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
 
Sophomore Jolynn Harris, a transfer from the University of Iowa, was named as the RMAC Women's Diver of the Week for the second time this season as she set her first four NCAA qualifying scores as a Maverick while winning two events and breaking the 6-dive school and meet record on the 1-meter board.
 
Senior Noah Macomber was named as the RMAC Men's Diver of the Week, also for the second time this season, as he set NCAA qualifying scores in all four 11-dive opportunities while taking the 3-meter event and scoring 37 team points to lead all men's divers.
 
Wuthrich earned his first RMAC Men's Swimmer of the Week award after setting six total NCAA qualifying times throughout the meet.
 
As a program, the Mavericks have won 16 of the 22 awards that have been bestowed by the conference this season.
 
Streaking around the RMAC
 
Entering this weekend, the Maverick women have won 19 straight duals against RMAC foes in a winning streak which has now spanned into five seasons.  They have won all of their duals against RMAC opposition in each of the last three seasons and are a perfect 3-0 against RMAC foes this year.
 
In 2018-19, they went 5-0 defeating the Colorado School of Mines and Western twice each as well as winning at Adams State.  They went 6-0 against other RMAC foes in 2017-18 and were 4-0 against them in 2016-17.  They also won their last conference dual of the 2015-16 season at home to Western.
 
CMU's last RMAC dual meet defeat was on Jan. 12, 2016 to then associate conference member Lindenwood.
 
The Maverick men have also gone unbeaten by RMAC foes since facing Lindenwood on that same day (Jan. 12, 2016) but as sponsorship of men's swimming and diving in the RMAC, especially in Colorado, has been sporadic, they have faced RMAC foes just seven times since.  Six of those match-ups have come against Mines.
 
In 2016-17, CMU's men defeated Mines in their lone RMAC dual before beating them twice in 2017-18 and twice again last season.
 
The Maverick men are 2-0 in RMAC contests this year while the women are 3-0.
 
A near sweep
 
The Maverick men have the conference leader in all but of 21 swimming events, including three that will not be contested at the RMAC Championships.  The Maverick women are nearly as impressive and have the conference leader in 15 events, including all five relays.
 
Here is a listing of the Mavericks' conference leaders, as of Monday according to the USA Swimming Top Times Report.  Nearly all of these times were set at the A3 Performance Invitational and are altitude-adjusted.
 
Men
50 Free- Zander Minano- 20.33
200 Free- Jackson Wuthrich- 1:38.62
500 Free- Wuthrich- 4:28.54
1000 Free- Wuthrich- 9:21.45
1650 Free- Torsten Rau- 15:36.06
50 Back- Lane Austin-22.15#
100 Back- Austin- 48.71
200 Back- Rau- 1:47.35
50 Breast- Mahmoud Elgayar- 26.16#
100 Breast- Elgayar- 54.38
200 Breast- Elgayar- 1:58.07
50 Fly- Jake Simmons- 23.37#
100 Fly- Pedro Terres Ilescas- 47.67
200 Fly- Terres Ilescas- 1:45.34
200 IM- Elgayar- 1:49.73
400 IM- Ethan Fox- 3:56.40
200 Free Relay- Minano, Elgayar, Austin, Noah Vallee- 1:20.54
400 Free Relay- Austin, Elgayar, Jordan Smith, Vallee- 2:59.61
800 Free Relay- Wuthrich, Justin Fell, Logan Ellis, Noah Beaver- 6:42.14
200 Medley Relay- Austin, Elgayar, Terres Illescas, Minano- 1:28.00
400 Medley Relay- Austin, Elgayar, Terres Illescas, Minano- 3:15.79
 
*- Tied for the conference lead
#- Non Championship event
 
Women
50 Free- Bret Congdon- 23.75*
100 Free- Maddie Pressler- 51.65
100 Back- Lauren White- 55.03
200 Back- Lauren White- 1:59.71
50 Breast- Samantha White- 31.04#
200 Fly- Bella Walters- 2:04.95
200 IM- Davy Brown- 2:04.70
400 IM- Isabelle Hansson- 4:24.80
200 IM- Brown- 2:07.06
400 IM- Brown- 4:33.17
200 Free Relay- Congdon, Lauren White, Logan Anderson, Natalie Saul- 1:34.44
400 Free Relay- Lauren White, Pressler, Noel Scott, Saul- 3:27.60
800 Free Relay- Lauren White, Pressler, Abbey Selin, Hansson- 7:34.09
200 Medley Relay- Sarah Fillerup, Samantha White, Candice Rosen, Congdon- 1:43.71
400 Medley Relay- Brown, Samantha White, Rosen, Lauren White- 3:46.95

Looking forward to March
 
Heading into this weekend, here is a listing of all of the Maverick swimmers who have reached the NCAA "B" cut standard in the various swimming events along with their national rank as of Monday.
 
If a swimmer with one of these provisional qualifying times is selected for the NCAA Division II National Championships in any single event, he or she is then eligible to swim in any event in which they have reached the "B" standard.
 
As a guide, the "invited" line was drawn at 26/27 (depending on the event) for the women and at 21 for the men in 2019.
 
Men
50 Free- Zander Minano (21^st, 20.33), Lane Austin (T-28^th, 20.40), George Durin (T-60^th, 20.74)
100 Free- Austin (T-45^th, 45.45)
200 Free- Jackson Wuthrich (16^th, 1:38.62), Logan Ellis (41^st, 1:39.74), Justin Fell (42^nd, 1:39.75)
500 Free- Wuthrich (18^th, 4:28.54), Torsten Rau (23^rd, 4:29.12), Ellis (24^th, 4:29.70)
1000 Free- Wuthrich (12^th, 9:21.45), Rau (23^rd, 9:27.47), Ellis (33^rd, 9:30.61)
1650 Free- Rau (11^th, 15:36.06), Ellis (25^th, 15:48.55)
100 Back- Austin (12^th, 48.71)
200 Back- Rau (9^th, 1:47.35), Austin (11^th, 1:47.55), Alex Bruce (26^th, 1:48.93)
100 Breast- Mahmoud Elgayar (8^th, 54.38), Matthew Barrett (29^th, 55.51)
200 Breast- Elgayar (2^nd, 1:58.07), Barrett (14^th, 2:00.39)
100 Butterfly- Pedro Terres Illescas (5^th, 47.67)
200 Butterfly- Terres Illescas (3^rd, 1:45.34), Tucker Adams (12^th, 1:48.91), Jake Simmons (1:49.64)
200 IM- Mahmoud Elgayar (14^th, 1:49.73), Ethan Fox (21^st, 1:50.30),
400 IM- Fox (18^th, 3:56.40), Nico Tscherner (28^th, 3:59.35)
 
Women
50 Free- Bret Congdon (T-47^th, 23.75), Lauren White (T-68^th, 23.88)
100 Free- Maddie Pressler (T-39^th, 51.65), Lauren White (62^nd, 52.06)
200 Free- Pressler (25^th, 1:51.43), Lauren White (43rd, 1:52.19)
500 Free- Abbey Selin (41^st, 5:01.85), Robyn Naze (66^th, 5:04.06)
1650 Free- Naze (27^th, 17:17.96)
100 Back- Lauren White (12^th, 55.03), Sarah Fillerup (24^th, 56.01), Davy Brown (29^th, 56.37)
200 Back- Lauren White (8^th, 1:59.71), Brown (T-23^rd, 2:01.90), Fillerup (25th, 2:01.95), Jordyn Beem (32^nd, 2:02.68)
100 Breast- Sam White (19^th, 1:03.28)
200 Fly- Bella Walters (29^th, 2:04.95)
200 IM- Davy Brown (23^rd, 2:04.70)
400 IM- Isabelle Hansson (T-17^th, 4:24.80), Brown (29^th, 4:28.25), Grace Payton (31^st, 4:29.34)
 
National Qualifying Relays
 
The Maverick men have also set NCAA qualifying times in three different relay events.  Those qualifyinig times and their national rank as of Monday are listed below.  Assuming they have at least one "invited" individual swimmer, the Mavericks would then be eligible to swim these events at the national championships using a combination of the individual swimmers and up to four "relay only" swimmers, who would be chosen up the Maverick coaching staff.
 
200 Free- 1:20.54 (7^th)
200 Medley- 1:28.00 (3^rd)
400 Medley- 3:15.79 (4^th)
 
Diving Qualifiers
 
The Mavericks also have nine divers who have surpassed the NCAA Division II Championship qualifying standards at least once this season.  Thus, and if selected by diving coach Logan Pearsall, they are eligible to compete in the pre-championship qualifying meet which will be held on Tuesday, March 10, the day before the official championships begin in Geneva, Ohio.
 
The Mavericks' diving qualifiers thus far are Tanner Belliston, Ammar Hassan, Chandler Livingston, Noah Luna, Noah Macomber on the men's side and Natalya Dahlke, Brittany Dixon, Jolynn Harris, Ali Lange.
 
From the pre-qualification meet, 18 men and 22 women will be selected for the official championships.
 
Mavs' New Head Coach
 
A veteran with nearly 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, Mickey Wender is beginning his tenure as the leader of Mavericks' Head Swimming & Diving and Triathlon programs this year after being announced as the fourth head swimming coach in the program's history in July. 
 
He picked up his first three dual meet wins as the Mavericks' coach last week after replacing Geoff Hanson, who resigned in order to take a similar position at Division I Southern Illinois in May.
 
Wender has already racked up more than 400 wins in his 27 years as a collegiate head coach, mostly recently serving at Division I Army West Point, where he coached the Black Knights from 2006-19.  He had also been the head coach at the University of Washington from 1998-2006 after a 1992-98 stint at the University of California, Santa Cruz from 1992-98 and served as an Head Coach for American Samoa at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
 
Wender has developed swimmers to qualify for NCAA Division I Championship meets in every event and was named as the Patriot League Swimming Coach of the Year three times at Army West Point, most recently in 2017.  His swimmers have broken all of the existing school records at every school he coached and have earned conference championships in over 50 different events.
 
He has also produced several swimmers who ranked in the Top 100 in the world and has coached swimmers at every U.S. Olympic Trials since 2000.
 
Returning Assistants
 
Although Wender is new to CMU, he does have the aid of some experienced CMU assistants.  Logan Pearsall, who has been named as the CSCAA NCAA Division II Men's Diving Coach of the Year in each of the past two years is back as the team's diving coach for his sixth season and Justin Hastings, a former CMU all-American and school record holder is back from his fourth season on the CMU Coaching staff and played a major role in recruiting for this year's squad.
 
Defending Champs
 
The Mavericks are competing in 2019-20 as the defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champions on both the men's and women's side. 
 
The Maverick men broke their own 5-year old championship record for team points, scoring 1,261 to win their third conference crown in program history (2014, 2017).  The Mavericks won 16 individual events and finished 320 points ahead of runner-up Oklahoma Baptist.
 
Meanwhile, the Maverick women relied on their depth to score 1,019 ½ points to earn their first conference title in program history.  They won just two out of 21 individual events but had a vast number of other high finishes to defeat Oklahoma Baptist and the rest of the 9-team field by an impressive 230 ½ points.
 
Polling No. 1
 
Both Maverick teams were unanimous picks to defend their RMAC titles in 2019-20, according to the conference's preseason coaches' poll, which was announced last Friday morning.  The Maverick women received all eight possible first place votes to take the poll with 64 points.  Dixie State was picked second with 50 points while 2019 runner-up Oklahoma Baptist was tabbed third with 47 ahead of the Colorado School of Mines (43) and the rest of the nine women's teams.
 
In the men's poll, CMU's men received all four possible first place votes to take the poll with a maximum 16 points while 2019 runner-up Oklahoma Baptist was second with 12.  Oklahoma Christian and Mines tied for third with eight ahead of Adams State, re-starting their men's program this year.
 
The nine women's coaches ranked their opposition 1-8 without voting for their own squad while the five men's coaches ranked their opposition 1-4.  Wender's first place votes went to the Dixie State women and Oklahoma Baptist men.
 
Program bests
 
The Mavericks came just short of finishing in the top 10 at last year's NCAA Division II Championships for the first time in program history.  However, the Mavericks did record their best ever finishes in 2019 as the Maverick men finished 11^th while the women took 16^th.
 
National Poll
 
Both Mavericks teams debuted in the top 10 of this year's CSCAA/TYR Division II Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll.  The Maverick women then moved up one spot to ninth in the first and so far only regular season poll, which was announced on Nov. 12.  The Maverick men dropped two spots to 11^th after being tabbed ninth in the preseason.
 
The Maverick women received 97 points in the poll and are the only RMAC team in the top 25.  CSU-Pueblo did pick up a couple of votes as well.
 
CMU's men received 69 points in the poll, which also now includes the Colorado School of Mines in the No. 23 spot.
 
Those polls were designed to weigh head-to-head strength.
 
The polls have not been updated since Nov. 12.
 
Although unofficial and reliant on schools submitting results to the web site, the Maverick men sit sixth in the CollegeSwimming.com Division II Dual Team Rankings with 731.80 points.  The Maverick men are 12^th with 686.85 points.  The Mines men and women are both ranked 17^th in those rankings while Dixie State is 20^th in the women's rankings.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavericks have faced Dixie State in dual meet action just one prior time since the Trailblazers added a program in 2016-17.  CMU won a 175-69 over the then first-year Trailblazers on Jan. 7, 2017 in St. George, Utah.  Although they have not regularly faced in duals, the Mavericks have also finished higher than Dixie State at each of the past four A3 Performance Invitational and all three RMAC Championships in invitational/championship scoring formats.
 
The Maverick women also dominated Mines in recent history defeating the Orediggers in each of the last five dual-meet meetings.  The last of those was on Nov. 1, when the Mavericks defeated them 231 ½-62 ½ as part of a triangular at Air Force.
 
CMU's men have won each of the last 12 duals against the Orediggers, posting a 195-99 win over them on Nov. 1 at Air Force.
 
Home sweet home
 
This weekend's meet will continue a stretch of home events for the Mavericks, who will not have to travel again until the Mar. 10-14 NCAA Division II National Championships.
 
The Maverick women will also host RMAC rival Western Colorado University in their final dual of the season next Saturday (Jan. 18).
 
The Mavericks will then turn their attention to the defense of the conference titles as they will host the RMAC Championships for the first time since 2017 from Feb. 12-15.