GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Ranked amongst the top five in Division II, the Colorado Mesa University swimming and diving teams will wrap up the dual-meet portion of their season this weekend when they head to the state of Utah for a pair of tri-meets against NCAA Division I opposition.
 
The Mavericks, ranked fourth in the latest CSCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Men's Poll and fifth on the women's side, will be in Provo on Friday afternoon to take on host BYU and the University of Denver.  The Mavs will then head up to Salt Lake City to face Pac-12 Utah and Denver once again on Saturday.
 
Friday's tri-meet will begin at 2 p.m. at BYU's Richards Building Pool and will feature a 16-event format (details below).  Saturday's action in the Ute Natatorium will commence at 11:30 a.m. and will again feature a 16-event slate.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks were last in action on Jan. 7, when they competed at Air Force and against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival Colorado School of Mines.
 
The Maverick women extended their now 6-year long RMAC dual-meet winning streak to 32 with a comfortable 188-51 win over the Orediggers and managed a 121-121 tie with the Division I and host Falcons after winning each of the final five events of the night.
 
CMU's women won eight of the 13 events overall as 6-time NCAA Division II All-Americans Lily Borgenheimer, later named as the RMAC Women's Swimmer of the Week, and Lauren White were both double winners.  Katerina Matoskova, the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Ruby Bottai, Julie Day, Logan Anderson and Davy Brown and divers Ali Lange and Jolynn Harris also claimed event wins as Borgenheimer set another NCAA Division II Championship qualifying mark in the 400-yard individual medley, her sixth different national qualification event.
 
Meanwhile, the Maverick men posted a 149-97 win over Mines to extend their now 6-season RMAC winning streak to 12.  However, CMU, without many of their top swimmers, were unable to knock of the Falcons, who claimed a 136-104 win.
 
CMU freshman led the way as Jacob Troescher, named as the RMAC Men's Swimmer of the Week, posted a dominating 1,000-yard freestyle win while Andrew Scoggin and Jeremy Koch went 1-2 in the 100 back.  Troescher also took second in the 500 free as the Mavericks claimed eight total runner-up finishes throughout the evening.  Divers Tanner Belliston and Noah Luna also combined for three national qualification scores on the diving boards as Luna went on to be tabbed as the RMAC Men's Diver of the Week while becoming the fifth Maverick diver to secure a trip to the NCAA Division II pre-championship qualification meet.
 
COVID policies
 
Fans are welcome at both of this weekend's meets although they must wear masks at both.  Fans must also be vaccinated to attend the BYU meet.  See BYU's COVID-19 webpage at https://www.byu.edu/coronavirus/ for details.
 
Meet Formats
 
Friday's 16-event format includes the 400 medley relay, 1000 freestyle, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, 50 free, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 100 fly, 200 IM and 400 free relay swimming events as well as 1 & 3 meter-diving competitions.
 
On Saturday, the teams will swim 200-yard relay distances in the relays and the 400-yard individual medley while the other events will be the same.
 
One from history
 
With the win over 16^th-ranked Mines on Jan. 7, the Maverick men claimed their eight dual meet win of the season to match the 2011-12 (8-4) and 2013-14 (8-7) CMU teams for the most wins in a single season in program history.  CMU, currently 8-3 overall, could set a new program record if they are able to win one of this weekend's four duals.
 
The Mavs, who already hold one Division I win over Air Force, will finish the year a perfect 6-0 against fellow NCAA Division II opposition and went 4-0 in RMAC duals this season, defeating Mines three times and Adams State once.
 
Rare Tie
 
The Mavericks' 121-121 women's tie against Division I Air Force marked the first time since Jan. 12, 2015 and just the second time in program history that the Mavs have tied a dual.  However, and quite amazingly, the Mavericks have now had a tie in each of their last two competitions as they tied another Division I opponent in 8-time defending Western Athletic Conference Champions Northern Arizona over four days of the A3 Performance Invitational back in November.
 
The Jan. 7 tie with Air Force also marked the first time in 20 all-time meetings that the Falcons had not defeated CMU.
 
32 Straight and matching a record
 
With the 188-51 win over 24^th-ranked Mines, the Maverick women extended their RMAC dual meet winning streak to 32, a stretch that goes back six years to Jan. 22, 2016.  CMU, now 11-6-1 overall, will also complete a sixth straight season with a perfect RMAC dual record.  This year's 7-0 conference mark matches the 2009-10 team's RMAC record, the best in program history.  That team went 13-6 overall and currently holds the program record for dual wins in a season, something the Mavericks could match if they are able to claim two wins out of the four results this weekend.
 
CMU, which also has a win and a tie against Division I opposition this season, is also already assured of a perfect record against competition at their own level, going 9-0 against Division II foes this years.
 
New Year, New High
 
The Maverick men and women both ended 2021 and began 2022 with their highest ever national rankings.  Both Maverick squads were ranked fourth in the Dec. 9 edition of the CSCAA (College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America) NCAA Division II polls. 
 
The Maverick men then remained in the No. 4 spot of the most recent poll, released last Thursday (Jan. 13) while the women dropped one spot but still remained in the top 5.
 
The Maverick men are the highest of three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference squads in the top 25 poll with Oklahoma Christian and the Colorado School of Mines currently occupying the 17^th and 21^st spots.  The Mavericks are the only RMAC team in the latest women's poll although Mines is just outside the top 25 as the top team in the "others receiving votes" category.
 
New rankings are scheduled to be released on Feb. 9, which is the same day that the RMAC Championships begin.
 
In the clouds
 
The Mavericks are also highly ranked in the Swimcloud rankings, which are based on season-best times submitted to the web site.
 
The Maverick men are still ranked fourth in both the dual meet and championship meet rankings as of Wednesday (Jan. 19)  CMU's women continue to sit seventh in dual meet rankings and are eighth in the championship rankings.
 
Record Book Re-Write
 
The Mavericks certainly got the proverbial red pen out as they re-wrote major portions of their record book, combining to set 15 new school records during the A3 Performance Invite in November.
 
A listing of all of the new school-records set during the meet can be found below.
 
The Mavericks also set a multitude of other program top-10 performer times during the meet.  The updated top 10 lists can be seen at these links (MEN – WOMEN).
 
Men
100 Back- Ben Sampson (46.36*)
200 Back- Ben Sampson (1:42.71*)
200 Free Relay- Sampson, Lane Austin, Mado Elkady, Felipe D'Orsi (1:20.05)
200 Medley Relay- Sampson, Mahmoud Elgayar, Dejan Urbanek, D'Orsi (1:27.04)
400 Medley Relay- Sampson, Elgayar, Urbanek, Matheus Laperriere (3:12.76*)
50 Back- Sampson (21.75#)
50 Fly- Urbanek (22.39$)
 
Women
200 Free- Lauren White (1:49.18*#)
500 Free- Kelsea Wright (4:55.78*)
1000 Free- Amelia Kinnard (10:10.59*)
100 Back- White (54.92*)
200 IM- Lily Borgenheimer (2:01.94*)
400 Free Relay- White, Ruby Bottai, Wright, Davy Brown (3:23.53*)
800 Free Relay- White, Wright, Katerina Matoskova, Bottai (7:24.42*)
50 Back- White (25.69#)
 
*-Altitude-Adjusted Time
#-Relay Lead-Off Split
$-Beginning Split from Longer Race
 
Fastest-Ever Division II American
 
Ben Sampson's 100-yard backstroke time of 46.46 seconds that he turned in during the A3 Performance Invitational moved him into the No. 6 spot on the all-time Division II top performers' chart.  The Arvada, Colorado native is also the fastest-ever American Division II swimmer as each of the top five and eight of the top 10 swimmers are foreigners.
 
Sampson also leads this year's Division II performers list in the 200 back at 1:42.71.
 
See you in Greensboro
 
While Ben Sampson and Lily Borgenheimer lead Division II with their automatic or "A" standard marks for this year's NCAA Division II National Championships, they are far from the only Mavericks who are in good position to earn a trip to the Mar. 9-12 national meet in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
A total of 26 (17 men, 9 women) different Maverick swimmers in 26 (all 14 men's, 12 women) different individual events have met the NCAA provisional or "B" cut standard.  The Mavs, who have an impressive 65 such "B" cut or better times from those individuals also have eight different swimmers and two divers who rank in the top 10 nationally.  That group covers 17 different events.
 
Additionally, the Mavericks have set a NCAA qualifying time in eight (5 men's, 3 women's) of the ten different relay events and have five divers in Tanner Belliston, Kyra Apodaca, Jolynn Harris, Ali Lange and Noah Luna who have also locked up a spot at the NCAA Division II Championship pre-championship qualification meet as well.  The results of that meet, held on the eve (Mar. 8) of the national meet, determine the diving qualifiers into the official championship field.
 
Here is the a look at the Maverick individuals who rank in the top 10 nationally as of Wednesday.
 
Men
200 Free- Matheus Laperriere (1:36.43, 3^rd), Kuba Kiszczak (1:37.04, 8^th)
500 Free- Dejan Urbanek (4:23.65, 2^nd)
100 Back- Ben Sampson (46.36, 1^st)
200 Back- Sampson (1:42.71, 1^st)
200 Fly- Urbanek (1:46.13, 6^th)
200 IM- Sampson (1:47.65, 7^th)
1m Diving- Belliston (486.80, 2^nd)
3m Diving- Belliston (496.50, 6^th)
 
Women
200 Free- Lauren White (1:49.18, 3^rd), Kelsea Wright (1:50.34, 6^th)
500 Free- Wright (4:55.78, 10^th)
1000 Free- Amelia Kinnard (10:10.59, 5^th)
100 Back- White (54.92, 9^th)
100 Breast- Lily Borgenheimer (1:01.98, 4^th)
200 Breast- Borgenheimer (2:12.71, 1^st)
200 IM- Borgenheimer (2:01.94, 7^th)
1m Diving- Jolynn Harris (475.11, 1^st); Ali Lange (451.20, 5^th)
3m Diving- Harris (457.80, 5^th)
 
*- All times are altitude adjusted
$- Diving Ranks are based on 11-dive scores submitted to Swimcloud
 
Conference Leaders
 
The Mavericks appear to be the favorites to repeat their RMAC team titles this year and currently have the RMAC's top performer in 21 of the 28 individual swimming events that will be contested at the RMAC Championships, which the the Mavericks will host for the third straight year from Feb. 9-12 in the El Pomar Natatorium.
 
They also have the top diving performer in all four diving disciplines and the top time in all ten relays events.
 
Here is the look at all of the Mavericks' RMAC leaders entering this weekend.
 
Men
50 Free- Ben Sampson (20.10)
200 Free- Matheus Laperriere (1:36.43)
500 Free- Dejan Urbanek (4:23.65)
1000 Free- Gavin Anderson (9:24.80)
1650 Free- Anderson (15:45.02)
100 Back- Sampson (46.36)
200 Back- Sampson (1:42.71)
100 Fly- Urbanek (48.09)
200 Fly- Urbanek (1:46.13)
200 IM- Sampson (1:47.65)
400 IM- Jake Simmons (3:57.37)
200 Free Relay- Sampson, Lane Austin, Mado Elkady, Felipe D'Orsi (1:20.05)
400 Free Relay- Sampson, Laperriere, D'Orsi, Austin (2:58.77)
800 Free Relay- Laperriere, Kuba Kiszczak, Logan Ellis, John Walgast (6:35.18)
200 Medley Relay- Sampson, Mahmoud Elgayar, Urbanek, D'Orsi (1:27.04)
400 Medley Relay- Sampson, Elgayar, Urbanek, Laperriere (3:12.76)
1m Diving- Tanner Belliston (486.80*)
3m Diving- Belliston (496.50*)
 
Women
50 Free- Julie Day (23.80)
100 Free- Lauren White (51.06)
200 Free- White (1:49.18)
500 Free- Kelsea Wright (4:55.78)
1000 Free- Amelia Kinnard (10:10.59)
100 Back- White (54.92)
200 Back- White (1:59.85)
100 Breast- Lily Borgenheimer (1:01.98)
200 Breast- Borgenheimer (2:12.71)
200 IM- Borgenheimer (2:01.94)
200 Free Relay- Day, Logan Anderson, Ruby Bottai, Izzy Powers (1:34.48)
400 Free Relay- White, Bottai, Wright, Brown (3:23.53)
800 Free Relay- White, Wright, Katerina Matoskova, Bottai (7:24.42)
200 Medley Relay- White, Borgenheimer, Brown, Powers (1:42.47)
400 Medley Relay- White, Borgenheimer, Bella Walters, Brown (3:47.82)
1m Diving- Jolynn Harris (475.55*)
3m Diving- Harris (457.80*)
 
*11-Dive Scores
 
Returning All-Americans
 
After claiming all-time program-best finishes of 11^th (men) and 12^th (women) at the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, the Mavericks appear to be quite strong once again this season with the return of 17 athletes, who have previous earned all-America honors in 2021 and/or prior seasons.
 
The list of returning all-Americans men includes diving selections Tanner Belliston and Isaiah Cheeks, as well as swimming standouts Lane Austin, Felipe D'Orsi, Mahmoud Elgayar, Logan Ellis and Matheus Laperriere.
 
The CMU women are even deeper with the return of all-Americans Logan Anderson, Lily Borgenheimer, Davy Brown, Sarah Fillerup, Katerina Matoskova, Robyn Naze, Lauren White and Kelsea Wright in the swimming events as well as Jolynn Harris and Ali Lange on the diving boards.  Harris finished second on the 1-meter board at last year's national championships while Borgenheimer and White each won six CSCAA All-America certificates last year to co-set the program record for honors in a single season.
 
Defending Champions a plenty
 
The Mavericks have a host of returning RMAC Champions who will look to defend their titles in February.  On the men's side, the Mavericks won 17 events in 2021 and return the champions in ten of  the 12 individual events they won to this year's team.  That list includes Gavin Anderson (1000 & 1650 free), Matheus Laperriere (200 Free, 500 Free, 200 IM), Ben Sampson (50 Free, 100 Back), Mahmoud Elgayar (100 Breast, 200 Breast) and Jake Simmons (400 IM).  The Maverick men also swept all five of the relay events last season and return 18 of the combined 20 legs from those quartets.
 
The Maverick women won a meet-high nine events last season, and like their male counterparts, swept the relay wins.  Lily Borgenheimer (200 IM, 200 Breast) and Lauren White (200 Free) return as do 12 combined legs from the winning relay teams.
 
Series History/About the Opponents
 
BYU (Men)
 
The Cougars claimed a 197-136 win over Air Force in a 2-day home dual last Friday and Saturday.  They had finished second at the Dixie State Invitational to wrap up the 2021 portion of the season.
 
They also defeated the Mavericks, 285-124 during the multi-team Intermountain Shootout to begin the season and are a perfect 13-0 all-time in duals against the Mavs.
 
Denver (Men)
 
The Pioneers have not competed since Dec. 3-5, when they took fourth out of six teams at the Big Al Invite, hosted by Princeton.  They were scheduled to compete at Wyoming last week but that meet was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
 
The Mavs have not faced DU since Oct. 12, 2019 and the Division I Pioneers are 3-0 all-time against the Mavericks in full swimming and diving meets, all of which have been in Denver.  However, CMU did win a 28-10 diving dual on Jan. 11, 2019.
 
Utah (Men)
 
The Utes are 0-3 in dual meets this season and had meets at Arizona State and Arizona last week thwarted by COVID-19.  They had won the Big Al Invitational in December, winning the 6-team meet by 60 points over the host Princeton Tigers.
 
Utah is 8-0 all-time against the Mavericks, claiming a 191-52 win last year on Jan. 23 in the most recent meeting, which also took place in Salt Lake City.
 
BYU (Women)
 
The Cougars claimed a 191-155 win over Air Force in a 2-day home dual last weekend after ending the 2021 portion of the year with a fourth place finish at the Dixie State Invitational.
 
The Cougars are 10-0 all-time in dual meets against the Mavs, having claimed a 245-165 win during the Intermountain Shootout to begin this season after squeaking out a 122-121 decision in Provo on Jan. 22 of last year.
 
Denver (Women)
 
The Pioneers were last in action at the Big Al Invitational in Princeton, finishing third out of seven teams with 639 points.
 
They won their eighth straight Summit League title in 2020-21 and are 5-0 all-time against the Mavericks.  One of those results was a diving meet only.  The last head-to-head match-up with CMU came on Jan. 12, 2019, when the Pioneers claimed a 218-80 win over the Mavs.
 
Utah (Women)
 
The Utes are 0-2 in dual meets this season, dropping decisions to national power houses Stanford and California early in the season.  They also had meets in Arizona scheduled for last week thwarted by COVID-19 issues.
 
Similar to the Ute men, the women won the Big Al Invitational, taking the 7-team women's meet by 156 points with a score of 1,005.
 
The Utes are 4-0 in duals with the Mavs, winning 160-64 last year (Jan. 21) in Salt Lake City.
 
Up Next
 
After this weekend's meets, the Mavs will continue preparation for the RMAC Championships, which they will host in the El Pomar Natatorium from Feb. 9-12.  Single day tickets and championship passes are now available through the RMAC website and the conference's championship page.
 
CMU's teams will both be gunning for their fourth consecutive conference titles.