GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Four-peats.
 
That is what the Colorado Mesa University swimming and diving teams will try to accomplish when they host the 2022 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships, beginning Wednesday morning at the Mavs' El Pomar Natatorium.
 
The Mavericks, hosting the meet for the third straight year, are ranked fourth in the latest CSCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Men's Poll and fifth on the women's side, have swept the team titles at each of the past three conference championship meets and are the favorites to do so again this year.
 
However, associate RMAC member Oklahoma Christian and the Colorado School of Mines are also nationally ranked and are expected to poise the most significant challenges from the rest of the field, which includes a total of eight women's squads and four men's units.
 
Preliminary round swimming sessions will begin at 9 a.m. on each of the four mornings through Saturday while diving preliminaries will be held at 1 p.m. each afternoon.  The event finals will be contested each evening, beginning at 5 p.m.
 
A complete schedule and the ability to purchase tickets can be accessed through the RMAC Championships web page.
 
Live results can be accessed at the link above and a live stream of all 12 sessions can be seen on the RMAC Network, accessed here.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks wrapped up the dual-meet portion of their season on Jan. 21 and 22, competing in a pair of tri-meets against NCAA Division I opposition in Utah.  The Mavs were in the water at BYU on that Friday in Provo before heading up I-15 to face Pac-12 foe Utah in Salt Lake City on that Saturday.  The University of Denver Pioneers also competed in both meets.
 
The Maverick men recorded a 158-141 win over the Pioneers at the BYU meet, which was their second over a Division I squad this season.  They were downed by DU on Saturday and by both BYU and Utah, but still finished the year with a 9-6 dual-meet mark.
 
The nine wins are a new program-record.
 
CMU was undefeated in both RMAC (4-0) and Division II (6-0) duals.  The Mavs' losses came solely against Division I opposition.
 
Meanwhile, the Maverick women went 0-4 in the team-scoring battles against the Division I foes but still finished with a 11-10-1 dual-meet mark reaching double figures for wins for just the second time in program history (13 in 2009-10).  Like their male counterparts, the Mavericks were undefeated against RMAC (7-0) and NCAA Division II (9-0) foes and only suffered defeats to Division I opposition. The Maverick women also defeated Division I Dixie State and tie Air Force earlier in the season.
 
On an individual level, the Maverick men posted a 1-2-3 sweep in the 100-yard backstroke at the BYU tri-meet and had six runner-up finishes.  Lily Borgenheimer won the 200-yard breaststroke and posted three top-3 finishes to lead the Maverick women. 
 
At Utah, Ben Sampson won an event for the second straight day taking the 200-yard backstroke.
 
Meanwhile, Borgenheimer turned in an improved NCAA Division II Championship qualifying time in the 400-yard individual medley while Kelsea Wright, Katerina Matoskova, Dejan Urbanek and the men's 200 free relay team all turned in runner-up finishes.
 
RMAC Dominance & History
 
As mentioned above, the Mavericks have swept the team titles at each of the last three RMAC Championships, including the 2020 and 2021 meets, which were in the friendly confines of the El Pomar Natatorium.  The Mavericks also won the 2019 titles in Lewisville, Texas. 
 
CMU's men had also won at home in 2014 and 2017 and will be gunning for a sixth overall title, which would match the conference record, currently co-held by the Colorado School of Mines and Western Colorado University, who won their titles in the 1970's and early 1980's.  The conference then discontinued sponsorship of the sport after the 1984 meet, before resuming the championships 25 years later in 2009.
 
Neither Mines or Western, which no longer has a men's program, have won a team title on either side since the resumption. 
 
In fact, the Mavericks are the only current RMAC member to have won a team title since the resumption as Incarnate Word, Grand Canyon and Cal Baptist all won earlier men's and women's titles before departing for the Division I ranks.  Former RMAC affiliate member Lindenwood also has one men's title to its credit (2015).
 
A look back
 
In 2021, the Maverick women set a new RMAC Championship record for margin of victory winning by 566 ½ points over Mines.  The Mavericks also finished just seven points shy of the team scoring record of 1,171 ½ points that they had set in 2020.  However, considering that there were no "B" relay points available due to COVID related slimdowns of the meet operations, the 2021 performance can certainly be considered to be the most complete in the RMAC history.
 
The Maverick women, who have eclipsed the 1,000 point mark in each of the their three wins, led wire-to-wire and won nine events claimed 35 combined gold, silver (14) and bronze (12) medals.  The rest of the 8-team field had just 29 medals combined.
 
The Maverick men were just as dominant, winning 17 of the 21 events while scoring 1,115 ½ team points to claim a 304-point victory over Mines.
 
CMU's squads won all ten relay events during the meet.
 
CMU's men set a championship scoring record or 1,261 points in 2019.
 
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 on 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 Wednesday, 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 Friday (Feb. 4).  CMU's women continue to sit seventh in dual meet rankings and are eighth in the championship rankings.
 
The Colorado School of Mines men are ranked 15^th in the championship rankings, one spot ahead of Oklahoma Christian.  The Mines women are ranked 23^rd.
 
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, heading into the RMAC Championships, 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.
 
In previous years, the RMAC Championships have also been very fruitful to the Mavs' national qualifying efforts
 
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 Apodoca, 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, 9^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 (475.55, 2nd); Ali Lange (451.20, 6^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 20 of the 28 individual swimming events that will be contested at the meet.
 
They also have the top diving performer in all four diving disciplines and the top time in all nine of the 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)
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)
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 this year.  On the men's side, the Mavericks won 17 events in 2021 and return the champions in ten of  the 12 individual events that 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.
 
Up Next
 
Barring any late-added last chance meets, the RMAC Championships will conclude the season for many Mavericks.  Those that are in position to qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships will learn their national qualification fate on the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 23.
 
The NCAA Division II National Championships will then be held from Mar. 9-12 in Greensboro, North Carolina.  The pre-championship diving qualification meet will be held on Tuesday, Mar. 8, which will officially qualify the top divers for the national championships.