GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After a record-setting and victorious overall performance at last month's home invitational, the Colorado Mesa University swimming and diving teams will take their show on the road to the entertainment capital of the country, competing in Las Vegas at the UNLV Invitational.
The meet will run for four days from (Saturday-Tuesday, Dec. 16-19) in UNLV's Buchanan Natatorium and Jim Reetz Pool and will wrap up the fall semester portion of the Mavs' season.
Live streams can be found on the
UNLV Athletics YouTube Channel. The specific links for each day can be found below.
Live results can be accessed via MeetMobile or through the UNLV Rebels' website at this link:
https://sidearmstats.com/unlv/swimming/index.htm
Who's Competing
The Mavericks are one of seven men's and nine women's teams. The rest of the field will be Division I squads, including the host Rebels. Arizona, Cal Baptist, Hawai'I, Pacific, Seattle will also compete as will the Loyola Marymount and New Mexico women.
Meet Format
Swimming
The 4-day meet will begin on Saturday afternoon with a lone course time trials session at 2 p.m. PST (3 p.m. Mountain). More about that later.
The bulk of the meet will then be held Sunday-Tuesday with preliminary swimming heats on the traditional college format of short course or 25-yard (SCY) course starting at 9:30 a.m. PST (10:30 a.m. MST) each morning. A swimming finals session will then be held each evening, starting at 5 p.m. PST (6 p.m. Mountain). Time trials will also be offered following each evening session.
The top 24 finishers from the preliminaries will contest the finals with those in the top 8 contesting the "A" championship final while those who place ninth through 16
th contesting the consolation or "B" final. The 17
th-24
th place finishers will contest a non-scoring Bonus "C" Final.
Another "D" final will be held for the women's 50 and 100 freestyle events.
Individual swimmers may score in up to six individual events and on all relays, but are limited to two individual entries per day. Relay entries are unlimited for each school, but only the "A" and "B" teams will score.
Team points will be awarded on the typical invitational/championship scoring format with the top 16 finishers scoring on the 20-17-16-15-14-13-12-11; 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Relay team points are doubled with 40 going to the winning team.
Diving
Diving sessions will be held on Sunday and Monday with preliminary round sessions beginning at 1 p.m. PST (2 p.m. Mountain) on both days. Consolation finals will begin immediately following while a championship finals session being held both evenings, starting at 8 p.m. PST (9 p.m. Mountain).
The women's 1-meter and men's 3-meter will be contested on Sunday while the women's 3-meter and men's 1-meter will be held on Monday.
A complete meet schedule and information packet
can be found here.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks were last in action at the TYR/CMU Invitational, which they hosted from Nov. 15-18 in their El Pomar Natatorium. The Maverick teams swept the team titles for the seventh straight year.
CMU's men, who have now won 12 of the 13 editions of the annual meet, scored 1,508 ½ team points, nearly doubling NCAA Division I Wyoming's second place total of 767 and scored more than the Cowboys and third place Colorado School of Mines (696), combined.
The CMU women also won the team title for the tenth time overall, scoring 1,107 points, to finish 139 clear of the Wyoming Cowgirls. Another Division I squad in Northern Arizona took third with 788.
The Maverick squads combined to win 23 of the 42 events and racked up 57 top-3 finishes. The CMU men won 13 events and had 33 top-3 finishes, more than the rest of the field, combined. The CMU women won 10 events and led all schools with 24 top-3 finishes.
The Mavs also took down 18 school-records during the meet and used it to qualify numerous members for the NCAA Division II National Championships, which was the primary goal of the meet, which the Mavs more than met.
Daily Recaps of the Meet can be found at the links below:
Day 1 (Nov. 15)
Day 2 (Nov. 16)
Day 3 (Nov. 17)
Day 4 (Nov. 18)
In the polls
The Maverick women were ranked second in the
latest CSCAA Division II Top 25 Dual Meet Ranking poll, which was released during, but not factoring in the TYR/CMU Invitational results. They had also been ranked second in the pre-season rankings.
CMU's men are currently ranked fifth in the poll after occupying the No. 3 spot in the preseason poll.
The Maverick women are one of three RMAC teams in the top 25 with Oklahoma Christian sitting in the No. 9 spot while Simon Fraser is ranked 13
th. Oklahoma Christian's men are ranked seventh while Simon Fraser is 17
th. The Colorado School of Mines is receiving votes in both poll.
A new edition of the monthly poll is due to be released this Friday afternoon.
Swimcloud No. 1
The Maverick women have a chance at moving up to the No. 1 spot in Friday's poll and currently sit in the No. 1 spot of the
Swimcloud rankings for both duals and championships. Those rankings are mathematically based on times reported to the website, which is a key part of the CSCAA Poll Committee's ranking thought process. The Maverick women are ranked nearly 20 points ahead of Tampa in the championship ranking while defending national champion Nova Southeastern is third. Nova Southeastern is ranked second in the dual rankings ahead of Indianapolis and Tampa.
The CMU men are ranked second behind Drury in the championship rankings and sit third behind Tampa and Drury in the dual rankings.
"A" for Automatic
Three Mavericks set six combined NCAA Division II Championship "A" cut times during the TYR/CMU Invitational. The highly-coveted and difficult to reach "A" standards automatically qualify a swimmer for the NCAA Division II Championships. It also guarantees that swimmer a chance to swim in other events that they have reached the "B" or provisional qualifying standard at the national championships, which will be held in March in Geneva, Ohio.
An overwhelming majority of the other national qualifying swimmers do not reach the "A" standards but are high enough on the national performers list to receive an invitation. Similarly, these invited swimmers are then eligible to compete in other events, provided they have met the "B" standard.
Here is a look at the Mavs' automatic qualifiers from the TYR/CMU Invitational, with their altitude-adjusted times.
Ben Sampson (100 Back-45.80; 200 Back- 1:39.63, 200 IM, 1:42.04; 400 IM-3:40.20)
Agata Naskret (100 Back- 52.96)
Benedict Nagy (400 IM- 4:11.96)
Top of the D2 World
Ben Sampson, last year's CSCAA Division II National Swimmer of the Year, is once again dominating the scene and currently leads the country in five individual championship events, including the four listed above. He also paces the country in the 200 free at 1:35.42, but will be limited to competing in four individual events at the national championships. Sampson also leads Division II in the 100 IM, a non-championship event that will be contested during the UNLV Invite.
Sampson is not the Mavs' only national leader as Naskret and Nagy both lead the country with their aforementioned times as well. Nagy also leads Division II in the 200 IM at 1:59.65.
The Maverick women also lead the country in four of the five relay events, sitting atop the top times report in the 200 medley (1:39.97), 400 medley (3:39.43), 400 free (3:21.15) and 800 free (7:14.17) relays.
Record Setters
The Mavericks combined to set 18 new school-records during the TYR/CMU Invitational as Sampson broke seven of his own in individual events and as the lead-off on Maverick relays. Including in the record-setting efforts were eight new relay records out of ten events, a true testament to the Mavs' overall strength, that is becoming more and more evident.
The Mavs also set two new diving school-records.
Here's a list of all the new Maverick records by event, set during the TYR/CMU Invitational.
Men
200 Free-
Ben Sampson (1:35.42)
200 IM- Sampson (1:42.04)
400 IM- Sampson (3:40.20)
200 Free Relay- Sampson,
Kuba Kiszczak,
Jameson McEnaney,
Austin Patterson (1:19.23)
400 Free Relay- McEnaney,
Aziz Ghaffari, Kiszczak,
Jackson Moe (2:56.31)
200 Medley Relay- Sampson, Kiszczak,
Dejan Urbanek, McEnaney (1:26.19)
400 Medley Relay- Sampson,
Mauricio Posadas, Urbanek, Ghaffair (3:10.83)
1-Meter Diving-
Isaiah Cheeks (629.15)
50 Back#- Sampson (21.01)
Women
50 Free-
Ada Qunell (23.26)
100 Back-
Agata Naskret (52.96)
400 IM-
Benedict Nagy (4:11.96)
400 Free Relay-
Lauren White,
Olivia Hansson,
Izzy Powers, Qunell (3:21.15)
800 Free Relay- Qunell, Hansson,
Katerina Matoskova, White (7:14.17)
200 Medley Relay- Naskret,
Maddi Moran,
Kiara Borchardt,
Elli Williams (1:39.97)
400 Medley Relay- Naskret, Moran, Borchardt, Qunell (3:39.43)
3-Meter Diving-
Kenya Meyer (522.20)
50 Back#- Naskret (24.30)
#-Non Championship Event
Top 10's
Including their national-leading marks, the Mavs also combined for 47 times that currently sit amongst the top 10 in Division II this season.
Here's the breakdown of all those times, according to the official NCAA Division II Top Times report as of Wednesday.
Men
200 Free- 1.
Ben Sampson (1:35.42), 4.
Aziz Ghaffari (1:35.71)
500 Free- 8.
Dejan Urbanek (4:24.99)
1000 Free- 6.
Jacob Troescher (9:16.45), 8.
Gavin Anderson (9:18.92)
100 Back- 1. Sampson (45.80), 6.
Andrew Scoggin (47.38)
200 Back- 1. Sampson (1:39.63), 6. Scoggin (1:44.02), 9.
Luka Samsonov (1:45.43)
200 Breast- 10.
Marcos Otero (1:59.50)
200 Fly- 6. Urbanek (1:47.16)
200 IM- 1. Sampson (1:42.04)
400 IM- 1. Sampson (3:40.20), 10.
Aron Jonsson (3:54.36)
200 Free Relay- 4. Sampson,
Kuba Kiszczak,
Jameson McEnaney,
Austin Patterson (1:19.23)
400 Free Relay- 4. McEnaney, Ghaffari, Kiszczak,
Jackson Moe (2:56.31)
800 Free Relay 1. Sampson, Kiszczak, Urbanek, McEnaney (6:26.89)
200 Medley Relay- 3. Sampson, Kiszczak, Urbanek, McEnaney (1:26.19)
400 Medley Relay- 3. Sampson,
Mauricio Posadas, Urbanek, Ghaffair (3:10.83)
Women
50 Free- 9.
Ada Qunell (23.26)
100 Free- 4. Qunell (50.34), 6.
Lauren White (50.40)
200 Free- 4. Qunell (1:48.68), 6. White (1:48.81), 7.
Katerina Matoskova (1:48.91), 9.
Olivia Hansson (1:49.52)
500 Free- 2. Hansson (4:51.80), 4. Matoskova (4:52.35)
1000 Free- 2. Hansson (10:08.93), 8.
Haven Hinkle (10:16.14)
100 Back- 1.
Agata Naskret (52.96), 2. White (54.04), 8. Matoskova (54.91)
200 Back- 2. White (1:57.84), 4. Naskret (1:58.17), 5. Matoskova (1:58.24)
100 Breast- 10.
Maddi Moran (1:03.19)
200 Breast- T10.
Ellie Wilke (2:18.69)
200 IM- 1.
Benedict Nagy (1:59.65)
400 IM- 1. Nagy (4:11.96), 5.
Sophia Bains (4:21.74)
200 Free Relay- 4. Qunell,
Elli Williams,
Izzy Powers, White (1:32.17)
400 Free Relay- 1. White, Hansson, Powers, Qunell (3:21.15)
800 Free Relay- 1. Qunell, Hansson,
Katerina Matoskova, White (7:14.17)
200 Medley Relay- 1. Naskret,
Maddi Moran,
Kiara Borchardt,
Elli Williams (1:39.97)
400 Medley Relay- 1. Naskret, Moran, Borchardt, Qunell (3:39.43)
Going Long
As mentioned earlier in this preview, Saturday's portion of the meet will be a long course time trials session held on a 50-meter course. Although uncommon in collegiate swimming, such events and pools are the worldwide standard and Saturday's time trials will give the Mavericks' American swimmers a chance at setting qualifying marks for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials while also providing their foreign-born swimmers a chance to set marks for their various international or Olympic aspirations.
Each nation handles their Olympic and other international team selections differently, but here's a look at the
U.S. Olympic Trial standards, some of the most stringent in the world considering the U.S.'s general strength and depth in the sport.
Although LCM (Long Course Meter) and SCY (Short Course Yards) times and not directly comparable as a meter is nearly 10 percent (9.4) longer than a year and there are half as many wall touches than in a typical collegiate race, any times set in Saturday's session will be permitted for NCAA Championship qualifying purposes based on procedures and the corresponding charts in the NCAA Division II Qualifying Standards Documents
Men-
https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/sports/swimdive/d2/2023-24D2MSW_QualStandards.pdf
Women-
https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/sports/swimdive/d2/2023-24D2WSW_QualStandards.pdf
USA Swimming only permits times set in an LCM format to be used for Olympic Trials qualifying purposes, so this Saturday's session will be a rare in-season opportunity for a collegiate swimmer to achieve such a time. Although the LCM formats are somewhat novel to the collegiate scene, they will not be unusual for the collegiate swimmers in general, as most grew up in and still compete in such meet formats over the summer months in the club and youth swimming scenes.
Booked to Indy
The U.S. Olympic Trials will be held Indianapolis from June 15-23 and
Ben Sampson has already secured a trip in the 100-meter backstroke after posting a time 55.24 seconds at the USA Swimming Futures Championship in San Antonio.
The Mavs were also represented at the last set of Olympic Trails as
Lily Borgenheimer competed in the 2020/21 trials for the Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled for 2020 but contested in 2021.
Diving Qualifiers
The Mavericks also had a fine diving showing during the TYR/CMU Invitational. Eleven different Maverick divers (6 men, 5 women) surpassed the NCAA Division II Pre-Championship qualifying standards.
In order to qualify for the Pre-Championship meet in Geneva, Ohio, divers must set both an 11-dive qualifying score and a 6-dive qualifying score. Those scores must be from separate meets.
Isaiah Cheeks, who broke the Mavs' school-record on the 1-meter board, had already qualified at earlier meets. His freshman teammate
Jax Juarros has now joined him after reaching his 6-dive requirement in the Nov. 4 dual at Wyoming and his 11-dive score during the TYR/CMU Invitational.
Aidan Coon,
Wyatt Hermanson,
Ty Mitton and
David Roethlisberger now all have the first hurdle out of the way.
On the women's side, freshman
Jenna Hurley is now guaranteed of a trip to Ohio after setting her second needed qualifying score at the home invitational.
Talia Datilio,
Ally Hrncir,
Mimi Licht and
Kenya Meyer, who broke the Mavs' 3-meter record during the invitational, now all have the first of their two needed scores secure.
All-American List
The Mavericks roster or returning all-Americans is quite lengthy and impressive.
Eighteen (10 men, 8 women) of the 27 Mavericks who earned a combined 80 CSCAA All-America honors in 2023 return to this year's lineup. The returning group earned a combined total of 55 (30 men's 25 women's) all-America honors, which go to the top 16 finishers in each event at the national championships, last season. The top eight finishers earn first team honors while the ninth through 16
th place finishers are Second Team/Honorable Mention selections.
Here's a list of CMU's returning all-Americans along with the number of honors each received in 2023 and the total number in their career.
Women
Sophia Bains (1/1)
Kiara Borchardt (3/3)
Olivia Hansson (2/2)
Katerina Matoskova (5/11)
Maddi Moran (1/1)
Izzy Powers (2/2)
Ada Qunell (4/4)
Lauren White (7/23)
Men
Isaiah Cheeks (2/6)
Mado Elkady (3/4)
Wyatt Hermanson (2/2)
Kuba Kiszczak (5/7)
Matheus Laperriere (4/7)
Jackson Moe (1/1)
Ben Sampson (7/14)
Andrew Scoggin (1/1)
Dejan Urbanek (4/8)
Dawson Wilson (2/2)
Site Change, Now at Home
In October, the Mavericks recently learned that the site of this year's RMAC Championships has been moved to Grand Junction and the Mavs' El Pomar Natatorium.
The RMAC meet had originally been scheduled to be held in Lenexa, Kansas but was moved after a determination of the RMAC Swimming and Diving Athletic Administrators Council in the best interest of the league's swimming and diving student-athletes.
The Mavericks and CMU have hosted the last four and ten previous RMAC Championships and will now do so again over five days from Feb. 13-17, 2024.
Up Next
This meet in Las Vegas will wrap up the 2023 portion of the schedule and will be their second and last invitational forma meet of the schedule. The Mavs will return to dual meets competing on Jan. 5, 2024 at Utah in Salt Lake City.
