GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University swimming & diving teams got off to a freakishly fast start and used some strong depth to post a pair of team wins against the rest of the Intermountain Shootout field, which included three NCAA Division I squads, including Big XII Conference foes BYU and Utah.
 
The Maverick teams combined for 23 NCAA Division II Championship "B" cut times and had newcomers combine for eight new marks on the program's all-time top ten charts.  They also won seven events and combined for 35 first, second and third place finishes while sweeping the top three spots in both the men's and women's 200-yard butterfly disciplines on Friday evening here at the El Pomar Natatorium.

The Maverick men, coming off a program-best third place finish at last year's NCAA Division II National Championships, scored 200 points to defeat BYU by 24.  Utah finished third with 93 while Adams State took fourth with 12 points.
 
Meanwhile, the Maverick women, who also took third at the national meet in March, scored 188 points, largely behind 19 top-three finishes, and outscored BYU by 14 ½.  Utah finished well back in third with 86 ½ points while another Division I squad Utah Tech took fourth with 31.  Western Colorado scored two points to finish fifth while Adams State failed to score a team point.

Men's Meet Recap

The Maverick men won five of the day's 11 events, first grabbing victory in the 200-yard freestyle from French newcomer Titouan Bernot, who posted a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:36.89 (1:35.69-altitude adjusted) to take over the No. 5 spot in program history.  Fellow newcomer Daniel Bordin, who hails from Brazil, was second in 1:38.66 (1:37.46-converted) to join Bernot on the national list.
 
The Mavs also put down two NCAA "B" cut times in the 200 individual medley as Ben Vester finished third in 1:49.58 (1:48.38-converted) while freshman Brady Bennett debuted in 1:50.33 (1:49.13-converted) to place fifth.
 
The Mavs also took second and third in the 100 back with junior Richard Schmiedefeld leading the charge in 49.15 seconds after setting a NCAA "B" cut mark of 48.38 seconds (48.28-converted) as the lead-off leg on the Mavs' second place 400 medley relay team.  Meanwhile, CMU newcomer Andrew Carlile took third in 49.34 seconds after posting a lead-off split of 49.21 seconds (49.11-converted) to move into the No. 10 spot of CMU history during the medley relay.
 
Marcos Otero then won the 50 free in a "B" cut time 20.11 seconds as the Mavs took four of the top five spots with five different Mavericks going under 21 seconds.
 
The Mavs also added another "B" cut time in the 100 breaststroke as freshman Denny Woods turned in a fourth-place time of 55.06 seconds (54.96-converted) while taking over the No. 10 spot in program history.
 
The Mavs then swept the top three and four of the top five spots in the 200 butterfly with sophomore Micah Moore, the 2025-26 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, leading the way in 1:48.14 (1:46.94-converted).  Bennett was right behind in 1:48.81 (1:47.61-converted).  Nathan Knobelspiesse (1:48.18-converted) and Brazilian freshman Vitor Baltazar (1:48.44-converted) also set NCAA "B" cut times.  Bennett and Baltazar now rank sixth and seventh in program history, respectively.
 
CMU continued the winning streak in the 100 individual medley with Vester taking victory in 49.92 seconds ahead of a pair of BYU Cougars and Bernot, who finished fourth in in 50.53.
 
The Mavs then won the 200 free relay with a NCAA qualifying time of 1:19.42 as Schmiedefeld, Otero, Bordin and freshman Emerson Tully combined for a convincing victory.
 
However, the Mavs were not done as freshman Jackob Werner took second in the 1,000 free with an impressive time of 9:14.64 (9:03.24-converted), which was less than a half-second off the school record that program great Sam Bryant has held since 2017.
 
However, Werner was out-touched by BYU strongman Tanner Nelson, who broke his own pool record with a time of 9:10.06.  CMU freshman Austin Felio also set a NCAA "B" cut time of 9:34.49 (9:23.09-converted) in his first meet.
 
In 1-meter diving, returning all-American Giana Benoit led the Mavs with a fourth place score of 259.55 points over six dives.
 
Women's Meet Recap

The Maverick women were only able to win two events but used seven second and ten third place finishes to push past the rest of the 6-team field.
 
The Mavs got off to a solid start in the 400 medley relay taking both second and third place behind BYU's squad that broke a pool record with a time of 3:39.68.  The Mavs' primary combination of Abby Uhl, Melina Giraudeau, freshman Caden Kelly and Kendyll Wilkinson was second in 3:45.33 while the "B" squad took third in 3:48.23, edging BYU's secondary squad.
 
The Mavs then combined for three NCAA "B" cut times in the 200 free as Hanna Sasivarevic (1:49.72-converted) took second ahead of Swedish sophomore Linnea Sjoberg, who added a "B" cut time of 1:50.73 (converted) while finishing third.  Wilkinson also posted a provisional time of 1:51.46 (converted).
 
Australian freshman Rachel Allen then set the first of her two No. 9 ranking times in CMU history to finish second in the 200 IM.  She finished that race in 2:05.31 (2:04.11-converted) while Giraudeau and Wilkinson tied for third in 2:06.63.
 
Taylar Hooton then took second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.67 seconds while Uhl was third in 56.80.
 
Kelly then paced the Mavs in the 50 free, taking third in 23.71 seconds before Giraudeau claimed the first CMU women's win in the 100 breaststroke.  The school-record holder and 2026 national runner-up finished in a "B" cut time of 1:02.97 (1:02.87) converted.
 
Georgia Hatzenbeller also took third with a solid effort of 1:04.31.
 
Allen then led a 1-2-3 Maverick sweep in the 200 fly, touching in 2:05.07 (2:03.87-converted).  She and senior Sydnee O'Neill, who finished second in 2:05.58 (2:04.38-converted) both set "B" cut times while Gabby DeLuna finished third in 2:06.85.
 
Giraudeau then finished third in the 100 IM with a mark of 58.39 seconds before Horn, Kelly, Hooton and Uhl took second in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:33.23.  Horn's 50 free lead-off split of 23.51 seconds also eclipsed the NCAA provisional qualifying standard.
 
Freshman Eveline Grannis then set the Mavs' final NCAA "B" time of the night in the 1,000 free, taking second in 10:29.07 (10:17.67-converted).  Sasivarevic (10:34.11) and O'Neil (10:34.36) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
 
Meanwhile, Jenna Hurley took third in the 3-meter diving event, scoring 233.55 points, just ahead of teammate Emma Lence, who scored 233.85.

Up Next
 
All six women's and four men's teams will do battle again on Saturday in a separately scored meet, which will begin at 10 a.m.