GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University swimming and diving teams turned in 27 more NCAA Division II Championship qualifying times and 23 top three finishes, including four event wins during another solid day of performances at the Intermountain Shootout on Saturday here at the El Pomar Natatorium.
After winning Friday's meet, the Maverick squads both finished second behind only BYU but were well ahead of Division I foe Utah and the rest of the field in Saturday's meet, which was scored separately.
The Maverick men posted 15 NCAA "B" cut times as
Titouan Bernot (500 Free) and
Richard Schmiedefeld (200 Back) both recorded wins leading the Mavs to 171 team points. BYU scored 198 while Utah was third with 100. Adams State rounded out the men's team field with 12 points.
Meanwhile, the Maverick women received wins from
Rachel Allen (50 Breast) and
Melina Giraudeau (200 Breast) while scoring 170 points, just 13 fewer than the BYU Cougars. Utah was third with 78 ½ while Division I Utah Tech took fourth with 49 ½. Adams State and Western State also competed but did not record any team points, awarded for top eight finishes.
CMU's women also combined for a dozen NCAA Championship "B" cut marks and 11 top-three finishes.
Men's Recap
The Mavs started the meet with a third place time of 1:27.95 from Schmiedefeld,
Denny Woods,
Xander Zappas and
Marcos Otero in the 200-yard medley relay.
Bernot then won the 500 freestyle in 4:28.97 (4:23.97-converted) to take over the No. 8 spot in program history while leading five NCAA provisional qualifiers. Senior Jonas Freiss (4:26.84-converted) and freshmen
Jakob Werner (4:28.97-converted),
Austin Felio (4:31.26-converted) and
Brody Blatt (4:32.18) all set "B" cut times as well.
Woods then took second in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 25.11 seconds, just ahead of Otero's third place mark of 25.30.
Micah Moore then paced CMU in the 50 butterfly, placing fourth in 22.15 seconds.
Brazilian sophomore
Daniel Bordin then took second in the 100 free with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 44.17 seconds (44.07-converted) to rank eighth in CMU history.
Juniors
Ben Vester and
Miles Moran then posted "B" cut marks in the 400 individual medley. Vester finished third in 3:57.47 (3:52.47-converted) while Moran was fifth in 3:58.92 (3:53.92-converted)
Schmiedefeld and Bennett then went 1-2 in the 200 backstroke with the German junior winning in 1:47.30 (1:46.10-converted). Bennett was timed in 1:48.05 (1:46.85-converted).
Zappas then added a "B" cut time of 48.40 (48.30-converted) seconds to grab second in the 100 fly before Otero and Woods finished second and third, respectively, in the 200 breaststroke. Otero touched in 2:00.70 (1:59.50-converted) while Woods was just behind in 2:00.74 (1:59.54-converted).
Zappas now ranks tenth in CMU history in the 100 fly.
The Mavs then set a NCAA qualifying time of 2:56.20 (2:55.80-converted) in the 400 free relay as Bernot added a NCAA "B" cut time of 44.60 (44.50-converted) as the lead-off leg.
Meanwhile,
Wyatt Hermanson led a group of five Maverick divers with a fifth place score of 264.30 points in the 3-meter event, which was officially trimmed to six dives.
Women's Recap
The Maverick women also got off to a quick start as
Taylar Hooton, Giraudeau,
Caden Kelly and
Reagan Horn combined for a time of 1:43.27 in the 200 medley relay.
The Mavs then picked up a trio of NCAA "B" cut times along with a 3-4-5 finish in the 500 free. Sophomore Linnea Sjoberg, swimming out of the third heat, led the way with a time of 5:04.67 (4:59.67-converted).
Hanna Sasivarevic (5:05.07/5:00.07-converted) and freshman
Eveline Grannis (5:05.40/5:00.40-converted) were just slightly slower.
Allen then highlighted a 1-2-4-5 effort in the 50 breaststroke, winning in 29.28 seconds, ahead of Giraudeau (29.70),
Georgia Hatzenbeller (30.04) and
Ava Bains (30.28).
Kelly was next and took second in the 50 fly with a time of 24.76 seconds before the Mavs combined for nine more NCAA "B" cut times in each of the final six swimming events.
Kendyll Wilkinson started that run with a third place time of 52.01 seconds (51.91-converted) in the 100 free before Giraudeau took second in the 400 IM with a mark of 4:28.09 (4:23.09-converted). Teammate
Gabby DeLuna also added a NCAA provisional mark of 4:34.04 (4:29.04-converted) to finish fourth.
Sophomore
Abby Uhl then turned in one of the Mavs' seven second place efforts, posting a NCAA "B" cut time of 2:01.91 (2:00.71-converted) in the 200 back.
Kelly, a freshman out of Germantown, Wisconsin, then moved into the fifth spot of CMU history in the 100 fly, touching second in a NCAA provisional time of 55.72 seconds (55.62-converted).
Giraudeau then picked up her win in the 200 breast, with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:15.39 (2:14.19-converted) while Allen and Hatzenbeller also set "B" cut times to take fourth and fifth place, respectively. Allen was clocked in 2:20.02 (2:18.82-converted) and now ranks tenth in program history while Hatzenbeller finished in 2:20.19 (2:21.39-converted).
Kelly, Wilkinson, Horn and Sasivarevic then finished second in the 400 free relay.
In diving,
Jenna Hurley led the Mavs for the second straight day, taking fourth on the 1-meter board with 227.05 points.
Emma Lence was fifth with 213.40 points on six dives.
Up Next
The Mavericks will resume their season in two weeks, splitting their squads between two meets on Colorado's Front Range. The CMU men will take on the Colorado School of Mines in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual on Oct. 16 in Golden while the Maverick women will compete in Fort Collins against Division I foes Colorado State and Washington State in a triangular on Saturday, Oct. 17.
