M/W Swimming: Mines vs. Adams State – Pueblo, Colo. – Saturday, 11:30 a.m.
W Swimming: Mines at CSU Pueblo – Pueblo, Colo. – Saturday, 11:30 a.m.

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LET THE SEASON BEGIN
The 2023-24 competition season for the Colorado School of Mines Men's and Women's Swimming teams begins this Saturday in Pueblo, Colo. The Oredigger women will swim in a tri meet against the host ThunderWolves and Adams State. Mines' men will go head-to-head in a dual format against the Grizzlies. First gun is set to sound at 11:30 a.m. inside the Sam Jones Aquatic Center.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
As of the writing of this preview on Thursday, no live coverage had been made available for Saturday's meet.
 
ORDER OF EVENTS
Saturday's slate includes a total of 11 events with two relays and nine individual races. Warmups in Pueblo, Colo., will begin at 10 a.m. with the first gun at 11:30 a.m. The 200-medley relay, 1,000-freestyle, 200-freestyle, 50-freestyle, and 400-IM will bring the meet into its first break. Following that will be the 200-butterfly, 100-freestyle, 200-backstroke, and 500-freestyle before the second and final break. Rounding out the day will be the 200-breaststroke and 400-freestyle relay.
 
SCORING FORMAT – DUAL MEET
There will be two different scoring formats used for Saturday's meet which will determine the team winners/rankings. On the men's side, it will be straightforward with standard dual meet scoring between Mines and Adams State. For relays, point values of 11-4-2 will be awarded based on order of finish. Individual events will award values of 9-4-3-2-1 based on order of finish. The team with the most points after all 11 events wins the dual.
 
SCORING FORMAT – TRI MEET
Scoring for the women will be in tri-meet format which includes a bit more nuance. If the author understands his research correctly, scoring in the women's races will go as follows. Values of 6-3-1 will be awarded for relays with 4-3-1 given out for individual events. Points will be awarded based on order of finish in comparison to the other teams. For example, Jorie Selig wins the 100-free, CSU Pueblo swimmer finishes second, and an Adams State swimmer gets third. Selig would earn eight total team points for Mines with four tallying in the competition against ASU and four more counting in the competition with CSU Pueblo. The CSU Pueblo swimmer would earn four team points for scoring against Adams State, but only add three points to the team total against Mines. Also notable are entry limits which help keep a team from loading events and racking up the score. Men's limits include three relay teams per event and up to three athletes per individual race. Women's limits include two relay teams per event and up to two athletes per individual event. For both sides, individuals can enter up to three events including relays and individual races. And there you have it, clear(ish) as can be.
 
IN THE POLLS
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference released its preseason coaches' polls last month. Mines' women were picked #2 thanks to 52 points. The Oredigger men were tied for #2 with 17 points and one first-place vote. Colorado Mesa was tabbed #1 on both the men's and women's side. Last season, the Mines women claimed silver and the men grabbed bronze. As of Thursday, Oct. 12, the national polls had not been released by the Collegiate Swimming Coaches' Association of America (CSCAA). The final national rankings of 2022-23 featured Mines' women at #16 and the men at #19 after the women finished #22 at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships while the men placed #30 in the nation.
 
NEW MAN ON DECK
Okay, so he's not all that new, but assistant coach Joel White was elevated to a fulltime role on staff earlier this fall following a national search, and thanks to the support of the Colorado School of Mines administration. White has served as a part time coach for the Orediggers since 2019, helping Mines' men and women produce 19 all-American finishes at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships along with numerous All-RMAC swims, pool records, program records along the way. He brings an extensive and impressive resume to the newly-formed fulltime role including stops at the University of Texas, University of Utah, Notre Dame and the University of Denver. Check out White's entire profile HERE.
 
AT THE HELM
Colorado School of Mines Swimming Head Coach Claire McDaniel enters her fifth season at the helm for the Oredigger men and women. McDaniel won her third straight RMAC Coach of the Year on the women's side after guiding the Orediggers to team silver at the 2022-23 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships. She also owns two RMAC Coach of the Year awards on the men's side. Through four seasons, McDaniel has coached five RMAC Swimmers of the Year, four RMAC Freshmen of the Year, and 19 all-American performances including 16 individual events and three relays.
 
VASTLY VETERAN
The 2023-24 roster for Mines swimming features 18 women and 22 men. That makes a total of 40 Orediggers in the pool. Thirty six of those student-athletes are returners from the 2022-23 season. Highlighting the list of familiar faces are Jordan Tierney, Kerrigan Hemp, Annie Osmun, Jorie Selig, Emi Jedryka, Garrett Waite, and Charles Burroughs who were all-Americans in 2022-23. Also among the returners are 10 All-RMAC swimmers including all four legs of six different All-RMAC relays.
 
FRESH FACES
Julie Gill and Zooecia Phoebus arrived this fall as true freshmen for the women's team. Gill made the journey to Colorado from Bellingham, Wash. Phoebus is a native of Nasville, Tenn. On the men's side, the newcomers include Kevin Burns, Lucas Hoke, Joseph Lev-Tov, and Oliver Theby. Burns arrived at Mines by way of W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Va. Hoke comepeted for Grand Oaks High School in Spring, Texas. Lev-Tov is a Colorado product out of Boulder and Fairview High School. Theby brings flavors of Evansville, Ind., to the team.
 
CONTINUING THE TRADITION
Jordan Tierney was selected as the RMAC Women's Freshman of the Year for the 2022-23 season which made her the fourth straight Oredigger to win the award. It was part of a historic and record-setting season for Tierney. She competed in seven evnets at the 2023 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships and produced three CSCAA Second-Team All-America finishes including in the 200-breast and as part of the 400-freestyle relay and 400-medley relay. Tierney also brought home five All-RMAC awards with three first-team finishes, two second-team finishes and four total medals. She grabbed RMAC silver in the 100-breast, 200-breast, and as part of the 400-medley relay. The Delaware native finished her debut campaign for the Orediggers with her name in the record book four times. As a true freshman Tierney toppled the program's top marks in the 100-breast, 200-breast, and as part of the 400-medley and 200-freestyle relays
 
HISTORIC SEASON
The 2022-23 campaign was one of the greatest in program history. A schedule of training and tapering began in October with the first highlights of the season coming at the TYR/CMU Invitational in Grand Junction, Colo., where the Orediggers broke two program records and produced multiple NCAA-qualifying times. The next highlights came at the 2023 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships, back in Grand Junction, Colo. Mines' women were runner-ups and the men claimed team bronze behind a total of 29 All-RMAC performances. That led to the 2023 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships where Meghan Slowey, Jordan Tierney, Garrett Waite, and Charles Burroughs all earned individual all-American status. Additionally, Kerrigan Hemp, Tierney, Annie Osmun, Jorie Selig, Emi Jedryka, and Slowey provided legs on all-American relays. The final results saw the Oredigger women finish #22 in the nation with 27 points while the men took #30 thanks to 10 points.
 
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
Under Head Coach Claire McDaniel, rewriting the program record book has become a bit of a tradition. In 2022-23 alone, the men and women combined to break 16 program records (many on multiple occasions). The list of record-breaking swimmers from 2022-23 includes Garrett Waite (200-IM), Charles Burroughs (100-fly, 200-fly), Sam LaPrade (50-back), and Jakson Winn (100-back). Additionally, LaPrade, Waite, Seth Krause, and Winn teamed up and broke the 200-medley relay record. Waite, Winn, Michael Kietzman, and Joe Peak did the same in the 800-free relay. The latest contributors to the women's record book include Meghan Slowey (1650-free), Annie Osmun (200-IM), Kerrigan Hemp (100-back, 200-back), and Jordan Tierney (100-breast, 200-breast). Hemp, Camery Schmidt, Annie Osmun and Jorie Selig took down the 200-medley relay record. Hemp, Tierney Osmun, and Selig did the same in the 400-medley relay. Rounding out the revisions were Osmun, Selig, Schmidt, and Tierney in the 200-freestyle relay.
 
UP NEXT
The next action for Mines swimming will its home opener on Saturday, Oct. 21, against Colorado Mesa. Breast Cancer Awareness will be the theme of the duals. First gun is slated for 3 p.m. Free live video will be offered on the RMAC Network at www.minesathletics.com/tv. A full preview will be released the week of the event at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines swimming on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @MinesSwimming. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.