W Swimming: #25 Mines vs. New Mexico State – Mines Natatorium – Thursday, 4 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Results]

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LET'S GET IT STARTED
The season opener for the 2024-25 season has finally arrived for the Colorado School of Mines Women's Swimming team. After weeks of training and preparation, the Oredigger women will open their campaign at home on Thursday against NCAA Division I New Mexico State. Racing begins at 4 p.m. It's also a Breast Cancer Awareness event. Mines' men will start their competitive season on Friday, Nov. 1, joining the women in a dual at Adams State.
 
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and Mines swimming is doing its part by hosting a "Think Pink" Breast Cancer Awareness meet. At the event on Thursday, fans will see competitors wearing pink swim caps as well as pink t-shirts around the pool. The effort is to keep Breast Cancer – the resources needed to fight it, and the healthy habits to prevent and detect – at the front of everyone's mind. There is no official fundraiser on Thursday, but fans are encouraged to think about and take action against Breast Cancer in a meaningful way to them.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
There will be free live video on the RMAC Network and free live results hosted on SwimCloud. The RMAC Network can be accessed at www.minesathletics.com/tv as well as with apps on all major smart TV platforms by searching RMAC.
 
ORDER OF EVENTS
Thursday's slate includes 14 events with two relays and 12 individual races. The tentative order of events is below.
- 200-medley relay
- 1000-free
- 200-free
- 100-back
- 100-breast
- 200-fly
- 50-free
BREAK
- 100-free
- 200-back
- 200-breast
- 500-free
- 100-fly
BREAK
-400-IM
-200-freestyle relay
 
THE FORMAT
For Thursday, the women will swim one heat of each event listed above. Each team will be allowed three swimmers in each event. Individual swimmers can compete in a maximum of four events. There will only be six lanes of racing with one lane set aside for warming up and warming down with a buffer lane as well. The scoring will be in a dual-meet format based on six lanes. Relays will score 11 points for first, four for second, two for third, and zero after that. Only the best two relays from each team will score. Individual events include nine points for first, four for second, three for third, two for fourth, one for fifth, and zero after that. Only the best three swimmers from each team will score.
 
PRESEASON POLLS
Earlier this month, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) released its preseason coaches' poll for swimming & diving. Mines' women ended up third with 52 points. Colorado Mesa was first with 63 points and seven first-place votes. Simon Fraser took second with 54 points and the other two first-place votes. The Oredigger men were tied for second with Simon Fraser thanks to 18 points and one first-place vote. Colorado Mesa was also picked #1 in the men's preseason poll.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Late last week, the College Swimming and Diving Coaches' Association of America (CSCAA) released its first iteration of the 2024-25 Division II Top 25 dual meet poll. The Oredigger women slotted in at #25. Mines' men were #23. The polls were voted on by a committee consisting of Division II coaches. The list is meant to reflect the top dual meet teams in all of NCAA Division II. The national rankings are not meant to predict the top finishers in a championship meet format. Additionally, Colorado Mesa's women were ranked #1 in the nation. Other familiar faces from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) were in the national rankings as well. On the men's side, Colorado Mesa was #6, Oklahoma Christian was #13, and Simon Fraser was #17. The women's list featured #8 Simon Fraser and #23 Oklahoma Christian.
 
VERY VETERAN
The term "very" may be an exaggeration, but majority of the Oredigger squads are made up of returners and the author likes alliteration. Mines' women have 19 swimmers on the roster, and 13 boast collegiate experience. The veteran women include Isabella Bono, Sophia Buhr, Ava Burger, Julie Gill, Kerrigan Hemp, Emi Jedryka, Savannah Karas, Olivia Kisow, Zooecia Phoebus, Cameryn Schmidt, Jordan Tierney, Kylie VanderMeer, and Maggie Wells. Potentially most notable is Tierney who won national bronze in the 100-breast last spring. The Oredigger men have 22 on their roster and tout 17 returners. That list of veterans includes Kevin Burns, Luca Burns, Jack Engler, Gavin Gilmore, Lucas Hoke, Joe Hutchinson, Michael Kietzman, Ronan Lauinger, Joseph Lev-Tov, Gavin Moore, Mattie Oberley, Jaron O'Grady, Andres Saa, Jake Sherman, Oliver Theby, Max Waring, and Jakson Winn. Arguably topping the list of returners is Lauinger who had multiple all-American finishes last season.
 
SAVVY SENIORS
There are five senior leaders for the women and seven for the men. Isabella Bono, Sophia Buhr, Kerrigan Hemp, Olivia Kisow, and Maggie Wells are the seniors/redshirt seniors on the ladies squad. Jack Engler, Gavin Gilmore, Michael Kietzman, Ronan Lauinger, Jaron O'Grady, Andres Saa, and Max Waring represent the senior men.
 
MEET THE FRESHMEN
Mines Head Coach Claire McDaniel added six true freshmen to the women's roster during the offseason including Eden Addison, Sophia Cristal, Ava LaBrose, Jennifer Pierson, Elizabeth Powers, and Abby Swanson. McDaniel also brought in Brenden Cook, Sawyer Jones, Vladislav Kazakin, Cameron MacMillan, and Lucas Wassdorp on the men's side.
 
NEW MAN ON DECK
Noah Hensley joined the Mines swimming staff over the summer as the second fulltime assistant coach in program history. Hensley brings nearly a decade of experience as a student-athlete and coach at the collegiate level. Most recently, the four-time NCAA All-American was the associate head coach for the men's and women's swimming & diving teams at NCAA Division I Miami University of Ohio. His resume also includes stops at IU Indianapolis (formerly IUPUI) and North Carolina State University where he also competed as a student-athlete. Fans can check out Hensley's full profile HERE.
 
ADDITIONAL ADDITIONS
Head Coach Claire McDaniel enhanced her staff further by hiring assistant coach Jackie Mudd and graduate assistant Colin Fenster. Mudd comes to Mines after competing collegiately at Biola University in California. She's originally from Littleton, Colo., and graduated from Columbine High School. Fenster was a student-athlete at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. That duo, combined with the aforementioned Hensley, join veteran assistant Andy Foley to round out the entire Oredigger staff led by McDaniel.
 
LAST SEASON REWIND
Mines put together another quality, record-setting campaign in 2023-24. The highlights include a pair second-place team finishes for the men and women at the RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships where Coach McDaniel was voted RMAC Men's Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year. That was the precursor to a NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships where the women finished 25th in the nation after scoring the most points in program history at the national meet. Mines' men tied for 34th in the nation. Numerous program and facility records fueled the Orediggers' success along the way.
 
AT THE HELM
Colorado School of Mines Swimming Head Coach Claire McDaniel enters her sixth season at the helm for the Oredigger men and women. McDaniel won her third RMAC Coach of the Year on the men's side after guiding the Orediggers to team silver at the 2023-24 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships. She also owns three RMAC Coach of the Year awards on the men's side. Through five seasons, McDaniel has coached five RMAC Swimmers of the Year, four RMAC Freshmen of the Year, and 25 all-American performances including 21 individual events and four relays.
 
UP NEXT
The next action for the Orediggers features both the men and women taking a trip to Alamosa, Colo. On Friday, Nov. 1, Mines' men and women will go head-to-head with Adams State in a duel. On Friday, it's a second duel with ASU for the men and a tri-meet for the women which includes the Grizzlies and CSU Pueblo. A full preview and any available live coverage information will be posted at www.minesathletics.com the week leading up to the races.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines swimming on "X" (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram at @MinesSwimming. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, "X" and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.