M Swimming & Diving: #20 Mines at Denver – Denver, Colo. – Friday, 1 p.m. [Watch]
W Swimming: #12 Mines at Denver – Denver, Colo. – Friday, 3 p.m. [Watch]

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BACK IN ACTION
The Colorado School of Mines men's and women's swimming & diving teams have been off from competition for more than 40 days. That hiatus ends Friday when the Orediggers return to the pool and ring in the new year with a dual at the University of Denver. Diving starts at 1 p.m. with racing for the men and women at 3 p.m. Friday marks the first of three competitions leading up to the RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships in February. Mines will look to knock of the rust at DU and start preparing for a postseason push.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Fans can watch Friday's action for free on DU's YouTube page which is also linked above. Live stats can be tracked with a subscription to the MeetMobile app.
 
STANDARD DUAL
Mines and Denver are the only two programs competing on Friday making it a standard dual-meet format in regard to diving, racing and scoring. Diving will take up the first two hours of action after a 1 p.m. start. Swimming begins at 3 p.m. with the race order listed below.
 
RACE ORDER
According to the University of Denver's athletics homepage, Friday's swimming slate includes a total of 11 events with nine individual races bracketed by a pair of relays. The tentative order of events is below.
- 200-medley relay
- 1000-free
- 200-free
-50-free
- 200-IM
- 200-fly
- 100-free
- 200-back
- 500-free
- 200-breast
- 400-freestyle relay
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Orediggers' last appearance in the competition was the TYR/CMU Invitational and a diving dual in Grand Junction, Colo., in November. The invite lasted four days with three sessions of action each day. Saturday also brought a standalone diving dual with the Mavericks featuring Mines' Bruno Albertoni. Mines' men finished second in the invite with 988 points, and the Oredigger women were third thanks to 780 points. However, the scores weren't the focus, but a bevy of NCAA-qualifying times and numerous program records dictated success for Mines. Along the way, Valdislav Kazakin won the men's 500-free, and 1650-free, Anna Bream won the women's 400-IM, and Mikaela Khan won the women's 200-fly in a field featuring NCAA Division I Northern Arizona's women and both of Colorado Mesa's nationally ranked squads.
 
REWRITING RECORDS
As stated above, the TYR/CMU Invitational produced multiple program records and a major overhaul of the Oredigger record books. On the women's side, Cameryn Schmidt broke the 50-free record, Anna Bream broke the 400-IM record, and four different relay records went down. Mary Flikkema, Schmidt, Kaya Flaherty, and Jordan Tierney teamed up in the 200-medley relay. It was Flaherty, Tierney, Schmidt, and Jennifer Pierson in the 200-freestyle relay. The 400-freestyle quartet was made up of Tierney, Ava LaBrose, Flaherty, and Pierson. LaBrose, Pierson, Michelle Murphy, and Bream rounded things out in the distance relay. On the men's side, Charlie Krone went off and captured Mines' 200-free and 100-fly records. Jakson Winn struck twice in the 50-back and 100-back. The men had three relay records as well. Winn, Joe Hutchinson, Krone, and Dan Berke did the work on the 400-medley relay. Brenden Cook, Winn, Berke, and Jack Fulham toppled the 200-freestyle relay mark. Krone, Cook, Cameron MacMillan, and Vladislav Kazkin were the record-breaking foursome on the 800-freestyle relay.
 
THAT'S NOT ALL
Prior to the mid-season invite, the Orediggers were already slaying records. Vladislav Kazakin brought down the Mines Natatorium record in the 500-free on opening weekend. The return of Oredigger diving saw Bruno Albertoni break the program's best score in the 1-meter, six-dive event in his very first collegiate action. Ava LaBrose provided the women a facility record in the 200-free as well – a mark previously held by Oredigger star Mia Wood.
 
BUTTERFLY EFFECT
A number of program records broken at the TYR/CMU Invitational were reset multiple times between prelims, finals, and relay leadoffs. However, the most exciting exchange was arguably the women's fastest mark in the 200-fly. On the final day in Grand Junction, Colo., the program record in the 200-fly exchanged hands four times. Mikaela Khan started by breaking her own record in prelims of the 200-fly. One prelim heat later, Kaya Flaherty topped Khan's time. Then, during the evening "B" finals, Savannah Karas put her name at the top of the list. In the end, Khan reclaimed her record in the 200-fly by winning the entire event in 2:02.28 which also fell under the NCAA-qualifying standard. Khan's previous collegiate best in the event, without adjustment for altitude, was 2:05.87 against Colorado College.
 
#1 IN THE NATION
As of Dec. 31, 2025, Anna Bream's altitude-adjusted 4:18.23 in the 400-IM ranks #1 in all of NCAA Division II this season. She produced the mark while racing to gold at the TYR/CMU Invitational in November. Additionally, Bream is #5 in DII in the 200-IM and #9 in the 200-breast. While Bream is the Oredigger ranked #1 in any event, she's not the only one ranked top-10 in the nation so far this season. Julie Gill is #10 in the 1000-free, Mary Flikkema is #10 in the 50-back, Jordan Tierney sits #5 in the 100-breast, Mikaela Khan ranks #6 in the 200-fly, and the women's 800-freestyle relay from the TYR/CMU Invitational is #6 in DII. On the men's side, Vladislav Kazakin leads the way, sitting #5 in the 1000-free, #6 in the 1650-free, and #8 in the 500-free.
 
NATIONALLY RANKED
The Colorado School of Mines men's and women's swimming & diving teams both made significant jumps in the December edition of the College Swimming and Diving Coaches' Association of America's (CSCAA) Division II Top 25 Dual Meet Rankings. The Oredigger men went from receiving votes to #20 in the nation. Mines' women leapt from #18 to #12. Both improvements come after an extremely successful November trip to the TYR/CMU Invitational in Grand Junction, Colo, where both teams overhauled their respective program record books. The polls are voted on by a committee consisting of Division II coaches and are 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. Drury's men and Tampa's women each checked in at #1 in the nation. Colorado Mesa was the only other RMAC squad in the men's poll, slotting at #6. Fellow RMAC squads in the women's rankings included #3 Colorado Mesa and #16 Simon Fraser with Oklahoma Christian receiving votes.
 
DIVING RETURNS
Earlier this fall, Mines announced the return of men's and women's NCAA Division II diving starting this season. Katherine Andrie will coach and look to regrow the program in the coming years. The history of Mines diving includes 12 all-Americans, an individual national champion, one of the first women in Mines Athletics, and multiple members of the Harry D. Campbell Oredigger Hall of Fame. A few of those hall of fame members include NCAA Division II National Champion Rick Williamson, former head coach Bob McCandless, the 1983 Women's Swimming & Diving team, and the Men's Swimming & Diving teams from 1981-84. That rich history threads perfectly with the current goals of the program and the department.
 
HOW DIVING WORKS
In full disclosure, the author has only recently learned the basics of competitive diving. Fans should note there are numerous nuances beyond what's laid out below. In college diving, there are two basic types of diving competitions – six dive competitions and 11 dive competitions. In those events, divers either perform six dives or 11 dives to collect a total score determined by the judges. The very basic types of dives include forward, back, reverse, inward, and twisting. Those terms refer to how the competitor begins their dive. After determining how the dive starts, there are also somersaults, or rotations. Along with somersaults and rotations, there is the position. The position could be straight, pike, tuck, or free. The later often includes multiple positions. All of those things are announced before the dive through a series of numbers along with a letter to clarify straight, pike, tuck, or free. In six dive competitions, all dives are optional and can be picked by the competitor. In 11 dive formats, there are six optional dives and five voluntary, or designated, dives  Also, everything mentioned above can happen on a one meter board or a three meter board. Mines does not have platform diving. And with that, the author has exhausted his understanding of diving. Good luck.
 
STAFF UPDATES
Mines Head Coach Claire McDaniel bolstered her swimming & diving staff during the offseason. The newcomers include Katherine Andrie, Brad Shannon, and Graham Walker. Andrie, as previously introduced, will serve as the men's and women's diving coach. Shannon arrives at Colorado School of Mines as McDaniel's top assistant. Walker competed as a student-athlete for McDaniel at the University of Denver and has since gained coaching experience around the metropolitan area. The trio joins veteran Oredigger assistants Andy Foley and Colin Fenster.
 
MEET KATHERINE ANDRIE
As referenced above, Coach Andrie will serve as the lead lady for the Mines diving teams. She joins the staff with both an impressive résumé as a diving coach, and a personal familiarity with Colorado School of Mines. Two of her children, Marty and Carlie, attended Mines and competed for the Orediggers. Marty was a nine-time all-American in cross country and track & field and a member of the 2015 Men's Cross Country team which won the NCAA Division II Championship. That team was inducted into the Harry D. Campbell Oredigger Hall of Fame in 2023. Carlie competed in triathlon and for the club water polo team during her time at Mines. On deck, Coach Andrie boasts multiple decades of high school and club coaching experience with stops at numerous high schools in the Denver area including Valor Christian, Littleton, Douglas County, Smoky Hill, and more. She was named East Metro Diving Coach of the Year in 2011 and CHSAA 4A Dive Coach of the Year in 2018.
 
MEET BRAD SHANNON
Shannon arrived in Golden, Colo., over the summer following two years as the head man at William Peace University in North Carolina. He and his staff earned 2024-25 Independent South Swimming Conference Men's Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding WPU's men to second-place finish at the conference meet while the women took team bronze. The Pacer's 2023-24 squads combined for six gold medals at the ISSC meet and broke nine program records. Prior to William Peace, Shannon was an assistant at the University of Rochester from 2019-23. Additional professional experience includes work as a counselor at both the University of Florida and N.C. State swim camps. Collegiately, Shannon competed at Ohio State University and earned Ohio State and Big Ten Scholar Athlete distinction all four years. He was a USA Swimming Olympic Trial Qualifier in 2016 as well. He owns a bachelor's degree in international studies with a specialization in security and intelligence from OSU. Shannon earned his master's degree from Concordia Chicago in applied exercise science. Fans can read more about Shannon's accomplishments in his online bio.
 
MEET GRAHAM WALKER
Walker joins the Oredigger staff following an elite amateur and collegiate swimming career. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Walker represented Team Kenya at both the All-Africa Games and the Commonwealth Games. He went on to compete for the University of Denver under coach McDaniel. His high-level performance in the pool also led to serving as team captain his final two years with the Pioneers. Walker's coach career started while he was still in college, teaching swimming lessons, and continued after graduation. He eventually accepted a formal coaching role with the University of Denver Hilltoppers Swim Club in 2022. Since then, Walker coached multiple state champions and program record holders. He returned to DU as an assistant coach in 2024 and helped oversee conference titles and continued competitive success. Fans can also find his bio online.
 
AT THE HELM
Colorado School of Mines Swimming Head Coach Claire McDaniel is in her seventh season at the helm for the Oredigger men and women. McDaniel won her fourth RMAC Coach of the Year on the men's side after guiding the Orediggers to team silver at the 2024-25 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships. She also owns three RMAC Coach of the Year awards on the women's side. Through six seasons, McDaniel has coached five RMAC Swimmers of the Year, four RMAC Freshmen of the Year, and 27 all-American performances including 23 individual events and four relays.
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers host their final dual of the season on Saturday, Jan. 10, with the men taking on Air Force and the women facing Western Colorado. A full preview and live coverage will be available the day before at www.minesathletics.com.
 
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.