M/W Swimming at CMU Last Chance Meet – Grand Junction, Colo. – Saturday, 10 a.m. [Live Results]

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ONE LAST CHANCE
It's back to Grand Junction, Colo., this weekend for the nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines Men's and Women's Swimming teams. With the regular season and conference championships in the books, only Saturday's CMU Last Chance Meet remains. The event, hosted by Colorado Mesa in the same pool as the RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships, represents the final opportunity for a small group of Orediggers to record NCAA times fast enough to qualify for the national meet. An initial wave of diving starts at 9 a.m. with swimming prelims at 10 a.m. A set of "finals" will go off later in the day for those who want more racing.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Due to scheduling overlaps and the nature of Saturday's event, live results will be the only coverage available. Those are linked above and at www.minesathletics.com.
 
THE FORMAT & FIELD
It's not a dual and there is no team scoring, but there will be prelims and finals. There will also be time trials at the end of the day for those who wish to partake. Overall, the day's environment will be laid back with a smaller field, but swimmers will be laser focused on improving their season-best times for a shot at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships. When it's all said and done, competitors will be racing against the clock, and the clock alone. As of Friday, representatives from Alaska Fairbanks, Colorado Mesa, Mines, and Western Colorado were scheduled to be in attendance.
 
OREDIGGER LINEUP
Mines' roster for Saturday will be small. Joseph Lev-Tov and Julie Gill will race the 1650-free. Jakson Winn is entered in the 100-back with hopes to lower is program record from a week ago. Freshman phenom Jennifer Pierson looks to drop her outstanding 200-free time that she posted in the distance relay at the conference championships. Senior swimmers and butterfly specialists Jaron O'Grady and Max Waring are both entered in the 200-fly. The goal for the Oredigger men is to post a time ranked inside the top-20 in the nation. Mines' women are shooting for a top-28 time.
 
CONFERENCE RECAP
Last week, the nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines Men's and Women's Swimming teams raced at the 2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships in Grand Junction, Colo., on the campus of Colorado Mesa. After five days and nine sessions of racing, Mines' men took second and the women placed third in the team standings. Colorado Mesa swept both team titles. The Orediggers produced countless highlights including multiple program records, numerous NCAA "B" times, and a plethora of medals and All-RMAC finishes. Vladislav Kazakin topped the list of acmes as he brought home RMAC gold for Mines' men in both the 1000-free and 500-free while breaking (and breaking again) programs records in the 200-free, 500-free, and 1000-free. The women brought down the program record in the 200-freestyle relay as well. Saturday's final race saw the Oredigger men shatter the program's 400-freestyle relay record with the first sub-3:00 time in Mines' history. Fans should note this recap is not considered comprehensive and are invited to review the daily stories from the championships at www.minesathletics.com.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
A new batch of national rankings came out earlier this month. The latest College Swimming and Diving Coaches' Association of America (CSCAA) Division II Top 25 dual meet poll saw Mines' men and women hold strong at #23 and #18, respectively. Both rankings match each team's best ranking of the current academic year. Tampa's men and Colorado Mesa's women topped their respective lists. Colorado Mesa's men are ranked #4 with Simon Fraser's men at #18. Simon Fraser's women are ranked #13 and Oklahoma Christian's women's squad is receiving votes. The polls are voted on by a committee consisting of Division II coaches and 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.
 
ACADEMIC ACCOLADES
Both the Oredigger men and women were named Scholar All-America Teams on Feb. 3 by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches' Association of America (CSCAA). The Oredigger men and women claimed the distinction thanks to their combined work in the classroom. Mines' 22-man roster worked together for a team grade-point average (GPA) of 3.49 for the term. Nineteen Oredigger women posted a team GPA of 3.61 for the fall. The prestigious recognition requires a team to achieve a GPA above 3.0 during the fall 2024 semester.
 
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.
 
AT THE HELM
Colorado School of Mines Swimming Head Coach Claire McDaniel is in 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 women'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.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines' men and women will wait until Wednesday, Feb. 26, to find out which Orediggers are selected to compete at the 2025 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships. The national committee will announce the selections on Feb. 26 with the national meet running March 11-15 in Indianapolis, Ind. All postseason updates and any awards will be announced 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.