M/W Swimming & Diving at the 2026 RMAC Championships – Tuesday-Saturday (10 a.m. prelims/5:30 p.m. finals)
Hosted by Colorado Mesa [RMAC Network-PPV] [Live Results] [Tickets] [Championship Central]

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2026 RMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Colorado School of Mines men's and women's swimming & diving teams are in Grand Junction, Colo., this week for the 2026 RMAC Championships. Action starts Tuesday night with the 800-freestyle relay at 6 p.m., and runs through Saturday evening. That makes five days and 13 sessions of postseason swimming & diving action with conference hardware on the line.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All five days and 13 sessions of the 2024 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships will be available to watch with a subscription to the RMAC Network. Purchase options include annual, monthly, single-game, and RMAC Championship subscriptions. The annual option is $130 per year with the monthly choice running $25 per month. Single-game passes are $10 per broadcast. The RMAC Championships pass are $15 per day and permits access to all championship broadcasts for 24 hours. There will also be live results available. 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.
 
RMAC NETWORK CHANGES
During the fall, the RMAC Network moved to a pay-per-view model for all events. Fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. For technical support questions, fans can contact Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.
 
GET YOUR GEAR
Another great option to remember the 2026 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships is official gear, and you don't even have to attend to purchase. Fans can check out the RMAC's Online Championship Store for official postseason swag. There are numerous options, size, and pricing options. The swimming & diving-specific store closes Feb. 23, 2026.
 
TICKET OPTIONS
Fans planning to attend this week's action in person have multiple options through the RMAC and Hudl Tickets. A full-price, multi-day GA pass is $55 per person plus a $3.14 service fee. The same option for military members, kids (6-17), and seniors (over 65) is $40 plus a $2.84 service fee. Single-day passes run $16 for general admission and $11 for military, kids, and seniors. All tickets can be purchased on the RMAC website. Following purchase, tickets will be emailed to fans with a QR code. Upon arrival at the venue, scan the QR code on your phone for a frictionless entry. With that in mind, fans are highly encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance.
 
THE FORMAT
Postseason action officially begins with a single session on Tuesday evening which features the 800-freestyle relay. Teams with a "B" seeding will go in the first heat with "A" seeding times going in the second heat. All events for the entire week will feature women first and men second. After opening night on Tuesday, each day will feature three different sessions. On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, swimming prelims start at 10 a.m. each morning. Diving prelims go off at 2 p.m. each day. Finals for all events competed earlier along with relays will start at 5:30 p.m. Fans can view the full, detailed schedule at the meet central page.
 
HOW TO SCORE
The 2026 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships will use the standard collegiate swimming championship scoring structure – used earlier this season at the TYR/CMU Invitational. The top-16 individual swimmers from the swimming preliminaries will advance to the evening finals. In those evening sessions, there will be an eight-person championship final and an eight-person consolation finals. Team points will be awarded to all 16 in the finals in the following amounts with first place getting 20 teams points and 16th place getting one team point (20-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1). Diving events will also be scored in the same manner. It's also worth noting that the 1000-free and 1650-free do not have preliminary rounds. Relay events, which also don't have preliminary heats, are worth double the team points, and "B" relay teams will swim in a separate heat with a shot at ninth place overall. Individual swimmers can score in up to four individual and seven total events. Each team is limited to 18 scoring athletes.
 
AVAILABLE HARDWARE
Awards available this week include First-Team All-RMAC, Second-Team All-RMAC, Swimmer of the Year, Diver of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year. Each recognition will be awarded to each gender. First-Team All-RMAC status goes to the first-place, and second-place swimmers in individual events, and the top-two relay teams as well. Second-Team All-RMAC is earned by the third and fourth finishing swimmers in individual events and the third and fourth relay teams. Swimmer and Diver of the Year are voted on by the coaches with a tie resulting in co-awards. Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year are also voted on by the coaches.

NATIONALLY RANKED
Mines' men and women both maintained their national ranking in the latest polls. The women climbed to #11 and the men jumped to #19. Drury's men and Tampa's women topped their respective lists. Colorado Mesa was the only other RMAC squad in the men's poll, slotting at #4. Fellow RMAC squads in the women's rankings included #3 Colorado Mesa and #16 Simon Fraser.
 
ACADEMIC ACCOLADES
Both the Oredigger men and women were named Scholar All-America Teams on Jan. 20 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' 21-man roster worked together for a team grade-point average (GPA) of 3.44 for the term. The 21 Oredigger women posted a team GPA of 3.55 for the fall. The prestigious recognition requires a team to achieve a GPA above 3.0 during the fall 2025 semester.
 
REWRITING RECORDS
Earlier this season, 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.
 
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 next event on Mines' schedule is the CMU Last Chance Meet on Saturday, Feb. 21. That will set the stage for the 2026 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships Mach 10-14 in Evansville, Ind.
 
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.