On day 1 of the Colorado Mesa invite, the host team won 2 events, highlighted by Sky Hirsch‘s 20.99 in the 50 free. The meet continues Friday and Saturday. California Baptist leads on the men’s and women’s sides after day 1.
Colorado Mesa:
GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. – The Colorado Mesa University swimming and diving teams won two events during day one action at the Colorado Mesa University Invite Thursday (Nov. 19).
The Mavs finished one-two in the 50 free with Sky Hirsch winning in a time of 20.99, and Justin Hastingsfinishing second in 21.21.
The duo joined Ethan McNally and Ryan Gifford to finish second in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:24.81.
Ethan McNally swam a strong second half of the 200 individual medley to finish second with a time of 1:55.06.
Ryan Gifford placed sixth in the 500 with a time of 4:44.61.
Diving was a bright spot for the Mavericks. Sage D’Ambrosia won the three-meter with an NCAA Qualifying score of 467.25. Abby Smith also earned an NCAA Qualifying score of 390.75 to place second on the one-meter.
Ross Barringer finished fifth (317.15) on the men’s three-meter, and Amanda Grisby placed sixth (285.00) on the women’s one-meter.
Sami Lenzmeier and Abbie Porter finished ninth (5:13.74) and 10th (5:14.69) in the women’s 500 free.
Eryn Leonard finished 10th (24.74) in the 50 free, and Danielle Fournier was 12th (2:14.40) in the 200 individual medley.
The men’s 400 medley relay team of Ethan McNally, Parker Twiss, Kyle Johnston and Sky Hirsch finished third in a time of 3:33.60.
The women’s 400 medley relay of Sami Lenzmeier, Abbie Porter, Danielle Fournier and Riley Koldenhovenfinished fifth in a time of 4:06.20.
The women’s 200 free relay team of Eryn Leonard, Marissa Bradley, Riley Koldenhoven and Lia Barskey finished fifth in 1:41.77.
California Baptist and Colorado Mines are first and second in both the men’s and women’s team standings.
Colorado Mesa ranks third on the men’s side.
On the women’s side, Western State is third, CSU-Pueblo fourth and Mesa in fifth.
The CMU Invite continues Friday and Saturday.
Adams State:
Day One Preliminaries | Day One Final Results
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (November 19th, 2015)— The Adams State University Grizzlies men’s and women’s swimming teams traveled to Grand Junction to compete in the CMU Invite, hosted by the Mavericks. Currently the women sit in sixth place with 88 points. California Baptist University currently leads the women’s team with 317 points. The men are currently in fifth position with 41 points. California Baptist also leads the men with 370 points.
The first event of the meet started with the Grizzly women competing in the women’s 200-yard relay. The team of Marissa Mantzey, Kayle Mashore, Erin Henderson, and Harley Ruiz took sixth with a combined time of 1:42.67. California Baptist took first in this event after a combined time of 1:35.90.
Mantzey would then go on to take third in the women’s 50-yard freestyle with her time of 24.42. She would only be .41 seconds off of the first place time.
Erica Norton then took ninth in the B-final of the women’s 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:12.63. Norton, Mantzey, Mashore, and Anne Seaholm would be a part of the 400-yard medley relay team that would finish in forth with a time of 4:03.36.
Colby Clark got things started for the men after taking 13th in the 500-yard freestyle B-final, with his time of 4:59.16. Joe Guerrero would swim to a 15th place finish in the B-finals of the men’s 200-yard IM.
Clay Denney then represented the Grizzlies in the men’s 50-yard freestyle, where he finished in 12th in the B-finals. His time was 22.73.
Denney, Guerrero, Clark, and Alan Jackman would comprise the Grizzly men’s 400-yard medley relay team that would go on to take forth place with a time of 3:37.45.
Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties with the live stats for today’s events, but fans can follow the action tomorrow by visiting www.asugrizzlies.com.
Colorado Mines:
Three program records fell as Colorado School of Mines opened the three-day CMU Invitational at Colorado Mesa on Thursday.
Taking on the rest of the RMAC at the site of this season’s conference championships, Mines excelled in nearly every event. Through the first day, both the Mines men and womens sit in second place overall, with the men compiling 252 team points and the women 214. California Baptist leads both sets of standings.
WOMEN’S HIGHLIGHTS
Carrie Kralovec broke the CSM 500-free mark, Britt Holloway set a new 50-free standard, and the women’s 400 medley relay capped Thursday night with a record finish to highlight the day.
Kralovec touched in 5:09.89, taking a half-second off teammate Hillary Knaebel‘s mark set at last year’s RMAC Championships to finish third in the 500-free. Holloway laid claim to being Mines’ fastest woman with her 24.13 touch in the 50-free, shaving 14-hundreths off Alanna Erickson’s year-old record as she finished second in the event. The two then anchored the 400 medley relay with Sarah Berude and Katrin Gallup, finishing second in 3:52.82 to take more than a second off the old time of 3:54.18 set last season.
Other top finishes in the evening finals included the 200-free relay, which was second in 1:37.31 and Gallup’s third-place 2:09.45 in the 200-IM.
MEN’S HIGHLIGHTS
The men used their depth to compile 252 team points on the opening day. Mines’ 200-free relay with Ethan Pfeiffer, Brent Kehoe, Alexander Moreland, and Sam Knott placed third in 1:26.09, while the Orediggers scored two in the A Final of the 500-free with Brennan Mays coming in third at 4:36.93 and Dominic Byrne seventh in 4:45.69.
Moreland took third in the 200-IM (1:55.15) with Justin Dearden (1:55.81) in fifth and Jonathan Donehower (1:59.55) eighth, and both Kehoe and Pfeiffer made the top final in the 50-free coming in seventh and eighth, respectively.
Mines capped the night with a second-place 3:28.75 in the 400 medley relay thanks to Cort Hanson, Knott, Kehoe, and Loki Hondorf.
QUOTABLES
“Our kids looked good. With this meet being earlier in the season compared to years past, we weren’t sure what to expect coming in. It’s clear that everyone is excited to be here, and learn how can be our best at RMACs.” – head coach Nate Rothman
NEXT UP
The CMU Invitational continues Friday with prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m.; the meet concludes Saturday at the same times.
California Baptist:
Men:
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – There is an opportunity this week for California Baptist University to get an early taste of what the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships will be like in February.
CBU seems to be taking advantage of it through day one of the Colorado Mesa Invite at the El Pomar Natatorium, which will be the host of the RMAC Championships, as well. The Lancers lead the five-team field of RMAC teams through six events with 370 points. Colorado Schools of Mines is in second (252) and host Colorado Mesa in third (201). The Colorado Mesa Invite continues Friday and Saturday. Live video and result links are made available by CMU.
“The main reason we come to this meet is so the kids have the experience of swimming at altitude,” Coach Rick Rowland said. “When we come back in February, they will know the environment and what’s coming. They are more prepared for the pain that’s coming. You feel it a lot more swimming up here when you’ve trained at sea level.”
Nevertheless, CBU won five of the six events on Thursday, including both relay events. Bernardo Valentim andAndrew Denton both swam on the winning relays, while Josh Hanson and Alexis Ohmar each had a victory in a relay and individual swim.
Valentim, Denton and Ohmar teamed up with Ashton Lowery for the first event of the day, winning the 200-yard freestyle relay in one minute, 23.78 seconds. It was just off the NCAA Division II Championship provisional cut (1:23.46), showing they are closing in on the standard.
Hanson opened his day with a victory in the 200-individual medley in a B-mark time of 1:49.29. He would go on to join forces with Denton, Valentim and James Wilson for the final win of the day in the 400-medley relay (3:23.87).
Perhaps the most impressive event of the day for the Lancers was the 500 freestyle. It stuck out most for Rowland, as the Lancers produced four of the top-five finishers, including the top-two. Ohmar and Griffith went one-two in provisional times of 4:36.51 and 4:36.77, respectively. Elijah Barrows (4:41.11) and Josh Fleutsch (4:42.97) took fourth and fifth in the event.
“Our kids swam really well, going one-two in the 500 free against the guy who won our conference last year — Mines’ Brennan Mays,” Rowland said. “He trains at altitude and our guys train at sea level and still went one-two on him; Griffith isn’t even shaved.”
CBU may not have gotten the win in the three-meter dive, but flashed a similar dominance in the event, with three of the top-four divers. Zach Parry took second with 441.25 points, while Zach Mullins (438.80) and Kendel Rummell (379.25) rounded out the top-four.
“The gentlemen continue to impress me, with Parry leading the charge for us,” CBU Dive Coach Jeff Couto said.
Women:
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – With an opportunity to build up confidence for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships later in February, California Baptist University seized the opportunity in day one at the Colorado Mesa Invite Thursday.
Through six events, the Lancers hold a 103-point advantage over the seven-team field of RMAC opponents. CBU won five of the six events for 317 points and posted four NCAA Division II Championship B-cuts and one automatic mark in the process.
“Our times are way ahead of where we were at last year,” Coach Rick Rowland said. “I am excited with the progress so far. A lot of people put in work this summer and it’s coming together. This is good preparation for the RMAC Championships in February, the more you swim at altitude, the better.”
In the standings, Colorado School of Mines is in second place and Western State Colorado follows in third, with 214 and 206 points, respectively.
Christie Halverson provided the standout swim of the day when she won the 500-yard freestyle in four minutes, 58.78 seconds. CBU teammate Kylie Mihld was the only one to push her, finishing in second in 5:08.64.
“One of the big highlights was Halverson,” Rowland said. “That time translates to a 4:43 when altitude adjusted, which is a new school record. She also got her B-cut, we had a lot of B-cuts tonight.”
Alena Rumiantceva and Patricia Hapsari both won two events for the Lancers, who swept both relay events Thursday. Hapsari swam the lead and anchor legs on the 200-yard free and 400-medley relays, respectively.
Rumiantceva swam the medley relay, along with Andrea Laliena and Kristina Tchernyschev, and was the only one who kept Hapsari from a three-win day by touching first in the 200 individual medley in a provisional time of two minutes, 4.18 seconds. Hapsari also produced a B-cut (2:06.80) while finishing runner-up. The Lancers had four of the top-five swimmers in the event, with Melody Coleman (2:09.67) and Sara Yoshii (2:10.91) taking fourth and fifth.
“Alena is getting close to that A-cut (2:01.09),” Rowland said. “That’s a pretty insanely fast time.”
Hapsari got the 200-free relay team of Grace Oeser, Robin Smallwood and Hailey Golden off to a blazing start, clocking in at 23.74 seconds in the first 50 yards, which is .84 of a second off the Division II A-cut in the 50 free. The team went on to grab their B-cut in 1:35.90.
“The only bummer is if Yosita was in the 50 free we would have that, too, and swept all the events,” Rowland said. “We had her swim somewhere else today, we are just trying some different things.”
Thursday’s 50-free winner clocked in at 24.02, which Hapsari would have smashed.
“That was [Hapsari’s] lifetime best tonight in the 50,” Rowland said. “Her previous best was a 23.9, so that was a great time for her.”
The 400-medley relay team, which included Kristina Tchernyschev and Andrea Laliena, also grabbed a provisional standard (3:49.74).
After grabbing her automatic cut for the NCAAs the last time out, Bre Schlenger continued to make it look easy on the one-meter dive. She won the event with 395.40 points.
“I am so impressed with how Bre has adapted to her new hip so quickly, and has been dominant on the boards,” CBU Dive Coach Jeff Couto said. “It was a great way to start the three-day event with a win on the one meter.”
Western State Colorado:
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Western State Colorado University women’s swimming and diving team kicked off the 2015 Maverick Invitational with six school records in five swimming events and many personal best performances. The Mountaineers continue tomorrow and Saturday.
Randi Yarnell made Western State history again, becoming the first Mountaineer to win an event in the El Pomar Natatorium since the program was reinstated four years ago. Yarnell broke the school record in the 50 free as she swam a NCAA “B” cut time of 24.02. Her time would rank her 13th in the nation currently. She also broke the school record in the 100 backstroke leading off of the 400 medley relay. Yarnell looks to hit two more marks in the 100 fly and 100 free tomorrow, as well as go after another victory and “B” cut time in the 200 free tomorrow night.
Alexandra Marsolek dropped six second to take sixth in the 200 IM in a school record time of 2:11.06. Her altitude converted time will put her in the top-25 in the nation. She also has a chance to break the conference record in the 200 free.
In the 500 free, Frances Ivers went 5:13.90 and took fifth. Her time with conversion will place her near the top-25 in the nation after this weekend. She was barely two seconds over the “B” standard time.
The final two records came in relays. The 200 free relay of Yarnell, Morgan Aragon, Ariel Fitch and Kate Hewson dropped over two seconds to put up a time of 1:37.68. Their time is less than a second off of the NCAA “B” cut time and would place them ninth in the nation currently. The 400 medley relay team of Yarnell, Marsolek, Akemi King and Aragon dropped four second seconds to place third with a time of 3:56.49. Their time would rank 10th in the nation right now.
Swimming news courtesy of Western State Colorado, Colorado Mines, California Baptist, Adams State, and Colorado Mesa Swimming & Diving.