The Colorado Mesa University (CMU)swim and dive teams earned impressive finishes in the first two competitions of the 2022-2023 season as they hosted the Intermountain Shootout and traveled up north for the Denver Relays a week later. They look to the future with high expectations for both individual swimmers and the team as a whole.
“We always want to be better than we were yesterday and develop to our full potential. We’re always constantly pushing and striving for excellence in every area. People aren’t successful just solely as a swimmer. They’re successful as a student, friend, teammate and son or daughter first. Then they are successful as swimmers. We just focus on living a good, clean lifestyle, taking care of each other and winning today,” head coach Mickey Wender said.
The Mavericks swam in home waters as they welcomed competition at the Intermountain Shootout on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 to open the 2022-2023 swim season. CMU competed against the top teams across Colo. including the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) as well as multiple out-of-state teams including Brigham Young University (BYU) from Utah and Grand Canyon University (GCU) from Arizona.
The CMU women’s team placed third overall out of eight teams with 727.5 points and finished with multiple NCAA Division II qualifying times. Borgenheim claimed individual victories in both the 200-yard individual medley (IM) and 200 meter breaststroke.
Other top five finishes included freshman Olivia Hansson and redshirt senior Amelia Kinnard in the 500 free, senior Davy Brown in the 200 IM and senior Lauren White in the 100 free. On the 1-meter diving board, sophomore Kyra Apodaca finished sixth out of 19 competitors with a total score of 381.10 points.
Just a week later, CMU headed to the University of Denver (DU) for the Denver Relays on Oct. 8. The Mavericks fell just short of Division I teams DU and the University of Wyoming (UW) with a third-place finish and 164 points. Led by redshirt junior Ruby Bottai, Borgenheim, Brown and White, the Mesa women finished among the top three in several relays including the 4×25 free, 3×100 backstroke, 3×100 breaststroke, 4×25 medley, 500 yard, and 4×100 IM.
On the men’s side, CMU earned a second-place finish among six teams with 873 points at the Intermountain Shootout. Redshirt sophomore Ben Sampson claimed four event victories in the 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM and finished the 400-yard IM with an NCAA qualifying time of 3:59:45.
The CMU men’s team improved the following week to take down Division I teams DU and UW with an overall first place finish at the Denver Relays. Led by Sampson and redshirt junior Felipe D’Orsi, the Mavericks claimed six of ten swimming relay victories in the 200 medley, 4×25 free, 3×100 backstroke, 4×25 medley, 4×100 IM and 200 free, and took first place in the 3-meter diving event to score 226 total points.
“We knew that we needed to be a little bit more deliberate with what we were doing, and especially in the little things like our starts and finishes. That definitely helped us a lot, and then we just came in with the mindset of ‘we’re coming here to win and we’re coming here to do our best,” Sampson said.
CMU has had a long history of impressive accomplishments and numerous accolades. On the womens end of the pool, there are a combined total of 49 All-Americans dating back to 2014, four consecutive team Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Championships since 2019 and 56 RMAC single event champions in the last 13 seasons. At the 2022 NCAA Division II Championships, CMU placed fifth in the nation out of 51 teams. Redshirt senior Lilly Borgenheimer brought an individual national championship title back to Colorado in the 200 breast last season.
“She’s won that race 100 times in practice so to get there and finally do it, it was sort of a relief. She’s worked so hard and overcome so much adversity with hip surgery and transferring. I’m just so proud of her for what she’s overcome,” Wender said.
Adding to her individual achievements, Borgenheim is a 15 time All-American, holds eight school records and has earned countless RMAC and individual meet titles. She looks to conclude her collegiate swim career with the Mavericks in spring of 2023 and is holding on to every moment during her final season.
“There’s so much work and so much more that I can do. I want to stay in the sport as deeply as I can and not take anything for granted. I want it to all feel special. It’s easy for the practices to go by and the yards to go by. It’s just another day down but I won’t be able to get any time after this so I’m kind of savoring it,” Borgenheim said.
An impressive history himself, Sampson is a seven time All-American, an NCAA Division II National Runner-Up in the 200 back, and a CMU record holder in eight events. He is an 11-time RMAC champion and has been named swimmer of the week five times and counting.
“I definitely want to win a national championship, but more importantly bring the team to another level. We want to be among the top four, get a trophy, and continue to build the team culture and family mindset that we’re racing for our team instead of just ourselves,” Sampson said.
As impressive as they are, Sampson and Borgenheim are just a fraction of the talent on Mesa’s swim and dive teams. Others to watch this season include returning national champion and redshirt junior Isaiah Cheeks, freshman Olivia Hansson, redshirt senior Amelia Kinnard and redshirt sophomore from Poland, Kuba Kiszczak.
“We’re certainly capable of winning another RMAC championship and very capable of being in the conversation for the top of the podium at Nationals. I think we could bring 30 qualifiers to the NCAA. There’s a lot of talent, a lot of good athletes,” Wender said.
CMU will have a week off from competition before returning to El Pomar Natatorium in their first dual of the season against UW on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m.
