PREVIEW: Swimming & Diving Headed to DU First Chance

By: Sam Boender

M/W Swimming & Diving: Mines at First Chance Invitational – Denver, Colo. – Friday, 11 a.m. [Watch]

M/W Swimming & Diving: Mines at First Chance Invitational – Denver, Colo. – Saturday, 10 a.m. [Watch]

FINAL PREP

The Colorado School of Mines males’s and ladies’s swimming & diving groups shut out the common season this weekend on the First Chance Invitational hosted by the University of Denver. It marks the ultimate preparations for the postseason because the Orediggers head to the convention meet subsequent week in Grand Junction, Colo.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both days of racing will stream dwell and free of charge on DU’s YouTube channel. There may also be dwell outcomes on the “Meet Mobile” software which might be downloaded on cell telephones and requires a subscription.
 
WEEKEND FORMAT
This weekend is an unscored invitational. The targets are lows instances and excessive diving scores. The full rundown is listed under.
 
Friday
– 3-meter diving – 11 a.m.
– 1-meter diving – 12:20 p.m.
– 200-medley relay
– 400-IM
– 200-free
– 100-back
– 100-breast
– 200-fly
– 50-free
– 1650-free
– 400-freestyle relay
 
Saturday
– 200-freestyle relay
– 100-free
– 200-back
– 200-breast
– 500-free
– 100-fly
– 200-IM
– Diving 1:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The final time Mines appeared in competitors was its house finale and Senior Day on Jan. 10. The Oredigger ladies went up towards Western Colorado and received, 164-59, and the lads dropped a 181.5-58.5 choice to Air Force. Mines honored their seniors between the diving and the swimming. Bruno Albertoni earned bronze for the lads in diving. The ladies discovered gold within the 400-medley relay, 1000-free, 200-free, 50-free, 400-IM, 100-fly, 100-free, 100-back, 500-free, 100-breast, and 200-freestyle relay. Charlie Krone received the 200-free for the lads.
 
NATIONALLY RANKED
Mines’ women and men each improved their nationwide rating within the newest polls. The ladies climbed to #11 and the lads jumped to #119. Drury’s males and Tampa’s ladies topped their respective lists. Colorado Mesa was the one different RMAC squad within the males’s ballot, slotting at #4. Fellow RMAC squads within the ladies’s rankings included #3 Colorado Mesa and #15 Simon Fraser.
 
REWRITING RECORDS
Earlier this season, the TYR/CMU Invitational produced a number of program data and a significant overhaul of the Oredigger file books. On the ladies’s facet, Cameryn Schmidt broke the 50-free file, Anna Bream broke the 400-IM file, and 4 totally different relay data went down. Mary Flikkema, Schmidt, Kaya Flaherty, and Jordan Tierney teamed up within the 200-medley relay. It was Flaherty, Tierney, Schmidt, and Jennifer Pierson within 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 issues out within the distance relay. On the lads’s facet, Charlie Krone went off and captured Mines’ 200-free and 100-fly data. Jakson Winn struck twice within the 50-back and 100-back. The males had three relay data as properly. 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 had been the record-breaking foursome on the 800-freestyle relay.
 
THAT’S NOT ALL
Prior to the mid-season invite, the Orediggers had been already slaying data. Vladislav Kazakin introduced down the Mines Natatorium file within the 500-free on opening weekend. The return of Oredigger diving noticed Bruno Albertoni break this system’s greatest rating within the 1-meter, six-dive occasion in his very first collegiate motion. Ava LaBrose supplied the ladies a facility file within the 200-free as properly – a mark beforehand held by Oredigger star Mia Wood.
 
BUTTERFLY EFFECT
A variety of program data damaged on the TYR/CMU Invitational had been reset a number of instances between prelims, finals, and relay leadoffs. However, probably the most thrilling alternate was arguably the ladies’s quickest mark within the 200-fly. On the ultimate day in Grand Junction, Colo., this system file within the 200-fly exchanged palms 4 instances. Mikaela Khan began by breaking her personal file in prelims of the 200-fly. One prelim warmth later, Kaya Flaherty topped Khan’s time. Then, through the night “B” finals, Savannah Karas put her identify on the prime of the checklist. In the top, Khan reclaimed her file within the 200-fly by profitable all the occasion in 2:02.28 which additionally fell below the NCAA-qualifying normal. Khan’s earlier collegiate greatest within the occasion, with out adjustment for altitude, was 2:05.87 towards Colorado College.
 
DIVING RETURNS
Earlier this fall, Mines introduced the return of males’s and ladies’s NCAA Division II diving beginning this season. Katherine Andrie will coach and look to regrow this system within the coming years. The historical past of Mines diving contains 12 all-Americans, a person nationwide champion, one of many first ladies in Mines Athletics, and a number of members of the Harry D. Campbell Oredigger Hall of Fame. A number of of these corridor of fame members embrace NCAA Division II National Champion Rick Williamson, former head coach Bob McCandless, the 1983 Women’s Swimming & Diving group, and the Men’s Swimming & Diving groups from 1981-84. That wealthy historical past threads completely with the present targets of this system and the division.
 
HOW DIVING WORKS
In full disclosure, the writer has solely just lately discovered the fundamentals of aggressive diving. Fans ought to be aware there are quite a few nuances past what’s laid out under. In school diving, there are two fundamental forms of diving competitions – six dive competitions and 11 dive competitions. In these occasions, divers both carry out six dives or 11 dives to gather a complete rating decided by the judges. The very fundamental forms of dives embrace ahead, again, reverse, inward, and twisting. Those phrases confer with how the competitor begins their dive. After figuring out how the dive begins, there are additionally somersaults, or rotations. Along with somersaults and rotations, there’s the place. The place may very well be straight, pike, tuck, or free. The later usually contains a number of positions. All of these issues are introduced earlier than the dive via a collection of numbers together with a letter to make clear straight, pike, tuck, or free. In six dive competitions, all dives are optionally available and might be picked by the competitor. In 11 dive codecs, there are six optionally available dives and 5 voluntary, or designated, dives  Also, all the pieces talked about above can occur on a one meter board or a 3 meter board. Mines doesn’t have platform diving. And with that, the writer has exhausted his understanding of diving. Good luck.
 
STAFF UPDATES
Mines Head Coach Claire McDaniel bolstered her swimming & diving workers through the offseason. The newcomers embrace Katherine Andrie, Brad Shannon, and Graham Walker. Andrie, as beforehand launched, will function the lads’s and ladies’s diving coach. Shannon arrives at Colorado School of Mines as McDaniel’s prime assistant. Walker competed as a student-athlete for McDaniel on the University of Denver and has since gained teaching expertise across the metropolitan space. The trio joins veteran Oredigger assistants Andy Foley and Colin Fenster.
 
MEET KATHERINE ANDRIE

As referenced above, Coach Andrie will function the lead woman for the Mines diving groups. She joins the workers with each a formidable résumé as a diving coach, and a private familiarity with Colorado School of Mines. Two of her youngsters, Marty and Carlie, attended Mines and competed for the Orediggers. Marty was a nine-time all-American in cross nation and observe & discipline and a member of the 2015 Men’s Cross Country group which received the NCAA Division II Championship. That group was inducted into the Harry D. Campbell Oredigger Hall of Fame in 2023. Carlie competed in triathlon and for the membership water polo group throughout her time at Mines. On deck, Coach Andrie boasts a number of many years of highschool and membership teaching expertise with stops at quite a few excessive colleges within the Denver space together with Valor Christian, Littleton, Douglas County, Smoky Hill, and extra. 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 season following two years as the pinnacle man at William Peace University in North Carolina. He and his workers earned 2024-25 Independent South Swimming Conference Men’s Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding WPU’s males to second-place end on the convention meet whereas the ladies took group bronze. The Pacer’s 2023-24 squads mixed for six gold medals on the ISSC meet and broke 9 program data. Prior to William Peace, Shannon was an assistant on the University of Rochester from 2019-23. Additional skilled expertise contains work as a counselor at each 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 4 years. He was a USA Swimming Olympic Trial Qualifier in 2016 as properly. He owns a bachelor’s diploma in worldwide research with a specialization in safety and intelligence from OSU. Shannon earned his grasp’s diploma from Concordia Chicago in utilized train science. Fans can learn extra about Shannon’s accomplishments in his on-line bio.
 
MEET GRAHAM WALKER
Walker joins the Oredigger workers following an elite novice and collegiate swimming profession. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Walker represented Team Kenya at each the All-Africa Games and the Commonwealth Games. He went on to compete for the University of Denver below coach McDaniel. His high-level efficiency within the pool additionally led to serving as group captain his last two years with the Pioneers. Walker’s coach profession began whereas he was nonetheless in school, instructing swimming classes, and continued after commencement. He finally accepted a proper teaching position with the University of Denver Hilltoppers Swim Club in 2022. Since then, Walker coached a number of state champions and program file holders. He returned to DU as an assistant coach in 2024 and helped oversee convention titles and continued aggressive success. Fans may also discover his bio on-line.
 
AT THE HELM
Colorado School of Mines Swimming Head Coach Claire McDaniel is in her seventh season on the helm for the Oredigger women and men. McDaniel received her fourth RMAC Coach of the Year on the lads’s facet after guiding the Orediggers to group silver on the 2024-25 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships. She additionally owns three RMAC Coach of the Year awards on the ladies’s facet. Through six seasons, McDaniel has coached 5 RMAC Swimmers of the Year, 4 RMAC Freshmen of the Year, and 27 all-American performances together with 23 particular person occasions and 4 relays.
 
UP NEXT

Following this weekend, the Orediggers head to Grand Junction, Colo., for the 2026 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships working Feb. 10-14.
 
Fans can sustain with Mines swimming on “X” (previously Twitter), Facebook and Instagram at @MinesSwimming. They may also sustain with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all yr lengthy on Facebook, “X” and Instagram utilizing the deal with @MinesAthletics.