2026 DENVER FIRST CHANCE MEET
- February 6-7, 2026
- Denver, Colo.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Denver Athletics
DENVER – The University of Denver men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs opened the final weekend of the regular season with the First Chance Invitational on Friday afternoon inside El Pomar Natatorium.
Event Winners:
Men’s 3-Meter Dive – Trip Gregory – 349.30 – NCAA Zone Cut – 5th in DU History
Women’s 3-Meter Dive – Savanna Berry – 318.15 – NCAA Zone Cut – 4th in DU History
Women’s 200 Medley Relay – 1:40.27 – Ali Beay, Tenaya Winter, Julia Saxman, Isa Cardenas
Women’s 400 IM – Samantha Synsvoll – 4:28.82
Men’s 400 IM – Cota Clise – 4:02.20
Women’s 200 Free – Tenaya Winter – 1:50.76
Women’s 100 Back – Isa Cardenas – 55.59
Men’s 100 Back – Quinn Collins – 48.64
Men’s 100 Breast – Kito Campbell – 53.85
Women’s 200 Fly – Sabrina Rachjaibun – 2:03.12
Women’s 1650 Free – Genevieve Franklin – 17:17.12
Men’s 1650 Free – Finn Holdredge – 15:46.35
How it Happened:
Friday morning’s diving events saw big scores flying in the final regular season meet for the Pioneer divers. Trip Gregory won the men’s 3-meter with a 349.30. Gregory’s score ranks as the fifth-best score on the 3-meter in Denver’s Division I history. Colin Breuer led Denver’s divers in the 1-meter with a score of 319.90 to take second and earn his first NCAA Zone Cut in the event. Breuer’s score also moved him up to seventh in program history in the men’s 1-meter.
In the women’s 3-meter dive on Friday, Savanna Berry and Kaitlin Calvery earned a Denver 1-2 in the event with a pair of NCAA Zone Cuts. Berry scored a 318.15, moving her to fourth in program history in the event, while Calvery turned in a 303.25. Tatum Brasfield also earned a personal best in the event and moved into ninth in program history with her score of 291.65.
Denver opened the swimming portion of the meet with a win in the women’s 200 medley relay as the quartet of Ali Beay, Tenaya Winter, Julia Saxman and Isa Cardenas combined for a time of 1:40.27.
Freshman Samantha Synsvoll continued her strong start to her rookie campaign with a win in the 400 IM, reaching the final wall in 4:28.82. On the men’s side, Cota Clise won the 400 with a time of 4:02.20 to give the Pioneer men their first win of the day.
Tenaya Winter kept things rolling for the Denver women, leading the 17 swimmer field with her time of 1:50.76.
Pierce Bickerton finished second in the men’s 200 free, trailing only new El Pomar Natatorium record holder Alexander Metzler from Wyoming who swam the event in 1:35.82.
Cardenas got the Pioneers back in the win column with her victory in the women’s 100 back, clocking in at 55.59 to edge out the 18-swimmer field.
In the men’s backstroke event, Quinn Collins earned the top spot with his time of 48.64.
Friday’s events shifted to the breaststroke with Peyton Mullowney reaching the wall in second with her time of 1:03.54. Kito Campbell approached the pool record in the men’s 100 breast, finishing first in 53.85.
Junior Sabrina Rachjaibun swam a balanced 200 fly, taking the lead near the midway point and not relinquishing it the rest of the way with her time of 2:03.12. Hamish McLellan led the Denver men in the fly, finishing third with his time of 1:49.17.
Following a break, Genevieve Franklin led a Pioneer podium sweep in the women’s mile with her time of 17:17.12. Nika Spehar clocked in at 17:24.24 and Paige Reilly reached the final wall in 17:34.49.
In the men’s mile, Finn Holdredge led a Denver 1-2 with his time of 15:46.35, while Max O’Neil finished the distance race in 16:04.29.
Winter, Saxman, Izzy Burton and Cardenas combined to swim the women’s 400 free relay in 3:25.03 in their final timed test before the Summit League Championships. On the men’s side, Matija Pantic, McLellan, Tommy Hancock and Benjamin Stone earned a time of 2:59.28.
Up Next:
Denver will wrap up its pre-championship schedule on Saturday morning when the Pioneers close out the First Chance Invitational. Swimming action will begin at 10 a.m. MT in El Pomar on Saturday, and will be streamed live on YouTube.
DENVER – The University of Denver men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs closed out their pre-championship slate on Saturday afternoon with the final day of the First Chance Invitational inside El Pomar Natatorium.
Event Winners:
Women’s 200 Free Relay – 1:32.13 – Julia Saxman, Tenaya Winter, Ali Beay, Isa Cardenas
Men’s 200 Free Relay – 1:20.86 – Hamish McLellan, Matija Pantic, Tommy Hancock and Benjamin Stone.
Women’s 200 Back – Darian Koler – 2:01.03
Women’s 100 Fly – Tenaya Winter – 55.94
Men’s 100 Fly – Hamish McLellan – 47.09
Women’s 200 IM – Isa Cardenas – 2:05.04
How it Happened:
Denver got its morning started with a 200 free relay win against the Air Force Academy when the quartet of Julia Saxman, Tenaya Winter, Ali Beay and Isa Cardenas combined for a time of 1:32.13. The Pioneer men didn’t have an opponent on Saturday but Hamish McLellan, Matija Pantic, Tommy Hancock and Benjamin Stone turned in a time of 1:20.86 in their final rep before the Summit League Championships.
Samantha Synsvoll led Denver in the women’s 100 free on Saturday morning, clocking in at 51.67.
Shifting back to the backstroke, Darian Koler led a Denver 1-2 in the 200 back. Koler recorded a 2:01.03 and was quickly followed behind Lilly Zippel’s 2:02.73. Mason Bruhn led the Pioneer men with a second-place finish in 1:48.25.
A few events later, Tenaya Winter won the women’s 100 fly with a time of 55.94. McLellan led Denver’s men with a 47.09 to take the top spot in the 16-swimmer field.
Cardenas kept Denver in the win column, leading a Denver 1-2 in the women’s 200 IM. The Pioneer freshman clocked in at 2:05.04, just ahead of teammate Mina Ada Solaker who turned in a 2:05.46. Kurt Owens led the Denver men in the 200 with his time of 1:52.53.
Up Next:
Denver will head to Iowa City from February 18-21 when the Pioneers look to continue their dominance at the Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships.
Courtesy: Colorado State Athletics
DENVER – Denver’s First Chance meet is set up to give some swimmers a chance to close a season on a strong note, which some of Colorado State’s swimmers did over the course of Friday and Saturday. First-year diving coach additionally saw it as a chance to continue to build on momentum, which his squad did the first day.
On Friday, the divers had their one chance to shine and took advantage as freshman Sydney Ovesen put her name in the program’s top 10 on the 3-meter board with a score of 295.65, while Riley Lee hit her NCAA Zones cut on the 1-meter with a 273.25. Ovesen and Lee finished second and third, respectively, on 1-meter; third and sixth on the 3-meter. Juliana Dodd closed in on her first zones cut in that event, falling just shy.
O’Dea believes his crew tapped into the relaxed atmosphere, particularly Lee, who had been pressing recently.
“It definitely just kind of shows that we’re in the right trajectory moving towards the end of the season. Everyone’s making some good progress and overall it was a great practice meet to have at the end of the season and definitely a confidence booster for some of the girls leading in the conference,” O’Dea said. “The whole environment was relaxed. All the girls from all the teams were having a good time. They actually kept music playing, which is a little bit more unique, but definitely relaxed the girls a little bit.
“I think that was something that had been getting in Riley’s way, is she was trying a little too hard in some of the recent meets to get that cut and was the reason why she hadn’t gotten it yet. Definitely had the capability and had been pretty close, was one point off at NAU, but definitely a relief for her.”
In the lanes, Hadley Dodson and Carly Nelson posted personal-best swims, while Emma Lindstrom had the team’s best race finish, placing fourth in the 200-yard freestyle.
Colorado State now turns full attention to the Mountain West Championships which run Feb. 18-22 at the University of Houston.
Courtesy: Wyoming Athletics
DENVER (Feb. 6, 2026) – Wyoming breaks two pool records and sets six personal bests on day one of the DU First Chance Meet, Friday.
“Today was a really fun day to get into the meet,” said assistant coach Jonathan Reeder.
“Between a number of personal bests, two pool records being broken and great energy from the smaller group we brought to the meet, it makes me excited for what else may come tomorrow.”
COWGIRLS
The Cowgirls kicked off the meet with the 200-yard Medley Relay. The team of sophomore Taylor Cureton, senior Savannah McVey, freshman Emma Aumaugher and sophomore Ava Salverson would take fourth with a time of 1:44.69. This squad would see much more action across the day.
Freshman Katherine Beauchene swam to fourth in the 400-yard IM with her time of 4:37.57, her first of the season. She would then race in the 100-yard Back and finish 13th, touching the wall at 59.93.
Salverson would also swim in the 100-yard Back and take 16th with a time of 1:03.36, a personal best.
McVey swam a personal best time in the 100-yard Breast with her fourth-place finish of 1:05.31.
Aumaugher finished in fifth with a major season-best time in the 200-yard Fly. She shaved off over six seconds with her finish of 2:08.98.
In the 50-yard Free, Cureton led Wyoming with a fourth-place finish of 23.66 while Salverson took 15th with a time of 24.34.
COWBOYS
Senior Alex Metzler broke his first of two pool records on the day with his time in the 200-yard Free. He would win the event and touch the wall at a personal best 1:35.82, breaking the record time of 1:36.06 set in 2022 by Air Force.
Metzler would grab another pool record in the 200-yard Fly with a time of 1:46.97 for first. He broke the previous record of 1:47.05 set in 2024 by BYU.
Freshman Cade Doherty would finish eighth in the 200 Fly, touching the wall at 1:52.25, a personal best by nearly three seconds.
Freshman Travis Ayers added a Top 3 finish for the Pokes with his third-place finish of 49.49 in the 100-yard Back, a personal best. Ayers would also finish 10th in the 200 Fly with a time of 1:52.52.
Sophomore Gray Sisco closed out the men’s 200 Fly for the Cowboys with a time of 1:59.56 for 12th overall, his first under two minutes.
Freshman Edward Rhoe won the 50-yard Free for the Pokes with his finishing time of 20.05. He would be followed by junior Adam Pannell with a season-best time of 20.67 for third.
UP NEXT
Pokes will return to the pool tomorrow at 10 a.m., to wrap the DU First Chance Meet.
DENVER (Feb. 7, 2026) – Wyoming swim and dive saw eight personal bests and broke a pool record on several Pokes first chance at competition to close the DU First Chance Meet, Saturday.
“We looked really sharp and all of the swims were filled with little victories along the way,” said head coach Dave Denniston.
COWGIRLS
Sophomore Ava Salverson was the first Cowgirl in action on day two. She would race in the 200-yard Breast with a time of 2:26.20 for fifth. With altitude conversions, she swam a time of 2:25.00, a personal best.
Senior Savannah McVey and freshman Emma Aumaugher would follow Salverson in seventh and eighth with times of 2:27.33 and 2:28.27, respectively.
In the 200-yard IM, sophomore Taylor Cureton led the Cowgirls with a fourth-place finish at 2:06.42.
Freshman Katherine Beauchene finished in 10th, touching the wall at 2:08.82, while Aumaugher would take 12th with a time of 2:10.38.
COWBOYS
On the Cowboys’ performance Denniston said, “Great sprints from our men, but Alex Metzler really showcased his talent with three new pool records and top conference times.”
Junior Adam Pannell began Wyoming’s day with a win in the 100-yard Free. He swam a time of 44.91, and after altitude conversions, was a personal best at 44.81. Sophomore Gray Sisco would take sixth in the event at 45.71 followed by freshman Edward Rhoe in seventh with a time of 45.75 and freshman Cade Doherty in eighth at 46.01.
Doherty would also swim in the 100-yard Fly and pick up a fourth-place finish. His time of 49.11, after conversions, was a personal best.
Freshman Travis Ayers finished right behind Doherty in the 100 Fly with a time 49.16, an altitude converted personal best, for fifth. Rhoe would take sixth at 49.82.
Senior Alex Metzler added another DU pool record with his first-place finish of 1:47.30 in the 200-yard IM. His time broke the previous record set in 2024 and moves him to No. 4 in program history at 1:46.10 after altitude adjustments. This is Metzler’s third pool record and third Top 10 program time at the meet.
DIVING
In the women’s 1-meter board, senior Natalie Six took first with a score of 282.55. Six would then finish ninth in the 3-meter board with a total of 248.00 points.
On the men’s side, sophomore Kael Kropf won the 1-meter dive with his score of 324.80, an NCAA standard and No. 8 in school history.
Junior Bruno Grau would take third in the 1 meter with a point total of 277.50. He followed up this performance with a score of 321.65 for second in the 3 meter. Both scores were personal bests for the junior.
Sophomore Jonah Mann would finish third in the 3 meter with a score of 311.10, a personal best.
Looking ahead to conference championships, Denniston added, “We are looking great and feeling strong headed ito conference. It’s just time for us to execute what we are capable of doing as a team.”
UP NEXT
The Cowgirls will kick off conference championship action when they travel to Houston, Texas, for the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Swimming and Diving Championships, Feb. 18-21. Tickets for the conference championship can be found here.
Courtesy: Mines Athletics
DENVER, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams wrapped their two-day appearance at the University of Denver First Chance Invitational Saturday afternoon.
The day started with a slew of Orediggers racing the 100 free. Abby Swanson finished in 53.42, Sophia Cristal went 53.47, and Eden Addison posted a 54.38 for the women. The men’s side featured a 47.10 for Lucas Waasdorp and 48.84 from Aidan Bailey. After the 100-free, Ava Burger churned out silver in the 200-breast by stopping the clock at 2:23.05. Joe Hutchinson represented Mines’ men in the 200-breast and swam 2:06.06. The last race of the day for the Orediggers was the women’s 500-free which saw Samantha Crane touch the wall at 5:12.61 for bronze.
Diving was also a part of the two-day event. Mines had Bruno Albertoni in the 1-meter and 3-meter events. He posted six-dive scores of 276.85 and 272.90 in the respective events.
The Orediggers head to the 2026 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships in Grand Junction, Colo., next week. Racing starts Tuesday night. A full preview and live coverage information will be available Monday at www.minesathletics.com.
