RMACs Day 3

By: Sam Boender

Thursday Results | Live Results | RMAC Network-PPV | Meet Central
RECAPS: Day 1 | Day 2 A.M. | Day 2 P.M. | Day 3 A.M.

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Thursday brought another big day for Oredigger freshman Vladislav Kazakin as he led Mines swimming on day three of the 2025 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships.
 
Including prelims, Kazakin raced five times for the Colorado School of Mines Men’s Swimming team. He walked away with three finals appearances, two NCAA “B” cuts, one bronze medal, and a program record. Both of his national-qualifying races came in the 200-free where he eventually finished third with a program-record time of 1:38.71 after adjustment for altitude. The performance also gave the true freshman Second-Team All-RMAC distinction after he won the 1000-free on Wednesday night. Kazakin’s other evening races included the 100-fly and the leadoff leg in the Orediggers’ second 400-medley relay.
 
After five sessions and three days of swimming at the conference championships, the nationally-ranked Mines men are second in the team standings thanks to 410.5 points. Colorado Mesa is first. The nationally-ranked Oredigger women are third overall on the merits of 598.5 points. Colorado Mesa also leads the women’s standings. Simon Fraser is second, just 4.5 points ahead of the Orediggers.
 
Kazakin wasn’t the only Oredigger star of Thursday by any means. Luca Burns was Second-Team All-RMAC thanks to bronze in the 100-fly at a 48.86 pace. Isabella Bono represented the women in the 400-IM finals and earned Second-Team All-RMAC honors after finishing fourth with an outstanding NCAA “B” cut of 4:30.32. Ronan Lauinger matched Bono in the men’s 400-IM finals, taking fourth for Second-Team All-RMAC distinction after touching the wall at a NCAA “B” cut of 3:58.27. The women’s 200-free “B” final saw Jennifer Pierson blaze to another national-qualifying time at 1:52.62. Ava LaBrose added her name to the national list in the same event by churning out a 1:53.15 clip. The women’s quartet of Emi Jedryka, Jordan Tierney, Kylie VanderMeer, and Jennifer Pierson claimed bronze and another Second-Team All-RMAC finish in the 400-medley relay. In the men’s relay, Jakson Winn broke the program record in the 100-back as Joe Hutchinson, Luca Burns, and Sawyer Jones finished it out for silver and a First-Team All-RMAC finish.
 
Additional scoring efforts came from far and wide during Thursday’s finals as well. Outside of the all-RMAC swims, program records, and national times, Orediggers came up with big points at every turn. VanderMeer, Sophia Buhr, Savannah Karas, Sophia Cristal, Kerrigan Hemp, and Ava Burger totaled 84 points for Mines’ women in the 100-fly alone. Michael Kietzman, Max Waring, and Kazakin rolled in 22 points for the Oredigger men in the same race. The 400-IM saw 46 additional women’s points off the racing of Julie Gill and Zooecia Phoebus. Gavin Moore, Lucas Hoke, and Andres Saa hammered out 19 more points for Mines’ men in the 400-IM. In the 200-free, Maggie Wells, Eden Addison, Olivia Kisow, Elizabeth Powers, and Jedryka collected 36 points. The same race on the men’s side saw 31 more points turned in from Cameron MacMillan, Brenden Cook, Jaron O’Grady, Sawyer Jones, Joseph Lev-Tov, and Jake Sherman.
 
The Orediggers’ top relays for the women and men accounted for 36 points and 34 points, respectively. Kerrigan Hemp, Ava Burger, Sophia Buhr, and Sophia Cristal brought in 16 more points as the women’s second relay. Kazakin, Gavin Gilmore, O’Grady, and Cook added 14 points to the men’s total.
 
Friday brings racing in the 500-free, 100-back, 100-breast, 200-fly, and 200-freestyle relay. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. Pay-per-view video will be available on the RMAC Network with free live results at www.minesathletics.com.
 
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.