Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Mesa’s Ben Sampson and Isaiah Cheeks are the Week Two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, the league announced Wednesday.
 
Men’s Swimmer of the Week: Ben Sampson, Colorado Mesa – R-Jr. – Arvada, Colo.
Sampson got off to a fast start this season, winning five individual events at the season-opening Intermountain Shootout in Grand Junction before leading the Mavs to four relay wins at last weekend’s Denver Relays. The reigning NCAA Division II Men’s Swimmer of the Year set NCAA “B” qualifying times in the 100-yard backstroke (48.25), 200-yard backstroke (1:46.15), 200-yard individual medley (1:49.99) and 400-yard individual medley (3:52.48) in Grand Junction. Sampson then broke his own school record in the 100-yard individual medley, a non-NCAA championship event. His times in the 200 Back, 100 IM, 200 IM and 400 IM, adjusted for altitude, lead all DII swimmers this season, as does his 50-yard backstroke split (22.38) on the Mavericks’ 200 medley relay leading time. In Denver, Sampson helped CMU win the 3x100 butterfly relay, the 3x100 backstroke relay, the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 4x100 individual medley relay. His 100 IM lead-off split of 50.42 also broke his own school record at Colorado Mesa.
 
Honorable Mention: Brayden Stalcup, Adams State; Owen Nicholson, Simon Fraser.
 
Men’s Diver of the Week: Isaiah Cheeks, Colorado Mesa – R-Sr. – Aurora, Colo.
The two-time reigning RMAC Diver of the Year and the six-time All-American got his final collegiate season off to a great start, setting NCAA Pre-Championship qualifying scores on both boards during the Mavs’ Intermountain Shootout. In the opening event of the season, Cheeks scored 296.85 points in six dives on the 1-meter board, finishing second in a field of 14 while surpassing the NCAA qualifying standard of 285 points.  He then tallied 506.00 points in 11 dives off the 3-meter board on day two of the meet, finishing second overall while easily surpassing the qualifying standard of 460 points. Cheeks finished higher than all his teammates and eight Division I divers in each event.

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