GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (February 12, 2026) – Junior Colin Doyle broke an individual school record in the 100 butterfly and helped the Falcons' men's swimming team break its third school record in the relay races as The University of Texas Permian Basin men's and women's swimming & diving teams closed out day three of the RMAC Championships on Thursday at El Pomar Natatorium.

In the final race of the day on Thursday, the UTPB "A" relay team (Nico Turner, Sean Greene, Doyle, Niklas Heelein) finished fifth with a school record time of 3:19.85 (altitude adjusted time of 3:19.45) in the men's 400 medley relay. The previous school record in the event was 3:22.44 set in 2018.

Through three days at the RMAC Championships, the UTPB men have set a new school record in all three relay races.

In addition to the 400 medley relay record, Turner led off with a 49.47 second-split (altitude adjusted time of 49.37 seconds) in the 100 backstroke, marking another record. UTPB's previous 100 backstroke record was 49.77 seconds by Connor White in 2021.

In the first race of the day, Ava McCormack was 22nd in the prelims of the women's 100 butterfly with a time of 1:00.18, and then she moved up two spots in the C Final to finish 20th overall with a time of 1:00.25. On the men's side, Doyle qualified for the A Final after finishing sixth in the prelims at 49.19 seconds and Chase Alderman qualified for the B Final after finishing 14th in the prelims at 50.62 seconds. After finishing 13th in the event last year, Tommy Betancour (51.24, 17th) was the first alternate this year. In the finals, Alderman finished 16th overall with a time of 50.92 seconds. Meanwhile, Doyle finished eighth in the A Final with a time of 49.10 seconds. Doyle's altitude adjusted time of 49.00 seconds broke the previous UTPB school record of 49.02 seconds in the 100 butterfly set by Nikita Naumov in 2018.

In all, UTPB has combined to break seven school records within the first three days of the RMAC Championship meet (3 men's relays, 1 women's relay, 3 men's individuals). Doyle has been a part of two relay records (200 medley relay, 400 medley relay) and one individual record (100 butterfly) so far, while Turner has played a part in all three relay records set so far by the Falcons' men's team to go along with one individual record (100 backstroke – relay leadoff split).

"We are having a lot of people show up and put forth their best swims," said Head Coach Brian Schroeder. "Even though it is a really long meet at higher altitude, the team has shown resilience in going out and there and finding a way to swim fast time after time."

After finishing in 11th place in the event last year, Owen Putnam (4:10.81, 17th) was the first alternate in the men's 400 IM this year.

Erika Hajduk was 32nd in the women's 200 freestyle with a time of 2:08.32, matching the placement by UTPB's top finisher in the event last year (Emma Gerhart). On the men's side of the 200 freestyle, Greene made the B Final after finishing 15th in the prelims with a time of 1:42.52. Heelein (1:42.75) was 17th as again the UTPB men had the first alternate for the third event in a row. Greene later moved up three spots to finish 12th in the finals with a time of 1:41.04.

UTPB's lone diver competing at the conference championships this year is Camilla Aguilar, who was fifth in both the prelims (354.05) and the finals (406.10) of the women's 3-meter dive, finishing just one place away from Second-Team All-RMAC honors.

Through three days of competition, the UTPB men (159 points) lead sixth-place Adams State University (98.5 points) by 60.5 points and trail fourth-place Simon Frazier University (216 points) by 57 points. Meanwhile, the UTPB women (113 points) lead ninth-place Adams State (51 points) by 62 points and trail seventh-place Nebraska Kearney (152 points) by 39 points.

 
Men's A Finalists: (Top-8):
100 butterfly – eighth place – Colin Doyle – 49.10
400 medley relay – fifth place – UTPB "A" team (Nico Turner, Sean Greene, Colin Doyle, Niklas Heelein) – 3:19.85
 
Men's B Finalists: (Top-16):
100 butterfly – 16th place – Chase Alderman – 50.92
200 freestyle – 12th place – Sean Greene – 1:41.04
400 medley relay – 12th place – UTPB "B" team (Zane Garner, Chase Alderman, Tommy Betancour, Brannan Espericueta) – 3:23.73
 
Women's A Finalists: (Top-8):
3-meter diving – fifth place – Camilla Aguilar – 406.10

Women's B Finalists: (Top-16):
400 medley relay – 16th place – UTPB "B" team (Lu-Lu Van Winkle, Sarahie Barcenas, Nadia Phelps, Erika Hajduk) – 4:23.69
 
 
Next up: UT Permian Basin is back for day four of the 2026 RMAC Championship on Friday, February 13. Preliminaries start at 10 a.m. Mountain Time with finals at 5:30 p.m. Mountain Time. Day four of the conference meet with feature the 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, men's 3-meter diving and the 200 freestyle relay.