GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (February 14, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin men's and women's swimming & diving teams closed out the 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship with 10 school records, two Second-Team All-Conference honors (200 freestyle relay; Cooper Workman – 200 backstroke), and one NCAA "B" standard (Owen Putnam – 200 butterfly).

Throughout five days of competition, the UTPB men's team finished fifth out of six teams. The Falcons put up 373 points, a 51-point improvement from last year, and led sixth-place Adams State University (194.50 points) by 178.50 points. Colorado Mesa University won its eighth straight and 10th overall RMAC Championship on the men's side with 1,234 points. Colorado School of Mines (762.50 points), Oklahoma Christian University (493 points) and Simon Frazier University (487 points) rounded out the top-four.

The UTPB women totaled 236 points and finished eighth out of nine teams, 125 points in front of ninth-place Adams State (111 points). Colorado Mesa won its also won its eighth-straight conference title on the women's side with 1,870.50 points, 566 points ahead of second-place Colorado School of Mines with 1,304.50 points.

The final day started with a 24th-place finish in the women's 100 freestyle prelims by Rowan McWhorter (54.45), who moved up six spots to finish 18th in the C Final with a time of 53.28 seconds. In the men's 100 freestyle, Niklas Heelein (46.15) was 13th, Brannan Espericueta (46.28) was 14th, and Kell Frazier (46.44) and Nico Turner (46.44) tied for 15th. In the B Final, Turner moved up to 12th place with a time of 45.76 seconds while Heelein (46.05) remained in 13th, Frazier (46.06) was 14th, and Espericueta (46.18) was 15th.

In the women's 200 backstroke, Ava McCormack (2:14.82) finished 19th in the prelims and remained 19th with a time of 2:11.99 in the C Final. In the men's 200 backstroke, freshman Cooper Workman started with a top-four finish and a time of 1:51.18 in the prelims while Zane Garner was 13th with a time of 2:05.35. In the B Final, Garner moved up to 12th place with a time of 1:57.54. In the A Final, Workman remained in fourth place, earning Second-Team All-RMAC honors with a time of 1:49.35. For the second time during this championship meet, Workman rebroke his own school record in the 200 backstroke as his altitude adjusted time of 1:48.15 broke his previous adjusted record time of 1:48.74 set during a time trial on Wednesday.

In the prelims of the women's 200 breaststroke, Avery Momotiuk was 23rd with a time of 2:31.94 and remained 23rd in the C Final at 2:34.45. In the prelims of the men's 200 breaststroke, Sean Greene was 12th with a time of 2:08.76, Chase Alderman was 13th at 2:10.13, and Peyton Beard was 15th at 2:15.39. Then in the B Final, Greene earned the win (9th overall) with a time of 2:04.73, Alderman (2:10.37) finished 14th, and Beard (2:12.00) remained in 15th. Beard improved upon his time by over three seconds from the prelims to the finals and earned a spot in the top-16 for the first time as a freshman after finishing 18th (second alternate) in two previous events during the championship.

UTPB's top finisher in the women's 1650 freestyle was Erika Hajduk in 26th place with a time of 19:57.11. On the men's side, Addison Richardson was 14th with a time of 17:36.94 while Mattson Uhlenhopp was 15th with a time of 18:32.74.

In the women's 1-meter dive, Camilla Aguilar was sixth in the prelims with a score of 378.30, and remained in sixth place in the finals at 376.05.

The final event of the meet was the 400 freestyle relay. The UTPB women's A" team (Mackenzie Gingerich, Momotiuk, McCormack, McWhorter) was seventh with a time of 3:36.30, over a six-second improvement from last year's seventh-place time. Looking to make it a perfect 5-for-5 on relay records, the UTPB men came up just short as the "A" team (Greene, Turner, Espericueta, Heelein) competed in the championship heat and finished fifth at 3:03.34 while the "B" team (Colin Doyle, Owen Putnam, Frazier, Logan Fultz) finished 11th but had an even better time at 3:02.85 (altitude adjusted time of 3:02.45), just 0.04 seconds off of breaking the school record of 3:02.41 set in 2018. Also of note, Fultz finished with the fastest 100 freestyle relay split in team history (44.51 seconds; altitude adjusted time of 44.41 seconds) during the "B" team's near record-breaking performance.

Words from Head Coach Brian Schroeder: "We came out and raced this evening. We left it all out on the table. The last day is the hardest with tired muscles, but we still put up many personal best swims. We had an amazing season and I am proud of what this team accomplished."

Senior Recognition Ceremony: Before the final session on Saturday, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference recognized the seniors competing at the championship. Members of the UTPB men's and women's swimming & diving teams that were recognized included: Erika Hajduk, Alondra Ortiz, Carlos Baca, Niklas Heelein, Owen Putnam and Owen Ward.

Record Breakers: Through all five days at the RMAC Championship, UTPB combined to break 10 school records (4 men's relays, 2 women's relay, 4 men's individuals). The UTPB men broke a relay record in each of the first four days of the meet, doing so in the 800 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay, respectively, while the women broke records in the 200 medley relay and the 400 medley relay. Freshman Nico Turner played a part in all four relay records set by men's team to go along with one individual record (men's 100 backstroke – relay leadoff split). Junior Colin Doyle was a part of three relay records (200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay) and one individual record (men's 100 butterfly). The final individual records were the men's 200 backstroke, reset twice by freshman Cooper Workman, and the men's 200 butterfly, set by senior Owen Putnam. On the women's side, the same foursome of freshman Ava McCormack, freshman Avery Momotiuk, sophomore Rowan McWhorter and freshman Mackenzie Gingerich broke both relay records.

High Scorers: Below were the top-four point scorers for both the UTPB men and women:
Men:
Sean Greene – 28 points (T38th overall)
Cooper Workman – 22 points (T45th overall)
Owen Putnam – 19 points (T48th overall)
Nico Turner – 19 points (T48th overall)
Women:
Camilla Aguilar – 49 points (T52nd overall)
Ava McCormack – 24 points (T81st overall)
Rowan McWhorter – 20 points (86th overall)
Avery Momotiuk – 7 points (T99th overall)
 

Men's All-RMAC Performances (Top-4):
200 backstroke – fourth place – Cooper Workman – 1:49.35
 
Men's A Finalists: (Top-8):
400 freestyle relay – fifth place – UTPB "A" team (Sean Greene, Nico Turner, Brannan Espericueta, Niklas Heelein) – 3:03.34
 
Men's B Finalists: (Top-16):
1650 freestyle – 14th place – Addison Richardson – 17:36.94
1650 freestyle – 15th place – Mattson Uhlenhopp – 18:32.74
100 freestyle – 12th place – Nico Turner – 45.76
100 freestyle – 13th place – Niklas Heelein – 46.05
100 freestyle – 14th place – Kell Frazier – 46.06
100 freestyle – 15th place – Brannan Espericueta – 46.18
200 backstroke – 12th place – Zane Garner – 1:57.54
200 breaststroke – ninth place – Sean Greene – 2:04.73
200 breaststroke – 14th place – Chase Alderman – 2:10.37
200 breaststroke – 15th place – Peyton Beard – 2:12.00
400 freestyle relay – 11th place – UTPB "B" team (Colin Doyle, Owen Putnam, Kell Frazier, Logan Fultz) – 3:02.85
 
Women's A Finalists: (Top-8):
1-meter diving – sixth place – Camilla Aguilar – 376.05
400 freestyle relay – seventh place – UTPB "A" team (Mackenzie Gingerich, Avery Momotiuk, Ava McCormack, Rowan McWhorter) – 3:36.30
 
Women's B Finalists: (Top-16):
400 freestyle relay – 16th place – UTPB "B" team (Alondra Ortiz, Lu-Lu Van Winkle, Gia Delgado, Erika Hajduk) – 4:01.19