DENVER, Colo. – Adams State and Colorado School of Mines and Adams State dominated the field and captured the women’s and men’s team titles, respectively, Saturday at the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday at Washington Park in Denver, Colo. New Mexico Highlands’ Andrew Amor captured the individual title in the men’s 8k event to claim the league’s Men’s Runner of the Year honor. Brianna Robles of Adams State captured the women’s individual title and the RMAC Women’s Runner of the Year accolade after crossing the finish line first in the women’s 6k race.
Western Colorado’s Tyler Nord and Adams State’s Tristian Spence earned RMAC Men’s and Women’s Freshman Runner of the Year accolades after finishing as the first freshmen in the men’s and women’s races, respectively. Colorado School of Mines head coach, Chris Siemers, and Adams State’s Damon Martin took home RMAC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year honors, respectively, after leading their programs to conference titles.
Robles ran without contest for most of the women’s 6,000-meter race to claim her latest titles and opened the day with a blistering time of 20:34.1. Her teammate Emily Schoellkopf was the sole Adams State runner to accompany Robles among the top five finishers in the women’s competition and did so with a time of 21:02.9. The ASU duo was soon followed up by Ava O’Connor, who crossed the finish line at 21:08.7 for sixth place.
The No. 2 ranked Grizzlies closed Saturday’s women’s meet with a team score of 32, defeating the second-place team, Colorado School of Mines, by 24 points. The Orediggers took second place in the women’s standings with 56 points, while Western Colorado placed third with 94 points. Colorado State University Pueblo clocked in at fourth place with 115 points, followed by UCCS, which rounded out the top five with 124 points. With the team win, Adams State has now captured three consecutive RMAC Women’s Cross Country titles.
Colorado School of Mines, the nation’s No. 1 program, was dominant throughout the men’s 8k race and secured its fifth consecutive conference title with a final score of 32 points. Duncan Fuehne led the way for the Orediggers with a third-place finish after crossing the finish line with a 24:19.5. Fuehne led a trio of Orediggers within the race’s top-10 individuals, including Loic Scomparin in fourth place (24:23.9) and Paul Knight in fifth place (24:24.9). Logan Bocovich claimed ninth place with a time of 24:38.5.
While Colorado School of Mines earned the men’s conference championship, Adams State took second in the men’s competition with 59 points. Western Colorado finished third overall with 69 points, followed by Fort Lewis (123) and UCCS (154) to round out the top five.
Amor claimed the RMAC Men’s Runner of the Year title for the Cowboys with an impressive performance in the men’s race, torching the field with a speedy 23:58.4. Amor was contested by Western Colorado’s Simon Kelati during the back half of the race, but NMHU harrier pulled away from the second-place Kelati in final shoot.
Up next is the 2023 NCAA South Central Regional Cross Country Championships, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 4, in Lubbock, Texas. The Women’s 6k will begin at 10 a.m. CT, while the Men’s 8k will start at 11 a.m. CT.
Men’s Runner of the Year: Andrew Amor, New Mexico Highlands
Women’s Runner of the Year: Brianna Robles, Adams State
Men’s Freshman of the Year: Tyler Nord, Western Colorado
Women’s Freshman of the Year: Tristian Spence, Adams State
Men’s Coach of the Year: Chris Siemers, Colorado School of Mines
Women’s Coach of the Year: Damon Martin, Adams State
2023 Men’s 8k Team Standings