Orediggers Selected as RMAC Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Favorites
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines has been selected to finish first in the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women’s Outdoor Track and Field predicted order of finish, the league announced Wednesday. The RMAC poll is voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their program.
The Orediggers earn the conference’s top spot in preseason voting with 163 points and eight first-place votes. Mines is predicted to finish first at the 2023 RMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships after a second-place finish at the conference championships last season. Hannah Miller returns to the Orediggers roster after earning All-American honors by placing seventh in the women’s pole vault with an effort of 4.25m at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She also won the national title at the 2022-23 NCAA Indoor Championships. Zoe Baker returns to the track after earning All-American honors in the 10,000m race at last season’s NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The Mountain Lions check in at No. 2 in the RMAC poll with 155 points and three first-place votes. UCCS returns three All-Americans to their roster, including Melissa Moreni who claimed first-team honors in the 100m hurdles last season. Riley McGrath also claimed All-America honors for the Mountain Lions last season with her finish in the 1,500m.
Adams State earns 147 points and three first-place votes after a seventh-place team finish at the NCAA Championships last season. Brianna Robles returns after claiming the national title in the 5,000m race. She also earned first-team All-American honors after a second-place finish in the 10,000m event. The Grizzlies are carrying huge momentum after winning the women’s team title at this season’s NCAA Indoor Championships behind two individual titles in the mile and the 3,000m race from Stephanie Cotter.
Colorado Mesa earns the fourth-place spot with 136 points, while Western Colorado earns fifth place with 122 points. Colorado State University Pueblo receives 105 points for sixth place, followed by New Mexico Highlands in seventh place with 89 points. Chadron State checks in at eighth with 79 points, while Black Hills State receives 66 points for ninth place.
Metropolitan State University of Denver closes out the top 10 with 64 points, just ahead of Westminster with 56 points. Colorado Christian claims 12th place with 36 points, followed by Fort Lewis (32 points) and South Dakota Mines (24 points).
2023 RMAC Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Predicted Order of Finish
| Institution (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Colorado School of Mines (8) |
163 |
| 2. UCCS (3) |
155 |
| 3. Adams State (3) |
147 |
| 4. Colorado Mesa |
136 |
| 5. Western Colorado |
122 |
| 6. CSU Pueblo |
105 |
| 7. New Mexico Highlands |
89 |
| 8. Chadron State |
79 |
| 9. Black Hills State |
66 |
| 10. MSU Denver |
64 |
| 11. Westminster |
56 |
| 12. Colorado Christian |
36 |
| 13. Fort Lewis |
32 |
| 14. South Dakota Mines |
24 |