Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Colorado School of Mines leads the way in the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll with 193 total points, the league announced Wednesday. THE RMAC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll is voted on by the league’s 15 head coaches. Head coaches are not permitted to vote for their own program.
 
Mines enters the 2023 season after earning the national title at the 2022 NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Championship, marking the third in program history. The Orediggers lead the way in the 2023 RMAC Men’s Cross Country preseason poll with 12 first-place votes and a slew of key returners, including Duncan Fuehne who placed third individually at last year’s NCAA DII Championship. Leading the Mines contingent is head coach Chris Siemers, the 2022 USTFCCCA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coach of the Year. Heading into the 2023 campaign, the Orediggers are on the hunt for their fifth consecutive RMAC championship.
 
Adams State checks in at number two in the men’s preseason poll with 181 points and a trio of first-place votes. The 2022 season saw the Grizzlies finish second at the RMAC Championships and seventh in the NCAA DII South Central Regional Championship. Despite missing the national championship in 2022, the Grizzlies spent eight of 10 weeks ranked among the USTFCCCA’s top-two positions last season.
 
Colorado Christian rounds the league’s top-three spots with 170 points after placing third overall at the 2022 NCAA DII Championships, its best finish in program history. Following the team’s stellar performance at the national meet, the Cougars landed a trio of harriers among the USTFCCCA All-America rosters. CCU enters the 2023 campaign behind head coach Jon Poag who has molded the program into a national contender.
 
Western Colorado claims the fourth spot in the preseason poll with 155 points, while UCCS places fifth overall with 146 points. CSU Pueblo secures the sixth-place position in preseason voting with 130 points, followed by Colorado Mesa in seventh place with 115 points.
 
Fort Lewis occupies eighth place with 93 points, just ahead of Metropolitan State University of Denver and Black Hills State, which are tied for ninth place with 87 points apiece. New Mexico Highlands stamps 11th place with 66 points, followed by Chadron State in 12th place with 56 points.
 
South Dakota Mines (46 points), Westminster (28 points) and Regis (22 points) round out the preseason men’s cross country poll.
 
The 2023 RMAC Cross Country season begins on September 2 with various league members in action across Colorado. MSU Denver will serve as host of the 2023 RMAC Cross Country Championships, which are slated for Saturday, Oct. 21, at Washington Park in Denver, Colo.
 
2023 RMAC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll