By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships, hosted by New Mexico Highlands, will feature 13 of the nation’s top cross country teams competing at Gene Torres Golf Course in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
The men’s 8K race starts the championship at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday. Colorado School of Mines, the defending NCAA Division II men’s national champions, seeks to defend its 2023 RMAC Championship. The Orediggers are the nation’s No. 2 team entering the championship.
A stout group of teams will challenge the Orediggers in Las Vegas with No. 5 Western Colorado and No. 6 Adams State leading the effort to dethrone the defending champions. No. 11 Colorado Christian, No. 12 CSU Pueblo, and No. 22 University of Colorado Colorado Springs will look to play spoiler.
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Cross Country Championship
Men’s Teams in USTFCCCA Top 30
|
| RNK |
Team |
| 2. |
Colorado School of Mines |
| 5. |
Western Colorado |
| 6. |
Adams State |
| 11. |
Colorado Christian |
| 12. |
CSU Pueblo |
| 22. |
University of Colorado Colorado Springs |
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Cross Country Championship
Women’s Teams in USTFCCCA Top 30
|
| RNK |
Team |
| 1. |
Adams State |
| 3. |
CSU Pueblo |
| 4. |
Colorado School of Mines |
| 7. |
Western Colorado |
| 11. |
University of Colorado Colorado Springs |
| 18. |
Colorado Christian |
| 23. |
Fort Lewis |
| 28. |
Colorado Mesa |
In the men’s championship race, 14 men’s runners enter the championship with a time among Division II’s Top 100 in the 8K distance this season. Adams State’s Romain Legendre threw down the gauntlet on October 4 at the Joe Piane Invitational in South Bend, Indiana with the nation’s best time at that distance. More recently, Colorado Christian’s Matthew Storer, Colorado School of Mines’ Ethan Grolnic, and Black Hills State’s Gavin Kuhlenbeck posted times under 24 minutes at the 8K distance.
The women’s 6K race starts at 11:35 a.m. and features defending RMAC Champion and No. 1 ranked Adams State. However, the Grizzlies will be challenged by a pair of teams in the Top 5 nationally – No. 3 CSU Pueblo and No. 4 Colorado School of Mines. Throw in No. 7 Western Colorado and No. 11 UCCS, and the women’s race promises to be a competitive event from start to finish. Also lurking on the women’s side are No. 18 Colorado Christian, No. 23 Fort Lewis, and No. 28 Colorado Mesa.
The women’s championship race features the Orediggers Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge, who ran the nation’s eighth-best time in the 6K distance on Oct. 12 at the Lewis Crossover in Romeoville, Illinois. She is one of nine RMAC runners with times among Division II’s Top 100 at the 6K distance. However, at the 5K distance the RMAC presence dominates with the top four times and eight of the Top 11 at that distance posted by RMAC runners. Western Colorado’s Leah Taylor posted the top 5K time this season on Sept. 28 at the Chile Pepper XC Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
About the RMAC
The RMAC is a premier NCAA Division II conference located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with 15 member schools. The RMAC sponsors 22 varsity NCAA sports and has produced 65 NCAA Division II national champions and 52 national runners-up since 1992.
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