By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – It must've been liquid sunshine shining down on Colorado School of Mines and Adams State University's cross country programs as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference duo claimed the men's and women's team titles, respectively, at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships at a waterlogged Arcade Creek Cross Country Course.

The team titles were the 66th and 67th Division II titles won by RMAC members. Adams State captured its 24th women's cross country title and head coach Damon Martin's 40th national title: 23 women’s cross country, 10 men’s cross country, four women's indoor track & field, two men's indoor track & field, and one men's outdoor track & field. It is Colorado School of Mines fourth men's cross country title.

The Orediggers won their fourth men's national title with 63 points to squeeze past Wingate which scored 66 points. Colorado School of Mines was third in the team race at the 2.8K mark and did not take the lead until the 9.6K mark, showing off their closing kick. Senior Logan Bocovich, senior Loic Scomparin, and junior Ethan Grolnic finished seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively, to power the Orediggers championship. Junior Paul Knight finished 21st and sophomore Dawson Gunn was 25th, but that duo scored 19 and 23 points respectively to close out the scoring.

Elsewhere in the men's 10K race, Adams State finished third in the team title with 113 points and was led by Romain Legendre's third-place finish, the best RMAC individual finish. Colorado Christian junior Matthew Storer was fourth in the individual race, leading the Cougars 11th place finish (326 points). Western Colorado posted a ninth-place finish (200), CSU Pueblo was 14th (394), and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs was 15th (435).

Adams State pulled away from the field to post a dominant 61-point victory with second-place West Texas A&M fading to 127 points and second place. The Grizzlies posted their win courtesy a tightly-packed scoring group that finished between 6th and 17th in the scoring. Senior Elena Carey paced the ASU group with a seventh-place finish in 20:43.2. Sophomore Tristian Spence finished 11th, senior Morgan O'Keefe was 14th, senior Precious Robinson and junior Ava O'Conner were right behind her at 18th and 19th place, respectively.

Colorado School of Mines senior Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge led the RMAC's individuals with a third-place finish in 20:34.0, leading the Orediggers fifth-place (238) finish in the team race. CSU Pueblo continued their late season push, finishing third in the team battle with 160 points, with senior Helen Braybrook's 13th-place finish leading the effort. Fort Lewis junior Hannah Hartwell also finished among the Top 5 individuals, her 20:34.9 good for fifth place and leading the Skyhawks 20th-place team finish.

Other RMAC team finishes in the women's championship included UCCS in seventh place (266), Western Colorado in 12th (386), Colorado Christian in 17th (436), and Colorado Mesa in 23rd (562).