By: A.J. Vazquez, Strategic Communications & Marketing Intern
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines redshirt senior Margaux Basart is the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Academic Player of the Year and leads the league's First Team Academic All-RMAC and Academic Honor Roll, released Thursday.
Basart earned a Bachelor's of Science in Engineering Physics with a 4.00 GPA and is currently working toward a Master of Science in Quantum Engineering while maintaining a 4.00 GPA. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native was earlier named the 2025 Women's Cross Country Summit Award winner, and earned All-American status at the 2025 NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championship, playing a key role in the Orediggers' second-place team finish. Basart also earned First-Team All-RMAC honors after a seventh-place finish at the RMAC Cross Country Championship, where the Orediggers won their first-ever women's cross country conference championship. This is her third time earning First-Team Academic All-RMAC honors.
Basart leads the 14-member First-Team Academic All-RMAC group, representing seven of the league's 15 institutions. Additionally, the RMAC recognized 98 student-athletes, including the 14 Academic All-RMAC honorees, on its 2025 Women's Cross Country Academic Honor Roll. Colorado School of Mines leads the league with four First Team Academic All-RMAC honorees: Margaux Basart, Lexi Herr, Grace Strongman, and Emily LaMena. Joining them as multi-time honorees are Colorado Mesa University's Autumn McQuitty; University of Colorado Colorado Springs' Kaya Pillivant and Maddie Ruszkiewicz; and Chadron State College's Lydia Peters and Samantha Rodewald.
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport who academically maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average, have completed two consecutive semesters at their current institution, and have used a season of competition.
Each institution's athletic communications directors nominate student-athletes who academically maintain at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, along with the other criteria for the Academic Honor Roll, for recognition on the First Team Academic All-RMAC in each sport. The league's athletic communications directors for that sport vote to compose the First Team Academic All-RMAC and select the Academic Player of the Year. They are not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.
2025 RMAC Women's Cross Country Academic Player of the Year
Margaux Basart, Colorado School of Mines |
2025 First Team Academic All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
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(as selected by RMAC athletics communications directors)
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Student-Athlete
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School
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Class
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GPA
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Major
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Hometown
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Margaux Basart (3x)
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Colorado School of Mines
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R-Sr.
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4.00
4.00
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B.S. Engineering Physics
M.S. Quantum Engineering
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West Des Moines, Iowa
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Hannah Hartwell
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Fort Lewis
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Sr.
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3.90
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Environmental Biology
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Carlsbad, Calif.
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Lexi Herr (1)
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Colorado School of Mines
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R-Sr.
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3.87
4.00
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B.S. Geophysical Engineering
M.S. Geophysical Engineering
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Huntsville, Ala.
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Jadyn Herron
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CSU Pueblo
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Sr.
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3.97
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Social Work
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Queen Creek, Ariz.
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Emily LaMena (1)
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Colorado School of Mines
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R-So.
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4.00
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Geophysical Engineering
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Huntington, N.Y.
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Maggie McCleskey
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Adams State
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Sr.
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4.00
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Biology
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Louisville, Colo.
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Autumn McQuitty (1)
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Colorado Mesa
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Jr.
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4.00
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Mass Communications
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Alamosa, Colo.
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Lydia Peters (1)
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Chadron State
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Sr.
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4.00
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Sport, Fitness and Recreation
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Sidney, Neb.
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Kaya Pillivant (1)
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UCCS
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R-Jr.
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3.91
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Mathematics
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Cheyenne, Wyo.
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Camille Renou
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CSU Pueblo
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R-Sr.
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3.92
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MBA
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Challones, France
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Samantha Rodewald (1)
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Chadron State
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Jr.
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4.00
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Rangeland Management
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McCook, Neb.
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Maddie Ruszkiewicz (1)
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UCCS
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R-Jr.
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3.54
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Geography & Environmental Science
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Middleton, Wis.
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Jordan Staniszewski
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Colorado Mesa
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R-So.
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3.91
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Exercise Science
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Highlands Ranch, Colo.
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Grace Strongman (3x, 1)
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Colorado School of Mines
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R-Sr.
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3.99
3.70
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B.S. Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
M.S. Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
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Prairie Village, Kan.
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Notes: A gold background indicates the RMAC Academic Player of the Year; (1) indicates the student-athlete was a 2024 First Team Academic All-RMAC Honoree; (3x) indicates a three-time First-Team Academic All-RMAC honoree.
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About the RMAC
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, headquartered in Colorado Springs, is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 institutions located in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah. The RMAC currently competes in 22 NCAA Division II sports and has earned 69 national championships and 53 national runners-up since 1992. Founded in 1909, the RMAC is the most historic athletic conference in the western United States and Division II.
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