By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines, the defending NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country national champion, is picked to win the 2025 RMAC Men’s Cross Country Championship in a poll of the league’s 15 head coaches released Thursday.
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
2025 Preseason Men's Cross Country
Coaches’ Poll
|
| PL |
Team |
1sts |
2nds |
3rds |
Points |
| 1. |
Colorado School of Mines |
11 |
2 |
0 |
191 |
| 2. |
Adams State |
4 |
10 |
0 |
186 |
| 3. |
Western Colorado |
0 |
2 |
7 |
161 |
| 4. |
UCCS |
0 |
1 |
4 |
156 |
| 5. |
CSU Pueblo |
0 |
0 |
1 |
131 |
| 6. |
Colorado Christian |
0 |
0 |
3 |
130 |
| 7. |
Fort Lewis |
|
|
|
124 |
| 8. |
Colorado Mesa |
|
|
|
105 |
| 9. |
MSU Denver |
|
|
|
98 |
| 10. |
New Mexico Highlands |
|
|
|
70 |
| 11. |
Black Hills State |
|
|
|
67 |
| 12. |
South Dakota Mines |
|
|
|
57 |
| 13. |
Chadron State |
|
|
|
42 |
| 14. |
Regis |
|
|
|
38 |
| 15. |
Westminster |
|
|
|
19 |
Notes:
Head coaches were not permitted to vote for their team.
14 points for a 1st-place vote, 13 for 2nd, etc.
196 points maximum in men’s cross country |
The Orediggers received 11 first-place votes in the poll and accumulated 191 points to edge out second-place pick Adams State University. The Grizzlies picked up the remaining four first-place votes, along with 10 second-place votes to finish twith 186 points.
Western Colorado University was narrowly picked to finish third with 161 points, five points ahead of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs with 156 points.
Colorado State University Pueblo leads the mid-pack group with 131 points, good for fifth in the poll, followed closely by Colorado Christian University in sixth with 130 points and Fort Lewis College, which was picked seventh with 124 points.
Colorado Mesa University starts the second half of the poll in eighth place with 105 points. They were followed by Metropolitan State University of Denver (98 points), New Mexico Highlands (70), Black Hills State (67), South Dakota Mines (57), Chadron State College (42), Regis University (38), and Westminster (19).
The 2025 Preseason Men’s Cross Country Team is based on returning student-athletes in their order of finish at the 2025 NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Championship. Colorado Christian’s Matthew Storer leads the team after finishing fourth at the national championship, while Colorado School of Mines’ Etan Grolnic returns after finishing ninth at the national championship. In addition, Adams State’s Kidus Bergashaw and Housem Hrabi, Western Colorado’s Oliver Diaz, and Colorado School of Mines Paul Knight were named to the preseason team after earning First Team All-RMAC honors at last season’s RMAC Men’s Cross Country Championships.
The 2025 cross country season begins the weekend of Sept. 6 with Adams State, Colorado Mesa, and UCCS each hosting meets. The 2025 RMAC Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday, Oct. 25 hosted by UCCS at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs.
The NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships begin with the regionals on Saturday, Nov. 8 and CSU Pueblo hosts the South Central Regional at Pueblo Country Club. The national championship is Saturday, Nov. 22 at the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
2025 Preseason All-RMAC: Men's Cross Country
|
| Player |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Kidus Begashaw (1) |
Adams State |
RSr. |
Aurora, Colo. |
| Julian Campos |
Adams State |
Jr. |
Aberdeen, Wash. |
| Weldon Chebon |
New Mexico Highlands |
So. |
Timbora, Kenya |
| Oliver Diaz (1, FotY) |
Western Colorado |
So. |
Los Teques, Venezuela |
| Kameron Eustace (2) |
CSU Pueblo |
Sr. |
Zuni, New Mexico |
| Klay Grant |
Colorado Christian |
Sr. |
Muskegon, Mich. |
| Ethan Grolnic |
Colorado School of Mines |
RSr. |
Arvada, Colo. |
| Dawson Gunn |
Colorado School of Mines |
RJr. |
Sweetwater, Texas |
| Housem Hrabi (1) |
Adams State |
Sr. |
Doha, Tunisia |
| Enzo Knapp |
UCCS |
RJr. |
Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| Paul Knight (1) |
Colorado School of Mines |
RSr. |
Durango, Colo. |
| Tyler Nord (2) |
Western Colorado |
Jr. |
Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| Matthew Storer |
Colorado Christian |
RSr. |
Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| Jeremiah Vaille |
Colorado School of Mines |
RSr. |
Dillon, Colo. |
| Symbols in parentheses are 2024 All-RMAC Recognitions: PotY – was the Athlete of the Year; FotY – was the Freshman of the Year; 1 -was a First Team All-RMAC selection; 2 - was a Second Team All-RMAC selection. |
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 67 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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