COLORADO SPRINGS – Colorado School of Mines track and field was picked to finish fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 2013 RMAC Indoor Men's and Women's Track & Field Preseason Coaches Polls on Thursday.
Mines received 25 points in the men's voting, three behind Western State, while defending champion Adams State (7 points) and 2013 runner-up Chadron State (15) ranked 1-2. Black Hills State was fifth with 35 points and one first-place nod.
The Grizzlies, led by four Preseason All-RMAC honorees, including junior multi-All-American and Preseason Athlete of the Year Tabor Stevens, earned seven of the eight first-place votes.
In the women's tabulation, the Orediggers finished with 47 points, six better than Black Hills State (53) in sixth and 16 back of last season's runner-up, New Mexico Highlands (31).
Adams State was selected preseason champion with nine points and nine of 10 first-place tallies. Western State followed in second with 25 points and Chadron State sat third with 30.
Three-time indoor high jump national champion Barbara Szabo was named the women's Preseason Athlete of the Year.
The Oredigger men placed third and the women fifth at the RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships last season in Black Hills, S.D., combining for 29 All-RMAC efforts.
The men equaled their highest finish at the championships, set back in 2001 and 2009, accumulating a new program record for total points with 115, while the women recorded their best result since taking fourth in 2010 with 68.5 points, the third most in school history.
Mines begins the 2013-14 indoor season at 4 p.m. today with the two-day Orediggers Early Bird Multi at Steinhauer Fieldhouse in Golden.
FULL RMAC PRESS RELEASE
2013-14 RMAC MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Rank
|
School (1st-Place Votes) |
Points
|
2012-13 RMAC Finish |
| 1. |
Adams State (7)
|
7 |
1st |
| 2. |
Chadron State
|
15 |
2nd |
3.
|
Western State
|
22
|
4th |
4.
|
COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
|
25 |
3RD |
| 5. |
Black Hills State (1) |
35 |
6th |
| 6. |
Colorado Mesa |
36 |
5th |
| 7. |
UC-Colorado Springs |
38 |
8th |
| 8. |
Metro State |
46 |
7th |
2013-14 RMAC WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Rank
|
School (1st-Place Votes) |
Points
|
2012-13 RMAC Finish |
| 1. |
Adams State (9)
|
9 |
1st |
| 2. |
Western State
|
25 |
3rd |
3.
|
Chadron State
|
30
|
4th |
| 4. |
New Mexico Highlands |
31 |
2nd |
5.
|
COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
|
47 |
5TH |
| 6. |
Black Hills State (1) |
53 |
6th |
| 7. |
Metro State
|
57 |
9th |
| 8. |
UC-Colorado Springs |
63 |
7th |
| 9. |
Colorado Mesa
|
70 |
8th |
| 10. |
Colorado State-Pueblo |
75 |
10th |
