USTFCCCA National Top-25

NEW ORLEANS – The Oredigger track & field teams helped make Mines history on Tuesday as the men rose to #1 in the nation and the women jumped to 10th in the USTFCCCA NCAA DII National Track & Field Rating Index.
 
The Oredigger men are #1 in the nation for the first time since 2018 thanks to a seven-spot jump following last weekend's Mines Front Range #2 event. It marks the first time in Colorado School of Mines history that two teams are nationally-ranked #1 at the same time with the Oredigger men's basketball team sitting atop the NABC Top-25. Mines' women leapt 18 spots up to 10th for their highest ranking in program history. It was the week's second-biggest jump behind a 23-spot rise by Indianapolis.
 
Both the men's and women's rise were fueled by a record-setting weekend at the Mines Front Range #2 open event inside Steinhauer Fieldhouse. Three facility records fell and multiple #1 times in the nation were run. Leading the way was Zoe Baker who shattered the fieldhouse record in the 5,000 meters by over 13 seconds, running 17:16.41. It was the week's sixth-fastest 5K across all divisions of the NCAA and moved Baker to #1 in NCAA Division II this season. Teammate Molly Maksin joined Baker in the 5K and ran 17:55.02 for a NCAA provisional standard. Maksin moved to #4 in the nation with her performance.
 
The men's 5K on Saturday also brought record-setting times and automatic qualifying for the national meet. Kyle Moran, Dylan Ko and Dillon Powell all ran automatic NCAA times with Moran going 14:27.16, Ko posting 14:34.69 and Powell pacing at 14:42.98. That trio ranks #2, #3 and #6, respectively, in DII this season. Moran would have also had the fieldhouse record in the 5K if not for Eric Hamer of NCAA DI Colorado State. Hamer ran the 5K in 14:16.29, and took down the facility record by almost 20 seconds. Hamer now holds the #1 5K time in DI this season. Additionally, Max Sevcik, John O'Malley and Duncan Fuehne ran NCAA provisional times in the second section of the 5,000 meters to rank #10, #11 and #18 in the nation.
 
Mines' Luke Julian continued the record-setting trend not long after the 5K as he dominated the mile. Julian finished in 4:10.12 and became the new facility record holder by more than two seconds. He also took over the #1 spot in DII this season and automatically qualified for the national meet. Teammate Vincent Workman also ran the mile and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in 4:15.63 to rank #7 in DII on the season. Julian, Ko, Loic Scomparin, Moran and Powell are all automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 3,000-meter run as well.
 
Saturday's distance dominance all came after Sophia Collins' record-setting Friday. The junior sailed 5.98 meters (19-7.5) in the long jump, and captured the program record in the event. Collins' leap put her #3 in the nation as well with a NCAA provisional mark. Additional Orediggers posting NCAA standards over the weekend included Aryelle Wright in the 800 meters, Heather Keniry in the mile, Grant Redmond in the high jump, Hunter Potrykus in the pole vault, Hannah Miller in the pole vault, Avery Herbold in the pole vault and Arvid Veidmark IV in the shot put.

The Orediggers continue their season this Friday and Saturday with Mines Front Range #3 inside Steinhauer Fieldhouse. No fans are allowed to attend, but live results and video of the event will be offered for free at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines track & field on Twitter and Instagram at @csmtrack. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.