2022 USTFCCCA Regional Awards

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association unveiled its regional cross country awards for NCAA Division II on Wednesday afternoon, and the Colorado School of Mines men swept the South Central Superlatives
 
Dillon Powell earned USTFCCCA South Central Region Men's Athlete of the Year, and Mines Head Coach Chris Siemers was voted USTFCCCA South Central Region Men's Coach of the Year. It's the second consecutive regional athlete of the year award for Powell and fourth straight coach of the year award for Siemers.
 
Powell earned the accolade after racing to individual gold on Saturday at the regional championships at Washington Park in Denver. He traversed the snowy, 10,000-meter course in 29:43.1 and won by more than 45 seconds. It marked the largest margin of victory in the South Central men's race since at least 2012. Powell held the previous top mark in that span after winning by 26.8 seconds last season. The Colorado Springs native remains undefeated in cross country in 2022 after also winning the D2 Pre-Nationals and the RMAC Championship.
 
Siemers not only earned his fourth straight USTFCCCA South Central Region Men's Coach of the Year award, but claimed his fifth overall. He won it on the merits of the Oredigger men winning their fourth consecutive regional crown. Under Siemers' coaching, Powell's performance anchored a 1-4-5-7-8 scoring finish for Mines' men as all seven Orediggers finished #13 or better to each claim all-region honors. That led to a team score of 25 points which is the lowest team score in a South Central Men's race since at least 2012. It gave the Orediggers a 34-point win over second-place Colorado Christian.
 
The next action for Powell, Siemers and the Orediggers are the 2022 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. They are slated for Friday, Dec. 2 at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Wash. Seattle Pacific will serve as the host. The men's race will begin at 10 a.m. PT with the women's race at 11:15 a.m. PT. Live results be linked at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines cross country 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.