2021-22 CoSIDA Academic All-America Teams

AUSTIN, Texas – The Colorado School of Mines Men's Track & Field and Cross Country teams combined for six CoSIDA Academic All-Americans on Wednesday as the College Sports Information Directors of America unveiled the final academic squad for the 2021-22 academic year.
 
Duncan Fuehne, Dylan Ko, Jake Mitchem and Dillon Powell were all voted CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-America. Grant Redmond and Loic Scomparin claimed CoSIDA Third-Team Academic All-America status. No other men's team in NCAA Division II had more than two selections across all three of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team for Track & Field and Cross Country. Wednesday's announcement brings Colorado School of Mines' yearly total of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans to 21 across all sports which put the Orediggers second in all of NCAA Division II for 2021-22.
 
Fuehne's first-team nod caps a breakout year for the recent Mines graduate. On the course and track, the Los Alamos, N.M., native stacked up accolades including USTFCCCA First-Team All-America in the 10,000-meter run, USTFCCCA All-Region, RMAC Cross Country Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-RMAC in cross country and First-Team All-RMAC in the indoor and outdoor 5,000-meter run. He appeared on the national stage at the NCAA Division II Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Meanwhile, in the classroom, Fuehne collected CoSIDA Academic All-District, USTFCCCA All-Academic, RMAC Academic Runner of the Year, RMAC First-Team All-Academic and RMAC Academic Honor Roll status thanks to his 3.97 grade-point average as an engineering physics major.
 
Ko earned the second CoSIDA Academic All-America award of his career after claiming second-team honors in 2020-21. His year on the course and track included a fourth-place finish in the nation at the 2021 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships which was good enough for USTFCCCA All-America distinction. He was also USTFCCCA First-Team All-America in the outdoor 5K, USTFCCCA Second-Team All-America in the indoor 3,000-meter run and 5K, USTFCCCA All-Region, First-Team All-RMAC in cross country and in the 10K. Academically, the Windsor, Colo., native was honored as CoSIDA Academic All-District, USTFCCCA All-Academic, RMAC First-Team All-Academic and a RMAC Academic Honor Roll member based on the merits of his 3.81 GPA in Mines' computer science master's program.
 
Mitchem became a three-time CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American thanks to top-team nods in 2019-20 and in 2020-21. The Oredigger graduate student earned three USTFCCCA First-Team All-America awards and one USTFCCCA Second-Team All-America honor during the year after finishing 13th in the nation at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, fifth in the nation in the 5K at the indoor national meet, 10th in the 3K at the DII indoor championships and third in the nation in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the DII outdoor championships. Mitchem was also First-Team All-RMAC in cross country, USTFCCCA All-Region and the RMAC Track Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. In the classroom, the Broomfield, Colo., native brought home CoSIDA Academic All-District, USTFCCCCA All-Academic, RMAC First-Team All-Academic and RMAC Academic Honor Roll distinction thanks to his work as a master's student in electrical engineering with a 3.87 GPA.
 
Powell rounded out Mines' first-team contingency with the first CoSIDA Academic All-America nod of his career. It follows a superlative season which was highlighted by a NCAA National Championship in the 10,000-meter run. He also claimed national silver in the indoor 5K, and national bronze in the outdoor 5K which led to USTFCCCA High Point Athlete of the Meet for the outdoor championships. Furthermore, Powell was the USTFCCCA South Central Region Runner of the Year and RMAC Runner of the Year in cross country. Back on the track he broke the NCAA Division II all-time record in the indoor 5K as well. Other accolades included RMAC Track Athlete of the Year for indoor track & field, a RMAC title in the 10K, USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week and RMAC Track Athlete of the Week, among many others. Academically, the Colorado Springs, Colo., native won CoSIDA Academic All-District, USTFCCCA All-Academic and RMAC First-Team All-Academic while posting a 3.85 GPA as a chemical engineering major.
 
Redmond's selection to the third-team marked his second CoSIDA Academic All-America award after earning second-team status as a sophomore in 2020-21. As a high jumper for the Orediggers, the true junior brought home USTFCCCA Second-Team All-America in the outdoor high jump by finishing 11th in the nation at the national meet. He also competed at the indoor championships and finished 13th in the nation. During the indoor season, Redmond became the best high jumper in Mines history by clearing 2.16 meters (7-1.0). His other accolades in competition include USTFCCCA All-Region, First-Team All-RMAC and RMAC gold in the outdoor high jump. In the classroom, the Yampa, Colo., native posted a 3.88 GPA in electrical engineering and was named CoSIDA Academic All-District and RMAC First-Team All-Academic for his efforts.
 
Scomparin's third-team nod marked the first of his career at Mines. The CoSIDA Third-Team Academic All-American finished 17th in the nation in the indoor 3K, ran the fourth-fastest 3K in the history of NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field and claimed USTFCCCA Second-Team All-America in the outdoor 5K while finishing 11th in the nation. He was also Second-Team All-RMAC in the 5K. His work in the classroom led to a 3.93 GPA as an environmental engineering major which resulted in CoSIDA Academic All-District and RMAC Academic Honor Roll status.
 
In order to be considered for the CoSIDA Academic All-America squads, a student-athlete must carry a 3.3 or higher GPA as a sophomore or above and be a significant contributor to their team. The nominee must also be voted First-Team Academic All-District.
 
Wednesday marks the close of awards season for the 2021-22 academic year. All additional news regarding Mines cross country and track & field will be released at www.minesathletics.com and on Twitter at @MinesAthletics.
 
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.