The 2022 Mines Athletics Auction and Hall of Fame will take place Oct. 8 at Lockridge Arena. Tickets are now on sale at minesathletics.com/auction, and check minesathletics.com all week long for the announcement of the Hall of Fame class!
 

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The dominant program in RMAC swimming & diving during the early 1980s, the Mines teams of 1980-81 to 1983-84 will enter the Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2022. 

Under Hall of Fame head coach Bob McCandless, the Orediggers reeled off four consecutive RMAC championships from 1981 to 1984, part of a stretch of six titles in seven years that began in 1978. They were the first Mines program to win four consecutive RMAC titles, and their standard stood for more than 30 years (tied by volleyball and women's soccer in the mid-2010s) until the men's soccer team won their fifth in a row in fall 2021.

They will be the second group of swimming & diving teams to be inducted to the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame; the teams of 1934 to 1938 were honored as part of the Class of 2000. Rick Williamson, who won the one-meter diving national title in 1981 and was a nine-time all-American, is also an individual member of the Hall of Fame from the Class of 1999, and McCandless was inducted in 2004. 

The 1981 championship meet remains one of the closest in RMAC history as the host Orediggers tipped the defending champions Western Colorado by 21 points to win the title. Randy Cox (50-free and 100-fly) Robbie Okuno (200-breast), Tom Carter (100-breast), and Rick Williamson (one-meter and three-meter diving) won individual titles to go with a 400-medley relay win. 

The 1982 team repeated after a 10-2 dual record, also capturing the RMAC Relays and taking second at the Intermountain Swimming League Championships. The Orediggers dominated with six new RMAC Championships records including a butterfly sweep by Mike Anderson and breaststroke sweep from Tom Carter, who would qualify for the NCAA Championships. The 1983 season saw Mines reach a threepeat as the Orediggers ran away with the title with 596 points at Fort Lewis, with another double championship performance by Anderson. The 1983 season also marked the first time that Oredigger sibling teams won titles in the same season as the Mines women, also coached by McCandless, won their first RMAC crown.

The final championship of the streak came in 1984 when Mines set a then-record with 648 points at the RMAC Championship meet to beat Western Colorado by 255. The victory was highlighted by a new meet record for Randy Cox as he won the 50-free. Five swimmers - Cox, Dave Roth, Anderson, Hans Stumpp, and Winston Tripp - qualified for NCAAs that year.

The Orediggers' RMAC dominance would likely have continued but the conference discontinued its swimming & diving championship after 1984, not returning until 2009. Mines had strong teams throughout the rest of the decade, including a win at the ISL Championships in 1988. 

Members of the teams include:
 

1980-81 Team	1981-82 Team
Rolf Arndt	Mike Anderson
David Bagley	Tom Carter
Joseph Bangs	Brett Conrad
Thomas Carter	Randy Cox (captain)
Brett Conrad	Craig Fulton
Randall Cox	Philip Glynn
James DeValois	Chris Hansen
Craig Fulton	John Hansen
Janet Green	Jim Hruby
Christian Hansen	James McDonald
John Hansen	Tim McGuire
Phillip Hedges	Karl Nelson
Scott Jones (captain)	Robbie Okuno
Dennis Lobmeyer	Bob Olson
Karl Nelson	Dave Roth
Robbie Okuno	Peter Scharer
John Pease	Hans Stumpp
Jeffery Samuels	Andy Tammen
Karl Sauer	Winston Tripp
William Ward	Harry Walkoff
Kevin Whaley	Bill Ward
Rick Williamson (captain)	Jim Werkmeister
Shawn Yasutake	Steve Whitham
Thomas Young	Shawn Yasutake
Jason Criss

 

1982-83 Men	1983-84 Men
Mike Anderson	Mike Anderson
Max Bordelon	Larry Baker
Paul Busey	Mike Bower
Todd Carter	Jeff Braun
Randy Cox (captain)	Randy Cox
Craig Fulton	Jer Dickens
Jim Hruby	Craig Fulton
James McDonald	Jim Hruby
Karl Nelson	Joe Lincoln
Chad Ochs	Chad Ochs
Robbie Okuno	Robbie Okuno
Bob Olson	Bob Olson
David Roth	Alan Robinson
Jeff Samuels	Dave Roth
Alan Scott	Hans Stumpp
Hans Stumpp	Doug Symons
Doug Symons	Andy Tammen
Andy Tammen	Rick Temple
Rick Temple	Winston Tripp
Winston Tripp	Jim Werkmeister
Bill Ward (captain)	Erik Westman
Jim Werkmeister	Steve Whitham
Erik Westman
Steve Whitham