USTFCCCA National Rankings
 
NEW ORLEANS – A pair of dominant performances at the Lewis Crossover Invitational over the weekend helped the Colorado School of Mines Cross Country teams solidify their season-long national rankings with the men remaining #1 and the women #3 in the latest lists released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA).
 
Mines' women made it a sixth straight poll at #3 in all of NCAA Division II after winning the Lewis Crossover by 49 points. Holly Moser was the Orediggers' top runner, placing #7 overall thanks to a 6K time of 21:26.0. That helped Mines knock of #1-ranked Grand Valley State which totaled 98 points with just part of its starting lineup in the race. The Oredigger men made it a team title sweep in Illinois as Duncan Fuehne was #2 overall. His 8K time of 23:49.7 was only three seconds off the individual title and helped Mines tally a team score of 34 points. The #5-ranked Cougars of Colorado Christian were second with 77 points despite having the individual gold medalist on their squad.
 
Overall, the DII national rankings feature a total of 15 teams from Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The RMAC's headline addition to the lists was Fort Lewis' men's and women's programs. Joining Mines on the latest men's list are #4 Adams State, #5 Colorado Christian, #7 Western Colorado, #23 UCCS, #27 New Mexico Highlands, #29 CSU Pueblo, and #30 Fort Lewis. On the women's side there are seven RMAC teams with five inside the top-10. Adams State is #2, Mines is #3, Western Colorado is #4, UCCS is #6, CSU Pueblo is #7, Colorado Christian is #13, and Fort Lewis debuted at #25.
 
Last weekend's race marked the end of the regular season for the Orediggers. They start their postseason run (pun intended) at the 2023 RMAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 21. The event will be held at Washington Park just south of downtown Denver. Start times currently have the women at 10:45 a.m. and the men at 11:35 a.m. A full preview and applicable live coverage information will be released the week of the championships 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.