COLORADO SPRINGS – Oredigger redshirt sophomore Margaux Basart was announced as winner of the 2023 RMAC Summit Award for women's cross country on Thursday afternoon, just two days before the running of the 2023 RMAC Cross Country Championships.
 
It marks the first RMAC Summit Award of Basart's career, and adds to lengthy list of Orediggers who have claimed the award. The accolade is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average (GPA) participating in the RMAC Championships. The winner must also have been with the program for two seasons and competed in at least 20 percent of the current season's competitions. Total credit hours completed are used as a tiebreaker. Last season, Mines' Ethan Grolnic won the men's RMAC Summit Award. The last Oredigger woman to win the honor was Zoe Baker in 2020.
 
Basart boasts a perfect 4.0 GPA as an engineering physics major in her third year at Mines. She was named USTFCCCA All-Academic in 2022 along with RMAC Academic Honor Roll distinction and the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award. In competition this season, Basart finished 10th at the Lewis Crossover in Romeoville, Ill., which Mines' women won by double digits. The Iowa native also ran at the CU Time Trial where she finished 14th. Additional highlights from Basart's cross country career include appearances at the 2022 Roadrunners Invitational, the 2022 DII Pre-Nationals, and a run at the NCAA Division II South Central Region Cross Country Championships.
 
The Orediggers open their 2023 postseason on Saturday at the 2023 RMAC Cross Country Championships at Washington Park just south of downtown Denver. The women's race is scheduled to start at 10:45 a.m. with the men to follow at 11:35 a.m. A full preview and live coverage information will be released at www.minesathletics.com within the next 36 hours.
 
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.