WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Colorado School of Mines men's cross country team was among national champions from across college sports honored at the White House on Monday, June 12 as part of College Athlete Day.

Vice President Kamala Harris and NCAA president Charlie Baker hosted the ceremony on the White House's South Lawn. Individual national champion Dillon Powell represented Mines on stage at the event, which recognized champions from NCAA Divisions I, II, and III across all sports. They are the first Mines team to visit the White House as national champions.

The 2022 Oredigger team won by the largest margin in the history of the NCAA Division II Championship race by scoring 43 points, dominating the field to beat Wingate by 134 points. Mines was led by the program's first-ever individual national champion in Powell, who stopped the clock on his 10K in 29:28. All seven Orediggers in the lineup were all-Americans, the first time Mines had put all of its runners inside the top 40: Powell (1st), Duncan Fuehne (3rd), Loic Scomparin (10th), Luke Julian (13th), Chris Cathcart (23rd), Paul Knight (24th), and Steven Goldy (30th). 

Under national coach of the year Chris Siemers, it was the Orediggers' third national title joining the 2015 and 2019 teams. Several members of the team would go on to have standout track seasons as Powell won the NCAA indoor 5,000m and Julian the outdoor 1,500m titles; Fuehne, Scomparin, Knight, and Goldy were also all-Americans on the track in 2023 at distances ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 meters.