RMAC All-Academic Teams – Men | Women
 
COLORADO SPRINGS – Mines graduate student Loic Scomparin was named the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Athlete of the Year for men's cross country on Thursday, topping a list of  22 Oredigger men and women who were honored for their performances in the classroom and on the course.
 
Scomparin brings the men's award to Golden, Colo., for a fourth straight year after former teammate Duncan Fuehne swept the honor from 2021-23. It's Scomparin's first RMAC Academic Athlete of the Year award in cross country. He was also named RMAC First-Team All-Academic for the fourth time in his career. Teammates Dawson Gunn and Jeremiah Vaille earned RMAC First-Team All-Academic as well – the first such accolades of their respective careers. On the women's side, Margaux Basart, Lexi Herr, Emily LaMena, Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge, and Grace Strongman all earned RMAC First-Team All-Academic. No other team in the league had more selections than the Orediggers to either top team. Mines' eight individuals were voted to the first team by the league's communications professionals on the merits of individual, cumulative grade-point averages of 3.50, or better, and their performance on the course. Scomparin brought home the top honor as the #1 vote-getter among all men's nominees. The women's RMAC Academic Athlete of the Year was Shannon King of Colorado Christian.
 
In addition to eight first-team selections, Mines also had 11 men and three women appear on the RMAC Academic Honor Roll. On the men's side, it was Jeremy Gillett, Garrett Mackey, Chandler Wilburn, Matt Mettler, Alberto Campa, Rowan Nicholas, Braden Struhs, Andreas O'Malley, Brock Drengenberg, Alex Shaw, and Sam Walls. The Oredigger women on the academic honor roll included Ashleigh Loe, Emma Nelson, Maria Forster. Members of the RMAC Academic Honor Roll earned their status thanks to an individual GPA over 3.30 and at least two consecutive semesters at their institution.
 
Scomparin's distinction as the top men's cross country student-athlete in all the RMAC adds to an impressive season resume. The sixth-year runner finished second as an individual at the 2024 RMAC Cross Country Championships and helped Mines' men win their sixth straight league title. Scomparin also finished eighth at the 2024 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, earning USTFCCCA All-America distinction while guiding the Oredigger men to their fourth national title in program history. For his career, the California native is a 12-time USTFCCCA All-American across track and cross country. He's also a three-time College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American.
 
With the cross country season in the books, Scomparin and the Orediggers look quickly to indoor track & field which kicks off this weekend in Golden and in Boston. A full preview is available at www.minesathletics.com.

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