GOLDEN, Colo. and BOSTON, Mass. - A pair of national records in Boston and multiple fast performances in Golden highlighted a statement-making opening Saturday for Colorado School of Mines.

Loic Scomparin and Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge set the NCAA Division II all-time records in the men's 3,000m and women's 5,000m, respectively, at Boston University's Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, while on the second day of the Mines Alumni Classic in Golden, Tim Thompson, Jeremiah Vaille, and Holden Murphy starred with NCAA-provisional performances.

at THE SHARON COLYEAR-DANVILLE SEASON OPENER [Results]
Loic Scomparin raced in a historic 3K heat that produced four times under the previous NCAA Division I record as North Carolina's Ethan Strand ran 7:30.15. That benefited a fast pace for Scomparin, who closed in 7:43.96 to best Adams State's Miguel Coca's previous D-II record of 7:44.90 set last season. Scomparin now owns two of the top three and three of the top 10 fastest 3K performances in D-II history over his career.

Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge raced in the second heat of the women's 5K against elite competition, and hung with the lead pack for most of the race before being detached late. Her kick brought her home in a massive PR of 15:40.98, lowering Lindsay Cunningham (Winona State)'s previous D-II record of 15:41.30 set in 2023 and also breaking the RMAC record of 15:47.88 held by Adams State's Brianna Robles. Ramsey-Rutledge is the first Oredigger woman to run sub-16:00; her previous best was 16:26.

Coming into the day, Mines had only had four women run a sub-17:00 5K; by the end of Saturday, that number had doubled. In addition to Ramsey-Rutledge's historic performance, Margaux Basart ran 16:41.15, Grace Strongman 16:47.35, and Emily LaMena 16:54.83 - all NCAA provisional times and personal bests. 

Imani Fernandez-Gorbea started the day with a terrific mile performance, running a collegiate-best and NCAA-provisional 4:52.69 to place 22nd overall. Alberto Campa had a personal-best 3K run of his own, crossing the line in 8:02.64 to make him Mines' #4 all-time performer in the event, and in the men's 5K, Daniel Appleford led the way with a personal-best 14:09.60, with Braden Struhs clocking 14:21.78.

at THE MINES ALUMNI CLASSIC [Results]
Tim Thompson ran an exceptional at-altitude 1:51.94 800m, only a half-second off his sea-level best, which translates to an NCAA-provisional 1:48.71 on the national performance list. Although early in the season, that time would have ranked as the national #3 seed in 2024 and should safely book him a nationals trip. 

Two weeks removed from his all-America run at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Jeremiah Vaille closed the meet with a 5,000m run paced by alumni Grant Colligan and Andrew Kaye. Vaille came home in an impressive NCAA-provisional time of 14:41.61 (14:00.32 at sea level) to slot in 13th on the early national performance list among a strong weekend of 5K performances in meets at Boston University and Grand Valley State.

Holden Murphy won the weight throw by more than a meter, hitting an NCAA-provisional 19.02m on his fifth throw after going over 18.70m on all five fair attempts of his series. That makes him only the second Oredigger to surpass 19 meters, joining Jack Root (19.47m). Franklin Rambo placed seventh with a best of 15.17m. Mines women took three of the top four spots in the weight throw as Kitt Rupar and Abbi Gillespie went 1-2 and Jennifer Jarnagin took fourth. All three women marked personal bests as Rupar smashed hers by more than a meter to win at 16.78m, and Gillespie threw 16.62m, and Jarnagin went over 16 meters for the first time at 16.47m. 

In the 60m hurdles, both Rhett Cullers and Nick Stade made the final as Cullers was fifth in 8.42 and Stade sixth in 8.57. Cullers ran a personal-best 8.32 in prelims, with Stade clocking 8.42 and Coulton Chan the same time. Allison Comer qualified for the women's 60m hurdle finals and finished fifth in 9.11 after a personal-best 9.06 in prelims, which took her to #5 on the Mines all-time list. Aani Hardesty began her season in the 400m, running a second-place 58.68.

NEXT UP
Mines will break for the holidays and finals before returning to action Jan. 11 at the Potts Invitational in Boulder.