NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Emporia, Kan. - Welch Stadium - hosted by Emporia State
Thursday-Saturday [Live Video] [Live Results] [Schedule] [Championship Central]

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OREDIGGERS END 2024 AT NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Colorado School of Mines sends 23 competitors to compete in 30 events this weekend as the season comes to an end at the 2024 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Emporia State in Kansas. The three-day meet heads to Emporia for the first time since 2006, as both the Mines men and women aim for top-10 team showings. 

LIVE COVERAGE
Live video of the meet is available for free on ncaa.com, with throws streaming coverage on the MIAA Network. Live results and entry lists are also available. Fans can keep up with the Orediggers' progress by following @csmtrack on both X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.

MINES AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
This will mark the 25th consecutive outdoor championship that Mines has qualified competitors, dating back to 1999. The Mines men enter this weekend ranked 13th in the USTFCCCA ratings index and finished 11th at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships; they have finished 12th or better for three consecutive years, coming in sixth in 2021, ninth in 2022, and 12th last year. The women are coming off a second consecutive top-10 indoor finish, are ranked #8 by the USTFCCCA, and are poised to improve on their best-ever team outdoor finish at 11th set last year in Pueblo. 

WHAT TO WATCH - THURSDAY
A busy first day of the meet will see Orediggers compete in finals of the women's pole vault, women's hammer, women's long jump, and men's and women's 10,000m, as well as track preliminaries in the 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase. Things start with a strong event for Mines, the women's pole vault (3 p.m. CT), where they have a program-record four entrants led by eight-time all-American, 2023 indoor national champion, and 2023 outdoor and 2024 indoor silver medalist Hannah Miller, who is seeded third at 4.30m. She's joined by Avery Herbold, who makes her fifth nationals appearance seeded 11th at 4.02m, and a pair of debuts from Ava Kowalski (16th seed, 3.97m) and Dale Thompson (18th seed, 3.95m). 

Kitt Rupar debuts at the NCAA Championships in the first of her three events with the hammer throw finals (3:30 p.m. CT), as she is seeded 21st with a program-record 14.63m season best. Lexye Wood rounds out Thursday's field events with her fifth career NCAAs appearance, seeded 16th in the long jump with a program-record 6.11m mark.

Track prelims on Thursday start with three Orediggers in the 1,500m. The men's race (5:10 p.m. CT) features Alberto Campa and Brock Drengenberg, seeded 10th (3:43.74) and 13th (3:43.79), respectively, as Campa made the final and finished 10th last year and Drengenberg makes his debut in 2024. Riley McGrath is the 15th seed in the women's race (5:25 p.m. CT) at a time of 4:24.77, having previously qualified in 2021 and 2022 while an undergrad at UCCS with a best finish of ninth. The steeplechase prelim (7:10 p.m. CT) has Margaux Basart making her Outdoors debut following a 10th-place indoor 3K finish this past winter; she is seeded 19th in 10:35.48.

Mines' biggest group of entrants are in the men's and women's 10,000m races to end Thursday night (8:10 p.m. CT), with five men and four women on the track. The men's race will have Logan Bocovich, Duncan Fuehne, Dawson Gunn, Paul Knight, and JP Rutledge racing for the Orediggers, led on the performance list by Bocovich, who is seeded ninth at 28:56.68. Bocovich makes his D-II championships debut, but placed sixth in the 10K at the 2023 NCAA Division III Championships racing for St. Olaf. Paul Knight makes his second straight appearance in the race after finishing on the podium in eighth last year, and is seeded 10th at 29:01.58; the RMAC champion Duncan Fuehne heads to his third outdoor meet with previous 10K finishes of ninth and seventh, seeded 12th in 29:05.56. Dawson Gunn makes his NCAAs debut seeded 13th (29:06.82), and JP Rutledge qualifies for his second career Outdoors appearance, finishing 14th in the 10K in 2022 while an undergrad at Missouri Southern. The women's race features eighth seed Zoe Baker (34:15.81), 14th seed Grace Strongman (34:41.47), 16th seed Molly Maksin (34:47.70), and 17th seed Holly Moser (34:48.43). Baker closes her decorated career with a fourth 10K appearance, finishing fifth a year ago, ninth in 2022, and seventh in 2021, while Maksin appears for the third straight years with two previous 10th-place finishes and Moser returns after coming in 11th a year ago. Strongman makes her NCAA Outdoors debut. 

WHAT TO WATCH - FRIDAY
Friday will be the lightest day of the three for Mines with two finals and two prelims on the schedule. Rupar competes in her second event, the discus throw, to start the day at 4:30 p.m. CT, seeded 20th at 47.09m, while track action starts with the women's 800m prelims at 6:15 p.m. Aryelle Wright enters that race seeded fourth (2:07.08) as the program recordholder makes her fourth appearance outdoors at 800m, having previous finishes of 10th, 13th, and fourth. Everett Delate is seeded 10th in the 110m hurdles (6:35 p.m. CT) at a program-record 13.87 seconds, following up his 10th-place finish a year ago with his fifth-place 60m hurdles NCAA finish indoors this past winter. Should Margaux Basart advance from Thursday's prelim, the women's steeplechase final will go off at 7:30 p.m. CT.

WHAT TO WATCH - SATURDAY
The final day of the meet starts off with a pair of field finals in the women's shot put (11 a.m. CT) and men's pole vault (12:30 p.m. CT). Rupar rounds out her weekend with the shot put, seeded 21st at 14.63m. The pole vault sees Hunter Potrykus and Noah Kelly visit Emporia, with Potrykus qualifying for his third straight outdoor championship seeded third with a program-record 5.41m height. Kelly cleared a career-best 5.08m this spring to earn his first nationals trip. Mid-day Saturday will host track finals for preliminary advancers from the 1,500m (2:25 p.m. CT), 110m hurdles (2:45 p.m. CT), and 800m (3:55 p.m. CT) before ending with five Orediggers in the 5,000m. 

The men's race (5 p.m. CT) has a pair of double-qualifiers from the 10K, Logan Bocovich and Duncan Fuehne, entered; Bocovich is seeded ninth (13:49.23) after winning the RMAC championship at the distance, and he was a two-time D-III qualifier. Fuehne is seeded 13th (13:52.43), making his third appearance after finishing on the podium in eighth a year ago. The women's race (5:25 p.m. CT) will have three more double entrants in Zoe Baker, Molly Maksin, and Riley McGrath. Baker is seeded fifth (15:58.60) in her fourth appearance at the distance, holding previous finishes of seventh, 16th, and ninth, while McGrath previously qualified in 2022 and finished 20th. Maksin makes her NCAA Outdoor debut in the 5K but has finished on the podium twice indoors, including sixth this winter. 

RMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS REWIND
The Oredigger women captured their first-ever outdoor team title and the men finished a close third at the 2024 RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on April 26-28 in Grand Junction. Mines crowned eight individual champions at the meet, including Logan Bocovich (5K), Tim Thompson (800m), Avery Wright (heptathlon), Everett Delate (110m hurdles), Avery Herbold (PV), Hunter Potrykus (PV), Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge (10K), and Duncan Fuehne (10K). 

SETTING RECORDS
The Orediggers have re-written their record book this spring with 11 new or improved program records through last weekend. The women have broken or reset nine of the 21 active program records thanks to Aryelle Wright (800m), Riley McGrath (1,500m), Zoe Baker (5,000m), Allison Comer (400m hurdles), Hannah Miller (pole vault), Lexye Wood (long jump), Claire Kintzley (triple jump), Kitt Rupar (hammer), and Avery Wright (heptathlon); the men have added a pair with Everett Delate (110m hurdles) and Hunter Potrykus (pole vault) resetting their marks. 

MISS ALL-AMERICA
Zoe Baker closes an incredible Mines career at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, already the holder of 13 all-America honors - the most by any student-athlete in any sport in Colorado School of Mines history. Baker is a four-time all-American outdoors, six times indoors, and three times in cross country as she has two more podium chances in the 5,000m and 10,000m this weekend. She isn't the only Oredigger high up on the program list; Molly Maksin is a 10-time honoree as she closes out her career, and eight-time all-American Hannah Miller tries to add one more as she will finish as the most decorated field athlete in program history. 

OREDIGGERS EARN 20 ALL-REGION AWARDS
Orediggers occupied 20 slots on the USTFCCCA's all-region awards announced late last week. The women's list was highlighted by the pole vaulters as Mines had four of the five regional slots with Hannah Miller, Avery Herbold, Ava Kowalski, and Dale Thompson. Kitt Rupar was a triple all-region selection in the shot put, discus, and hammer, and Zoe Baker earned spots in both the 5,000m and 10,000m with Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge listed in the 10K, Aryelle Wright in the 800m, and Lexye Wood in the long jump. The men also had depth in the pole vault with three of the slots led by Hunter Potrykus along with Aidan Bennett and Noah Kelly. Everett Delate was honored at both hurdles distances, Alberto Campa made the list in the 1,500m, and Grant Redmond (high jump) and Brody Welch (shot put) rounded out the field honorees. 

TAKING SILVER
Usually in track & field the color you want to earn is gold, but for Mines student-athletes, the goal is silver - their silver-plated diplomas, that is. Twenty-five members of the Mines cross country and track & field programs graduated two weeks ago with 14 bachelor's degrees and 11 master's degrees earned, and 10 of the graduates will appear at the NCAA Championships. Men's degree earners included Fischer James Espiritu Argosino, Andy Gebhardt, Garrett Halbrooks, Davin Kiesby, Nicholas Nijkamp, John O'Malley, Hunter Potrykus, Grant Redmond, JP Rutledge, Loic Scomparin, and Jeremiah Vaille; women walking across the stage included Allison Comer, Abbi Gillespie, Avery Herbold, Randi Higashi, Claire Kintzley, Ava Kowalski, Ashleigh Loe, Molly Maksin, Riley McGrath, Hannah Miller, Holly Moser, Dale Thompson, Gabbi Varela, and Lexye Wood
 

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Men's Qualifiers
Logan Bocovich - 5,000m/10,000m
Alberto Campa - 1,500m
Everett Delate - 110m hurdles
Brock Drengenberg - 1,500m
Duncan Fuehne - 5,000m/10,000m
Dawson Gunn - 10,000m
Noah Kelly - pole vault
Paul Knight - 10,000m
Hunter Potrykus -  pole vault
JP Rutledge - 10,000m

Women's Qualifiers
Zoe Baker - 5,000m/10,000m
Margaux Basart - 3,000m steeplechase
Avery Herbold - pole vault
Ava Kowalski - pole vault
Molly Maksin - 5,000m/10,000m
Riley McGrath - 1,500m/5,000m
Hannah Miller - pole vault
Holly Moser - 10,000m
Kitt Rupar - shot put/hammer/discus
Grace Strongman - 10,000m
Dale Thompson - pole vault
Lexye Wood - long jump
Aryelle Wright - 800m