14 Orediggers Compete at Indoor Track and Field National Championships

By Jeremiah Vaille

On Friday March 11th and Saturday March 12th Orediggers took to the national stage in the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. The men tied for a 15th place finish with 15 points and the women tied for 27th with 6 points.

Dillon Powells 5k performance highlighted the weekend. Powell finished second in a time of 13:42 to score 8 points for the team. Four more Orediggers ran alongside Powell in the men’s 5k field of 16 athletes. Jake Mitchem also scored points in the 5k with a 5th place finish. Powell and Mitchem earned First-Team All-American honors with their podium finishes. Dylan Ko, Kyle Moran, and Duncan Fuehne’s results brought Mine’s representation to 5 of the 16 athletes in the event. Ko, Moran, and Fuehne finished 10th, 11th, and 13th respectively for the Orediggers. Ko and Moran earned Second-Team All-American honors.

Zoe Baker and Molly Maksin competed in the women’s 5k for Mines as well. Baker placed 6th with a time of 16:16 to break her own school record and earn First-Team All-American. Maskin placed 11th and earned Second-Team All-American.

Hannah Miller cleared 4.05 meters in the pole vault to place 6th and earn First-Team All-American. Baker and Miller scored 3 points each for the women’s team.

Aryelle Wright competed in the 800-meter prelims on Friday and finished just one spot out of qualifying for finals on Saturday. Wright still finished in a time of 2:09 to break her own school record and earn Second-Team All-American.

On Saturday, Powell, Mitchem, Ko, and Moran took back to the track in the 3k along with teammate Loic Scomparin. Mines athletes represented 5 of the 20 runners in the event. Ko an Mitchem earned Second-Team All-American with their 9th and 10th place finishes.

In the field events on Saturday, 3 more athletes represented Colorado School of Mines. Grant Redmond placed 13th in the high jump after clearing the bar at 2.05 meters. Hunter Potrykus placed 14th in the men’s pole vault with a height of 4.80 meters. Fischer jumped 14.30 meters in the triple jump for a 16th place finish.

Several Mines athletes represented our school in the Indoor Track and Field Championships. They hope to qualify for the Outdoor Track and Field Championships this spring as well so continue to cheer them on as they start the spring season.