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TSR's 2024 Preseason D2 XC Top 10 Team Rankings (Men): #3 Colorado Mines Orediggers
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- Sep 11, 2024
- 8 min read
NOTE: Earlier this summer, The Stride Report reached out to nearly every team that was considered for a possible ranking this summer. While we did receive numerous responses and great clarity, we did not get a 100% response rate. On certain occasions, we are referencing TFFRS in order to talk about returners and athletes who are out of eligibility.
The last time that the Colorado Mines men did not finish on the podium was 2013. Since then, they have won three national team titles (on the men's side) and, more recently, have established themselves as the premier Division Two long distance group of the early 2020s.
Well, that was until Wingate began their rise.
The fall of 2024 is going to be a fairly unique test for the Orediggers. They have often overwhelmed their opponents with an incredibly deep pool of All-American stars. This year, however, Coach Chris Siemers may have to go the deepest he ever has into his reserves to reenter the national title discussion and extend their podium streak.
But this is Colorado Mines that we're talking about. Anything other than excellence is not an option. And while this team did lose a mass number of star-caliber names, the next generation of low-stick scorers are seemingly primed to step up and usher in a new era of Oredigger dominance.
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The men of Golden, Colorado entered the 2023 cross country season as the fairly clear national title favorites. Their depth was seemingly endless and nearly everyone in their lineup had the potential to be an All-American.
The Lewis XC Crossover was the first legitimate test that the Orediggers toed the line for last fall. There, they would face a strong Colorado Christian squad and a large field of underrated distance programs.
And yet, none of that seemed to be an issue for Colorado Mines.
Duncan Fuehne delivered on expectations with an outstanding runner-up performance. That potent low-stick effort mostly validated his bronze medal run from the 2022 cross country national meet. Behind him, veterans Andrew Kaye (6th), Logan Bocovich (7th) and John O'Malley (8th) packed together to produce outstanding low-stick-caliber results of their own.
With JP Rutledge (11th) quickly closing out the scoring, Alberto Campa (13th) putting together a very underrated effort and Daniel Appleford (18th) beginning to show signs of promise, the Orediggers were able to easily trounce the field with a score of just 34 points.
The Colorado Christian men were well back in 2nd place with 77 points.
The RMAC XC Championships were next on tap for the Orediggers. And while Adams State did pose as a legitimate threat, the men from Golden, Colorado would prove to be far too complete for the Grizzlies to match.
Yet again, Colorado Mines' scoring potency was overwhelming as Fuehne, Loic Scomparin and Paul Knight went 3-4-5 before Bocovich and O'Malley closed out the team's scoring with 9th and 11th place finishes, respectively. And with a backend scoring group that was essentially gap-less, Adam State largely stood no chance.
In the end, the Orediggers posted just 32 points, distancing themselves from Adams State by 27 points and Western Colorado by 37 points.
After predictably and easily advancing out of the South Central region, the men of Colorado Mines entered the NCAA XC Championships viewed by most as the national title favorites.
Wingate, however, had other plans.
Scomparin (8th) was once again outstanding while Fuehne (11th), despite not being quite as potent as he was at the 2022 cross country national meet, still emerged as a top-tier low-stick. Bocovich (16th), meanwhile, was the best third scorer at the national meet, providing incredible value despite his position within his own lineup.
With Paul Knight (23rd) thriving in what was arguably the best result of his career, Colorado Mines looked like they were well on their way to winning yet another national title.
The issue, however, is that the elite depth that the Orediggers' reputation was built around didn't show up as effectively as it had all season long. Colorado Mines failed to produce a fifth individual All-American as John O'Malley secured a still-respectable 41st place result. And with both JP Rutledge (52nd) and Andrew Kaye (71st) also dropping out of All-American contention, Wingate took full advantage of the opportunity.
That, ladies and gentlemen, gave the Bulldogs NCAA gold with 70 points, just nine points ahead of the RMAC juggernaught known as Colorado Mines.
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As we look ahead to the fall of 2024, we find the Colorado Mines men at a unique point in their roster lifecycle. They are still national title contenders, but they will be hampered by lesser depth (in theory) and the departure of a superstar low-stick.
The latter departure is, of course, Duncan Fuehne, a focal veteran of this program for the last few years. He was among the most elite long distance talents in all of Division Two over the last two years, especially on the grass. His consistency and reliability as an upper-echelon star will be greatly missed.
Not having Fuhene is one thing, but additional losses of crucial backend contributors -- many of whom could be considered as low-sticks in their lead-up to the national meet -- leave Colorado Mines with a much slimmer margin for error.
John O'Malley was a single spot out from being an All-American last fall and was the team's fifth scorer at the national meet. However, placing 8th at the Lewis XC Crossover and 11th at the RMAC XC Championships provided his team with much more firepower than what we saw from him at the national meet.
JP Rutledge is also gone. At his best, he was closer to Duncan Fuehne than he was O'Malley. That's because, during his time at Missouri Southern, he finished 6th overall at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships. Admittedly, the now-departed long distance veteran never returned to that tier of fitness, but he did place 11th at the Lewis XC Crossover last fall which, in our eyes, is a legitimate low-stick performance.
The final notable departure is Andrew Kaye, yet another veteran who was significantly better than what his showing at the NCAA XC Championships would lead you to believe. He was, after all, the 6th place finisher at the Lewis XC Crossover.
If Colorado Mines only lost Duncan Fuehne or only lost that backend trio, then there would still be a very strong argument for this group to be ranked at TSR #2. But losing both elite scoring potency and numerous scoring reinforcements in one offseason is absolutely brutal.
Thankfully, the core unit of low-stick standouts from last year's national meet are all set to return. That should give Coach Chris Siemers an outstanding nucleus of first-rate aerobic aces who will ensure that his team stays on the podium come November.
Loic Scomparin is to set to return this fall. And after a brilliant year of racing unattached on the track -- producing jaw-dropping times of 7:46 (3k), 13:29 (5k) and 28:04 (10k) -- this Colorado Mines superstar could potentially challenge the likes of William Amponsah and Romain Legendre for the individual national title.
Logan Bocovich, meanwhile, was one of the most reliable long distance runners in the postseason during his time at the Division Three level. That reputation was upheld at last year's national meet with a crucial middle-lineup result. He's an extremely steady and reliable low-stick with a super high floor. His ceiling may not be quite as high as Scomparin's, but that's not really an issue given how strong Bocovich has become.
Then there is Paul Knight, yet another crucial veteran who has often been overlooked for how valuable his scoring prowess on the grass has bene. Remember, this guy earned a tremendous 5th place result at the RMAC XC Championships before going on to secure 23rd place All-American honors in his season finale.
That fall campaign, paired with a 24th place finish at the 2022 cross country national meet and great improvements on the track this past spring, suggest that he'll be a top-20 name in Division Two this fall.
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In most years, having three highly reliable veterans who are as talented as Scomparin, Bocovich and Knight would usually give a team the most feared scoring trio in the country. Unfortunately for Colorado Mines, the fall of 2024 features a different squad that could end up being among the all-time greats.
There are still plenty of questions remaining as to what the rest of this lineup will look like in 2024. After all, the Orediggers lost four of their top-seven men from last year's national meet.
Of course, this is Colorado Mines that we're talking about. The defining trait of this team (for as long as I've known them) is that they can consistently develop the most elite depth in the country. And given the still-numerous scoring options that they'll have at their disposal, it wouldn't surprise us if this team once again had four (or maybe even five) individual All-Americans come November.
Guys like Alberto Campa and Daniel Appleford are easy to be super high on.
The former was the 13th place finisher at the Lewis XC Crossover last fall. His only other race that season was a 23rd place result at the South Central Regional XC Championships, but his performances on the track (specifically over 1500 meters and the mile) were excellent. There is no denying that Campa's fitness has jumped since this time last year.
Appleford, meanwhile, was one of the nation's more underrated high school stars during his time at Newbury Park. His racing resume is admittedly a bit limited despite being in the NCAA since 2022, but he has shown sporadic moments of exciting promise.
As a true freshman, Appleford placed 19th at D2 Pre-Nationals and, last fall, he placed 18th at the Lewis XC Crossover. Now, after running a 5k PR of 14:02 this past spring, it feels like the current junior has enough experience and enough momentum to truly break out in a major way in the coming months.
However, if you're looking for an x-factor with tons of upside, then we would suggest that you evaluate the resume of Dawson Gunn.
This current sophomore was excellent as just a rookie this past year. After competing in one early-season rust-buster last fall, Gunn went on to record head-turning times of 13:58 (5k) and 29:57 (10k) on the track, the latter discipline being the event that he contested at the outdoor national meet.
Despite his youth, Gunn was super consistent over the last year and was able to score for his team on four different occasions between the RMAC Indoor & Outdoor Championships. With a valuable year of experience under his belt and tons of raw talent, we like his chances of being an All-American this fall.
The only question is, just how high up among the All-American finishers can he place?
Alex Shaw is a name who deserves a nod of respect after running 8:59 in the steeplechase this past spring. That's a promising PR for someone who finished a quietly-solid 23rd place at the 2022 RMAC XC Championships. There's a chance that he won't even crack this team's top-seven for the national meet, but it's also plenty possible that he does.
Max Bonenberger (who had a sneaky-good 16th place finish at last year's RMAC XC Championships), Brock Drengenberg (a very strong miler), Jacob Schwarting (a true freshman who ran 9:00 for 3200 meters), Jeremy Gillett (a redshirt freshman who ran 9:14 for 3200 meters), Matthew Mettler (who ran a converted 5k time of 14:27) and one under-the-radar freshman who we don't know about will all have solid chances at making varsity appearances this fall.
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Are the Colorado Mines men going to be as good as they were last year? It's not impossible, but it admittedly feels unlikely.
That, however, is something that almost no other team in all of Division Two would be able to say. The fact that we have the Orediggers as fairly comfortable favorites to make the podium (again) should just go to show how masterful Coach Chris Siemers has been with managing his roster's ever-changing lifecycle.
This team still has a lethal troika of low-stick stars and more than enough depth to mitigate the scoring departures that would have been devastating for most programs. And who knows? After missing out on NCAA gold by less than 10 points last fall, this team may be far hungrier to reestablish themselves as the top dogs in 2024.
