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TSR's 2024 Preseason D2 XC Top 10 Team Rankings (Women): #4 Colorado Mines Orediggers
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- Sep 10, 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.
Colorado Mines has been a factory for producing top-tier aerobic-centric talents. In fact, you can often pencil in the Orediggers to have at least two All-Americans at the NCAA XC Championships each and every year. They have, after all, had at least three individual All-Americans in three of their last four national meet appearances.
The fall of 2024, however, may end up being one of the Coach Chris Siemers' more difficult challenges in recent years.
That's because this year's Colorado Mines squad has been crushed with departures. Many of their top women from last fall have either expired their eligibility or have graduated. And while there are still a number of sneaky-good names remaining on this roster, putting this team back on the podium isn't necessarily a given.
Of course, if there is anyone capable of doing exactly that, it's the coach who has a reputation for being one of the best developers of long distance talent in all of Division Two.
* * *
The ladies from Golden, Colorado kicked-off their 2023 cross country season with a handful of rust-busting meets before they ventured to Illinois for the Lewis XC Crossover. It was there where the Orediggers would test themselves against some of the best D2 distance programs in the nation.
And yet, despite the strong competition, no other team had the scoring potency that could match what Colorado Mines boasted. Holly Moser (7th) had a very strong showing as the team's focal low-stick, but you could also argue that the rest of the Orediggers' scoring unit were all low-sticks in their own right.
The combination of Clare Peters, Margaux Basart, Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge and Grace Strongman packed together to go 9-10-11-12, respectively, to close out the scoring. Alexis Herr (19th) cracked the top-20 to offer great scoring insurance while Riley McGrath had a slight "off" day, dropping to 26th place.
That overwhelming firepower led to Colorado Mines easily securing the win over a very limited Grand Valley State squad. Even so, the raw scoring potency of this group looked extremely promising as the team entered the postseason.
The RMAC XC Championships, however, would pose a far greater challenge.
Moser (4th) was once again fantastic, producing a low-stick result that was arguably better than what we saw from her at the Lewis XC Crossover. With Ramsey-Rutledge (7th) and Strongman (8th) staying relatively close, the women of Colorado Mines were giving the juggernaut known as Adams State a run for their money.
But from there, gaps began to form within the Orediggers' top-five. Peters (14th) had a solid outing, although she was likely capable of a slightly better result. The same could be said for Basart (23rd) who closed out the scoring.
Despite their inability to keep pace with Adams State, the Orediggers still had plenty to be proud of. They somewhat comfortably defeated a strong Western Colorado team and secured an admirable runner-up result at the nation's most competitive conference meet.
After advancing out of the South Central Regional XC Championships, the ladies of Colorado Mines toed the line in Joplin, Missouri. There, they would be tasked with landing on the podium while seeing how close they could get to the insanely talented women from Grand Valley State and Adams State.
The frontend of this lineup once again delivered top-level scoring potency as Moser capped an excellent season with an 18th place All-American finish. Ramsey-Rutledge, meanwhile, saved her best race of the season for the national meet where she placed 20th. The same could be said for Peters who delivered on the upside that we knew she had with a very strong 25th place result.
Maksin (35th) gave Colorado Mines a fourth All-American while Basart (50th) did a commendable job of closing the team's scoring relatively quickly. And yet, despite having four All-Americans and all five of their scorers in the top-50, the Orediggers had to settle for a 3rd place podium finish.
Even so, the 2023 NCAA XC Championships could only be viewed as a grand success for the ladies of Colorado Mines.
* * *
Last year's Colorado Mines' team was absolutely stacked and maybe even overlooked despite how strong they were. You could make the argument (albeit, a shaky one) that the Orediggers had five low-stick-caliber women on their roster last fall.
The problem, however, is that much of the Orediggers' firepower from last year will be gone in 2024.
Holly Moser, Clare Peters, Molly Maksin and Riley McGrath are no longer listed on Colorado Mines' roster. All four of those women were All-Americans at some point in their careers with the former three earning that honor at last year's national meet.
The frontend of this lineup has essentially been decimated. The firepower that only paled to Grand Valley State and Adams State last fall is gone. Not only that, but those were veterans who proved to be incredibly reliable and consistent throughout last fall. Having less certainty in your scoring group is obviously not ideal, either.
And yet, when you begin to put together the remaining puzzle pieces of Colorado Mines' roster, it's hard not to feel optimistic, especially given their extensive history of success.
Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge is returning from last year's national meet. She is a true veteran who will likely emerge as the low-stick star on this team in 2024. Yes, her 20th place finish at the cross country national meet was impressive, but her 11th place finish at the Lewis XC Crossover and her 7th place result at the RMAC XC Championships suggested that she was capable of that performance.
After running 16:23 for 5000 meters this past spring and winning the RMAC 10k title, it's hard to find too many negatives on Ramsey-Rutledge's resume. She's a reliable veteran who will give this team a potent low-stick result. The only concern is that she didn't race at the outdoor national meet despite having a qualifying time in the 5k.
Even so, Ramsey-Rutledge has been too strong and too consistent for us to be concerned about her scoring prowess this fall.
We then come to Margaux Basart, someone who we believe could absolutely be an All-American low-stick in 2024. The 50th place finisher from the national meet was arguably better at the Lewis XC Crossover where she placed 10th. And if her 23rd place finish at the RMAC XC Championships is her floor, then that's a good problem to have.
Of course, it's what Basart did on the oval earlier this year that really has us excited.
After posting new personal bests of 4:51 (mile, altitude conversion), 9:28 (3k), 16:53 (5k) and 10:29 (steeple) on the track, it's abundantly clear to us that Basart's fitness has taken a jump up. That's a big deal considering that, a) she was already a fringe All-American contender, and b) Colorado Mines needs the extra firepower.
It's never safe to assume that someone will be able to fully translate their newfound fitness from the track to the grass. Even so, it's more likely than not that Basart emerges as an All-American this past fall and that would be a welcomed development for the Orediggers.
But what if I told you that Colorado Mines actually has a second returning All-American?
That's because Grace Strongman, who placed 79th at last year's NCAA XC Championships, was actually a 39th place All-American at the 2022 rendition of the meet. Not only that, but if you look at Strongman's 2023 fall campaign, finishes of 12th at the Lewis XC Crossover and 8th at the RMAC XC Championships suggested that she would be in contention for a top-30 result in her season finale.
That didn't happen, but if Strongman was still able to salvage a top-80 national meet finish on an "off" day, then just like we mentioned Basart, that's also a very good problem to have. And after seeing her continue to find success on the outdoor oval, it's hard not to be high on the potential of this current junior.
* * *
Despite so many crucial departures, this year's Colorado Mines team still brings back three women who we believe will be favored to be All-Americans in 2024. And from that perspective, the top-heavy nature of this lineup hasn't seemingly changed too much compared to last year.
Of course, it takes five runners to field a full cross country team and there are two remaining scoring roles still open that the Orediggers need to fill.
Alexis Herr is someone who we really like a lot after seeing her place 19th at the Lewis XC Crossover last fall. With some minor improvements, she could be a perfect fourth scorer for a team looking to return to the podium.
Expect, there's just one problem: Herr hasn't raced since the 2023 Lewis XC Crossover.
We truthfully have no idea whether or not we'll see Herr this fall. If she's back and in top form, then she raises the floor of this team in a significant way. If not, then Colorado Mines should still be strong enough to contend for the podium. Their margin for error, however, will theoretically be smaller.
The sophomore duo of Josie Mejia and Callen Nash should provide solid depth for this squad as long as they continue to progress. But more importantly, one of these two women could absolutely be due for a breakout season.
There is seemingly always one underclassman on Colorado Mines' roster who has a huge breakout season out of nowhere during the fall months. And if we had to bet, it will likely be one of the two above-mentioned women.
This past spring, Mejia ran a converted 5k mark of 17:29 while Nash ran a converted 5k time of 17:55. Sure, neither of those times are jaw-dropping, but they are promising if you're a believer in youth-based upside.
Ashleigh Loe is a veteran who had a few respectable races on the track and Karina Anderson is a former Colorado runner who has tons of experience at the highest levels of Division One. She also ran 34:52 for 10,000 meters in the spring of 2023, a subtly solid time which would have allowed her to qualify for the D2 outdoor national meet earlier this year.
In the grand scheme of things, Anderson may be the biggest x-factor on this team. Her recent marks haven't necessarily caught our attention in any major way, but that 10k performance from over a year ago is too good to ignore. If we can get that same version of Anderson this fall, then there's a good chance that Colorado Mines will, once again, have four All-Americans.
Don't forget about freshman Emily LaMena, either. The current rookie ran 6:45 in the 2000-meter steeplechase this past spring to place 6th overall at New Balance Outdoor Nationals! That's a very strong result for a recruit who is entering the Division Two level. Her 10:48 PR over 3200 meters also boosts her stock as well.
* * *
There's a good chance that a number of people will be overlooking the Oredigger women this fall after their exodus of top-tier names. And yet, we can still see a very realistic scenario where Colorado Mines has four All-Americans this fall.
We will admit, this team isn't perfect. There are still a few things that need to break in their favor if the Orediggers are going to be a podium squad.
Basart needs to translate her track success to the grass, Strongman needs to avoid having an "off" day at the national meet like she did last year, one of the underclassmen on this roster needs to step up in a fairly significant way and Karina Anderson needs to rediscover her fitness from the spring of 2023 when she ran her 10k PR.
Not all of those things need to happen in order for Colorado Mines to be a top-four team in November. And thankfully, everything that we just mentioned is arguably more probable than possible.
But if nothing else, we can't go against Coach Chris Siemers and the history of this program. The last time that the Colorado Mines women didn't stand on the podium at the NCAA XC Championships was in 2018 -- and they still placed 5th that year.
In 2024, we don't see that trend changing.
