Mines track team reaches new heights at home indoor meet

Orediggers prepare for big Boston meet Feb. 10-11

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

With nationals a month away, the Colorado School of Mines indoor track & field teams are hoping to do better than they’ve ever done before.

And, based on their performances at this weekend’s home meet, that goal seems to be within reach.

The Orediggers hosted the annual Mines Winter Classic Feb. 3-4 at Steinhauer Fieldhouse, where hundreds of Division I and Division II athletes from Colorado and surrounding states competed.

On Feb. 3, the Mines women’s team set program records in the long jump and the pole vault. The women’s distance medley relay teams could qualify for nationals based on their Feb. 3 times, assistant coach Chris Siemers said, and the men’s DMR time is very close to that threshold as well.

Additionally, senior distance runner Zoe Baker ran the 3K in 9:52.65, which is one of the fastest times in the country. So, she’ll likely go to nationals for that event and others, Siemers explained.

On Feb. 4, the Orediggers won seven events and recorded three season bests and potential NCAA qualifiers, including Tim Thompson in men’s 800-meter race and Alberto Campa, who ran a 4:19.90 mile to take first for the Mines men.

While Mines typically hosts two indoor meets, it’s only hosting one this season. Siemers said home meets are always special, and he loves seeing the alumni return to cheer on the Orediggers.

Next on the schedule are simultaneous meets in Massachusetts and Kansas. Mines’ distance athletes will compete at Boston University’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational Feb. 10-11, while everyone else heads to the Gorilla Classic at Pittsburg State.

Siemers, a distance coach, described how Boston will be crucial for his athletes. The Orediggers will be competing at sea level, and Boston University’s indoor track is historically a very fast one. Last year, several Mines runners recorded personal records and qualified for nationals on that track, he stated.

This year, the Orediggers hope even more athletes will hit that threshold.

“That’s what we’re really striving towards — big personal bests and NCAA times,” he said. “Everything we’ve been doing up to now is in anticipation of that trip. (Feb. 3) was everyone who’s competing just trying to get the rust off and get ready for next week.”

Baker, who runs the mile, 3K and 5K for indoor track, praised her fellow women’s distance runners, saying it’s the deepest team Mines has ever had. She said several teammates competed with her in the 3K race, and they worked together to keep a good pace. Two teammates from the DMR also helped pace them, and then Baker “worked it out in that last K,” as she described.

“I ran a time that should be top six in the nation,” she said of her 3K finish. “ … Hopefully, I’ll continue on that momentum for the 5K next week (in Boston).”

While Boston is next on the schedule, Baker contemplated Mines’ chances at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s Indoor Championships Feb. 24-25. She felt both the men’s and women’s teams will have a good chance at the conference podium, but competition will be very tough at nationals.

At the NCAA Division II Indoor

Championships, slated for March 10-11 in Virginia Beach, Baker believed individual Orediggers would medal and win All-American honors. While she predicted both the men’s and women’s teams will finish better than they did last year, she also felt that “getting onto that team podium spot is definitely going to be challenging.”

She added: “Let’s just see what happens. We’re definitely going to do better than we’ve ever done before.”