Background

CSM WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY FIFTH; MEN SIXTH
AT NCAA DIVISION II NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Junior Joel Hamilton Earned
All-American Honors

POMONA, Calif. - The Colorado School of Mines men's and women's cross country teams competed at the 2005 NCAA Division II National Championships on Saturday morning at Prado Regional Park and each squad turned it its best performance in program history.

The Oredigger women, who placed 14th in the country two years ago, finished fifth among the 24 competing teams with 194 points on the 6-K course, while the men's squad, making its first appearance at the national championships in school history, finished sixth with 234 points on the 10-K course.

Adams State won the women's title with 54 points and was followed by Grand Valley State (69), Western State (154), Chico State (162) and Mines. On the men's side, Western State won the team title with 51 points and was followed by Adams State (108), Chico State (127), Grand Valley State (131), Saginaw Valley State (218) and Mines.

On the men's side, junior Joel Hamilton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the way as he placed eighth overall in 31:51.30 to earn All-American honors and six team points. Junior Larry McDaris (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who competed at nationals as an individual last year, finished 36th overall in 32:56.90 to earn 27 points. He also earned All-American honors after all the foreign top finishers were thrown out. The top-30 American finishers earned All-American honors.

Rounding out the top-five for the Orediggers were senior Ryan Miles (Gretna, Neb.) who was 55th in 33:31.30 and earned 44 points, junior Michael Rooney (Arlington, Va.) who finished 82nd in 34:12.30 for 69 points and junior Clifton Oertli (Littleton, Colo.) who was 102nd overall in 34:48.20 for 88 points.

Seniors Hannah Davey (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen) and Heather Beresford (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer) once again led the women's team as they placed 36th and 37th, respectively to earn 27 and 28 team points. Davey finished in 22:35.30, while Beresford was right behind in 22:35.70. Each also earned All-American accolades.

Freshman Megan McKee (Littleton, Colo.) was 53rd in 23:16.30 to earn 40 points, senior Serena Gardiner (Elizabeth, Colo./Elizabeth) was 54th in 23:18.10 to earn 41 points, while junior Melanie Peddle (Greeley, Colo.) was 74th in 23:40.40 to earn 58 points as CSM's final female scored runner.

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CSM MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS FINISH THIRD
AT REGIONALS TO QUALIFY FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

HAYS, Kan. - The Colorado School of Mines men's and women's cross country teams both finished in third place at the 2005 NCAA Division II North Central Regional Championships contested on Saturday morning on the campus of Fort Hays State.

The CSM women scored 101 points to better fourth place South Dakota by 16 points. Adams State won the title with 25 points, while Western State was second with 72. On the men's side, CSM totaled 113 points to better fourth place Minnesota State-Mankota by 20 points. Adams State won the men's title with 29 points and Western State was second with 37.

The top four finishing teams qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships to be run on Nov. 19 in Pomona, Calif.

Leading the way for the women was senior Heather Beresford (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer) who placed 10th overall (22:09.18) to earn All-North Central Region honors which go to the top-15 finishers. Senior Hannah Davey (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen) was 18th in 22:37.08.

On the men's side, junior Joel Hamilton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) was the lone Oredigger to earn All-North Central Region accolades as he placed 8th overall in 31:42.20. Junior Michael Rooney (Arlington, Va.) was CSM's next finisher at 19th overall in 32:58.60.

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CSM MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS FINISH THIRD AT THE RMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

LITTLETON, Colo. - Both the men's and women's cross country teams finished third this morning at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships. Both were third behind Adams State and Western State.

On the women's side, Adams State won with a score of 25 while Western was second with 71. Colorado School of Mines finished third with 74 points just three points behind Western. The women were led by Senior HeatherBeresford (Colorado SPrings, Colo./Lewis Pakmer) who finished the 6k course in tenth overall with a time of 25:07. Her tenth place finish was just good enough to earn her All-RMAC accolades. The top ten on each the men's and women's side earn All- RMAC.

CSM had two men in the top ten also earning All -RMAC status. The men were paced by Juniors Laurence McDaris and Joel Hamilton (Colorado Springs, Colo.). McDaris finished sixth in the 8k race with a time of 27:30 while Hamilton was seventh with a time of 27:40. The men finished behind Adams State who was first with 25 points while Western was second with 40, the Orediggers finished with the same score as the women, 74.

CSM will return to action November 5 when they will compete for a chance to make it to nationals in Fort Hays, Kansas at the Regional Championships. The top five teams qualify for nationals on the men's side while only the top four qualify on the women's side.

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CSM WOMEN'S CROSS COIUNTRY TEAM WINS PRE REGIONAL MEET

Hays, Kan. - The Colorado School of Mines men's and women's cross country teams were in Hays, Kansas Saturday morning competing in the Pre Regional Meet hosted by Fort Hays. The women cruised to a victory while the men were second.

The women's team won the race beating second place, Butler County Community College by 45 points. Mines ended with a score of 23 while BCCC had 68. The women were led by Senior Heather Beresford (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer) who finished second overall in the 5K race with a time of 18:15. Teammate Hannah Davey was close behind finishing third in a time of 18:28. Melanie Peddele (18:54, 5th), Megan McKee (19:12, 7th) and Serena Gardiner (19:18, 9th) rounded out the Orediggers victorious women's team.

For the men, Joel Hamilton (Monument, Colo./Liberty) continued to set the pace as he also cruised to a second place finish, finishing the 8K course in a time of 25:30. Larry McDaris and Michael Rooney were able to finish in the top ten. McDaris was 5th (25:46) while Rooney was 9th (26:02). The men finished second behind Division I Air Force. Mines also lost to Air Force earlier this year at the Husker Invitational.

Next for the Cross Country teams is the RMAC Championships which will be held at Chatfield Reservoir. Races will begin at 9:00 am on Saturday October, 22.

CSM CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS FINISH SECOND AT WOODY GREENO INVITE

Lincoln, Neb. - The Colorado School of Mines cross country teams both came away with second place finishes this morning at the Woody Greeno Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. The meet consisted of 29 teams on the men's side and 31 on the women's. The meet was stacked with tough Division I and II teams.

The women's team finished second with 99 points behind the Division I Nebraska Huskers (68). Seniors Heather Beresford and Hannah Davey led the way with 10th and 13th place finishes. Coming off of a stress fracture, Beresford finished the 6K course in a time of 22:33 while teammate Davey was close behind in 22:43.

For the men, Joel Hamilton finished the 8K course in a time of 25:12 which was good enough for a third place finish. The men finished second behind Division I Air Force who scored 42 points compared to Mines's 139.

Next for the cross country teams will be on Oct. 1 when they compete in the annual Rocky Mountain shootout in Boulder, Colo.

CSM CROSS COUNTRY OPENS SEASON AT CU TIME TRIAL

BOULDER, Colo. - The Colorado School of Mines cross country teams opened up the 2005 season by running in the CU Time Trial at the Buffalo Ranch Cross Country Course today. Both the men's and women's teams finished second to Division I powerhouse The University of Colorado.

For the women, senior Hannah Davey (Evergreen, Colo./ Evergreen) led the way for the Orediggers as she finished first for the team and overall. Her time of 22 minutes and 56 seconds put her three seconds ahead of second place, Stiges Manning. Also finishing in the top ten was senior Heather Beresford (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer) with a time of 23:26.

In the men's race, junior Michael Rooney (Arlington, VA.) finished in a time of 26:38 just 12 seconds back of first. Rooney was the first finisher for CSM and 10th overall.

CSM will officially begin their season on September 17 when they travel to Lincoln, Neb. where they will compete in the Woody Greeno Invite.

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