From Kansas to Ohio to Texas, Colorado School of Mines’ winter sports teams ended their seasons on the national stage — some athletes returning with national championship hardware in hand.
The indoor track and field teams earned several honors at their March 8-9 championships in Pittsburg, Kansas, with about a dozen podium finishes among the Orediggers. Redshirt senior Zoe Baker also won the NCAA Elite 90 Award, which goes to the meet participant with the highest grade point average.
The following weekend in Wichita, Kansas, redshirt sophomore wrestler Cody Thompson was the 149-pound national runner-up at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships.
Additionally, Mines swimmers made a splash at their national meet in Geneva, Ohio; and the Mines basketball teams lost separate first-round NCAA tournament games in Texas.
Ultimately, the Orediggers made history this month and ended their 2023-24 seasons on a high note.
Indoor track & field
Although they’ve now kicked off their outdoor season, the track and field Orediggers had a strong showing at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. The women’s team placed 10th and the men’s team finished 11th in the overall standings.
Redshirt senior Hannah Miller — who won the women’s indoor pole vault national title last year — left Pittsburg with the silver medal.
Meanwhile, redshirt seniors Aryelle Wright and Loic Scomparin took home the bronze in the women’s 800-meter race and the men’s 3,000-meter race, respectively.
Scomparin also had a podium finish in the men’s 5,000-meter race, alongside teammate Duncan Fuehne. Molly Maksin, Everett Delate and the women’s distance medley relay team also had podium finishes in their March 8 events.
Rounding out the Orediggers’ performances on March 9, Alberto Campa finished ninth in the men’s mile, and Margaux Basart took 10th place in the women’s 3,000-meter race in her NCAA debut.
As competition was winding down on March 9, Baker received her NCAA Elite 90 Award. The graduate student in computer science has now won it four times — three for indoor track and field and once for cross country.
The track and field teams have now kicked off their outdoor seasons, and were competing in March 22-23 meets in Colorado and Florida.
Wrestling
Like his track and field counterparts, Mines’ Thompson also had excellent luck in Kansas.
The only Mines wrestler to qualify for nationals, Thompson won his first three matches March 15 in Wichita, upsetting No. 4- and No. 8-seeded wrestlers along the way. He was the only unseeded wrestler among the 20 who advanced to the March 16 finals.
In the 149-pound final match, Thompson faced off against No. 2-seeded Jacob Ealy of Pitt-Johnstown. The fifth-year wrestler and four-time all-American was too much for Mines’ first-time qualifier to handle, as Ealy took a 7-0 lead in the first period.
Thompson battled hard through the second and third periods, getting points for takedowns and escapes. However, Ealy held out and won 12-7 to earn the 149-pound national title.
Thompson took home the silver and became the 38th all-American in Mines wrestling history.
Swimming
The Mines men’s and women’s swimming teams made postseason waves at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championship March 13-16 in Geneva, Ohio.
Of the six swimmers and one relay team who qualified, the Orediggers ultimately had six all-American finishes.
Sophomore Jordan Tierney had the only podium finish, winning the bronze medal in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke race. It’s the best finish by a Mines female swimmer since 2020.
Additionally, Ronan Lauinger shattered the program record in the 1,000-yard freestyle race on Day 1, earning him 17th place at nationals. Teammate Joseph Lev-Tov, a true freshman, finished 24th in the same race.
The Orediggers earned three sets of Second-Team All-America honors on Day 2, and on Day 3, Tierney had her podium finish. Lauinger also had another all-American finish in the 500-yard freestyle race, and teammate Charles Burroughs had one in the 200-yard butterfly race.
In the final day of competition, Lev-Tov took 17th place in the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle race, which was the fastest raw mile in Mines history.
Ultimately, the women’s team placed 25th and the men’s team, 34th. The Mines women scored 29 team points, which is the most in program history at an NCAA championship meet, according to Mines Athletics.
Basketball
Like last year, the Mines basketball teams had bad luck in their Texas-based NCAA Division II tournament games.
On March 15, the women’s team fell to No. 1-seeded Texas Woman’s, which hosted Mines in Denton, Texas.
Although the No. 8-seed Orediggers were only down 38-37 at halftime and had a strong third-quarter run, the Pioneers dominated the fourth quarter and ultimately won 81-72.
Sophomore guard Jenna Siebert led Mines with 23 points, and senior guard Ashley Steffeck racked up 14 points, two assists and a team-high seven rebounds to close out her college career.
Steffeck also broke Mines’ single-season scoring record in the third quarter, and will ultimately go down in program history as the all-time leader in points, assists, steals and made free throws.
The Orediggers, who have now made their fourth straight trip to the NCAA tournament, ended their season 21-9.
Then, on March 16, the Mines men’s team faced off against Dallas Baptist in Canyon, Texas.
The No. 5-seeded Orediggers had a strong first-half showing, but the No. 4-seeded Patriots’ 14-2 run in the second half gave them a 17-point lead that the Orediggers couldn’t overcome in the time remaining. Dallas Baptist ultimately won 86-73, and Mines’ season ended with a 24-9 record.
Senior guard Majok Deng led the Orediggers with 20 points, including 12 in the second half. Freshman guard Markus Pastorcic-Straun also racked up 15 bench points in 16 minutes for a promising NCAA tourney debut.
Senior guard Sam Beskind ended his college career with a full stat sheet — eight points, six assists, five rebounds, a block and a steal.
For more information on all the winter sports teams’ achievements, visit MinesAthletics.com.