Spearfish, SD - The Black Hills State University cross country teams head to Grand Junction, CO this weekend for the RMAC Championships. There they will be lining up against the best distance programs in the country. The women's 6k will be begin at 10:50 am on Saturday, October 26
th at the Tiara Rado Golf Course. The men's 8k will follow at 11:45 am.
Senior
Jake Iverson will lead the men this weekend. He returns to the RMAC championships after finishing 26
th a year ago garnering second team ALL-RMAC honors. Fellow seniors
Jordan Theisen (indoor All-American) and
Clay Johnson, along with redshirt sophomore
Keith Osowski, return from last years team to provide strong experience.
A year ago, the Yellow Jackets finished sixth and come into the championship picked to finish sixth again. No different from last year is the stout competition they will be lining up against. Adams State, last years RMAC champion, is ranked 2
nd in the country. Colorado School of mines, last years RMAC runner up, is currently ranked number 1 in the nation. They are not the only RMAC schools on the national list, Western Colorado is fifth, UCCS is 16
th, and CCU is 21
st. Should BH finish higher than their preseason rankings, they will upset nationally ranked teams. This wouldn't come as a shock as last year they finished the season 16
th at the national meet.
Senior All-American
Nicole Allerdings will provide leadership for the women's squad. A year ago, Allerdings captured her first All-Conference honors with her 24
th place finish; she helped pace the team to a fourth place finish (a program high finish). She won't be the only veteran lining up, seniors
Abbie Fredrick and
Kelsey Van Den Hemel, along with sophomores
Xiomara Robinson and
Ruby Lindquist will provide invaluable experience.
The Yellow Jackets were picked to finish fifth in the coaches pre-season polls. Should they place fifth, or higher, they will also be looking to upset nationally ranked teams. Again, this squad is used to that after finishing 17
th at the national meet in 2018.
In the conference, Adams State is the returning champion, they are also ranked number one nationally. Other nationally ranked RMAC schools include Colorado Mines at third, Western at sixth, and UCCS at 15.
The BHSU Harriers will return to action in two weeks time to compete at the South Central Regional Championships as they look to qualify for the National Championships.
