Grizzly Men and Women are RMAC Champions!

Kaitlin Hartman

The Paw Print

Warning: ASU cross-country team is taking over the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Domination must have been on every runner’s mind as they approached the race this Sunday in Gunnison Colorado. The grizzlies had individual and team victories for both men and women.

For the second consecutive year the ladies won the conference title, making this victory the 26th RMAC Championship for the ASU women. RMAC Women’s Runner of the Year, Lauren Martin, won the race in a time of 22:16.20. It was also Martin’s second year as the individual RMAC Champion. Rachel Kresl finished right after Martin in second place in a six-kilometer time of 22:19:10. Jenna Thurman took third with a time of 22:30.30. Maura O’Brien and Melissa Roberts were 5th and 6th place making the team score an unbelievable 18 points. All eight competitors finished in the top 22 out of 114 women.

This team has officially made the RMAC record books as the team with the largest margin of victory; 51 points ahead of second place Western State University. Coach Damon Martin received the honor of being RMAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year, an award he has earned 19 times.

The Men’s team continues their victorious tradition at the RMAC as they won conference for the 35th time. With a total of 33 points scored, the grizzlies beat out the Colorado School of Mines by five points. Tabor Stevens crushed the 8k course in a time of 25:20.70. Stevens captured the individual win, as well as the title of RMAC Men’s Athlete of the Year. There were three grizzlies in the top five, second place finisher Kevin Batt and fifth place Jackson Sayler followed Stevens. Batt had an impressive battle for second against Western State’s Ian Butler, and ran a time of 25:37.30. Matthew Daniels in 12th and Jack Squid Espeset in 13th were the last scoring runners for Adams. The top seven grizzlies all finished within the top twenty runners. Last year the ASU men placed second at the RMAC Championship to Western State Colorado University. This year Western State place third.

The RMAC also gives out awards for stellar freshman and this year ASU’s Jackson Sayler won Men’s freshman of the Year. The award goes to the highest scoring freshman. On the women’s side, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Heather Bates won.

The RMAC is a very competitive conference, founded in 1909, is the most historic athletic conference in Division II.