LAS VEGAS, N.M.— Colorado Mesa University redshirt sophomore
Drexel Cox led a youthful Colorado Mesa University men's cross country team to a solid eighth place finish on Saturday at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships.
Cox completed the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25 minutes, 45.9 seconds to place 44
th as the Mavericks recorded a 5-man pack time of just 52.3 seconds while scoring 256 points in the 15-team field that run here at the Gene Torres Golf Course. The Firestone, Colorado native led the Mavs for the first time in his career after finishing as the team's No. 2 man in the last two meets. He scored 40 of those team points
Redshirt junior
Kevin DeGree, who led the Mavericks in the first two meets of the season, finished second on the squad and 52
nd overall in 26:01.4 while redshirt sophomore
Chase Brown was four spots and just 3.5 seconds behind, placing 56
th in 26:04.9. They were responsible for 46 and 50 of the Mavs' team points, respectively.
Redshirt sophomore
Jackson Baker was the next Maverick finisher, placing 59
th overall and 53
rd amongst team scorers in 26:09.2 while redshirt freshman
Ryan O'Loughlin finished 75
th overall and 67
th amongst team scoring runners in a time of 26:38.2.
Redshirt freshmen
Gustavo Rivera (82
nd, 27:01.4),
Owen Frank (104
th, 28:20.4) also ran for the Mavs, who went with a lineup of three freshman, three sophomores and a junior.
The Colorado School of Mines, ranked second in the nation, won a sixth straight RMAC team title with 24 points after claiming second, third and fourth in the individual standings while rounding out the team win with sixth and ninth place wins. The Orediggers have now won eight of the last nine team crowns.
Sixth-ranked Adams State finished second with 45 points as the Grizzlies had the individual winner in Romain Legendre and three of the top eight finishers. Legendre won the race in 23:33.8, claiming a 11.5-second win over Mines' Loic Scomparin.
No. 5 Western Colorado was a distance third with 100 points while No. 22 UCCS took fourth with 114 points. Twelfth-ranked CSU Pueblo was fifth with 147 points. Fort Lewis (168) and MSU Denver (235) finished also finished ahead of the Mavs, who were in turn eight points better than No. 11 Colorado Christian, which finished ninth with 264 points.
CMU's finish was two spots higher than the No. 10 spot they had received in the RMAC Preseason Poll and was four spots better than their 2023, 12
th place team finish.
The CMU women took seventh as Kirstin Williams claimed a second straight All-RMAC honor with a 20th place finish in the latter race.
Both Maverick squads will be in action again in two weeks, competing at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championships in Denver on Nov. 9.
