The Western Colorado men's cross country team again had a top-10 finish nationally as the Mountaineers took seventh at the NCAA Division II Championships in Sacramento, California – paced by a pair of All-American performances.
 
Taylor Stack finished third at the 10K race at the Arcade Creek Cross Country Course with a time of 29 minutes, 47.6 seconds while Charlie Sweeney took 11th (30:07). At regionals in Canyon, Texas, the Mountaineers took second as a team led by Sweeney taking second and Stack finishing third. At the RMAC Championships in Grand Junction, the Mountaineers finished third led by Stack's second-place finish with Sweeney taking third.
 
Stack earned the top academic honor in Division II as he was selected the USTFCCCA Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year as the biology and chemistry double major maintained a 3.79 GPA. He was also named the RMAC Academic Runner of the Year.
 

The Mountaineers had their second most-successful season since 2004  in going 5-6 in 2019 – including 5-5 in RMAC play.
 
WCU started the season 2-0 in RMAC action after a Chandler Davis field goal as time expired gave the Mountaineers a 30-28 victory over Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction on Sept. 21, WCU's first win on the road against the Mavericks at Stocker Stadium since 2001.
 

The Mountaineers picked up another key win thanks to a late play when Connor Desch hit Malcom Wesley with a 47-yard touchdown to beat Chadron State at home Oct. 5 – WCU's second win against the Eagles since 1997. WCU also had its first shutout since 2016 when the Mountaineers blanked Fort Lewis 31-0 at home on Oct. 26.
 
The Mountaineers had a pair of players make the Don Hansen All-Region Third Team in senior punter Garrett Boyd (41.8 yards per punt average, including 17 inside the 20 and 13 punts 50 yards or longer) and junior defensive tackle Will Lydle (56 tackles, 8.0 sacks – tied for ninth in single-season WCU history, 11.5 tackles for loss). Boyd and Lydle were named to the All-RMAC First Team while offensive lineman Andrew Barrier and linebacker Desmond Marfizo (58 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss) were selected to the All-RMAC Second Team. Davis (12 field goals, 26 PATs) earned RMAC All-Academic First Team honors – the first Mountaineer to do so since 2016.
 

The WCU volleyball program and second-year coach Jessica Fey took a big leap forward in 2019 as the Mountaineers went 11-15 overall – a nine-win improvement from the year before (the team won only two matches the year before in 2017). The Mountaineers were in the hunt for their first RMAC Tournament appearance since 2015 until the final week – going 7-11 in RMAC play and missing the tournament by a game (the Mountaineers were a combined 2-34 in RMAC play the previous two seasons).
 
Freshman Jordyn Todd led WCU in kills (261) and kills per set (2.78) while she was third in aces (23). Emilee Scates was second on the team in kills (198) and kills per set (2.06), Hanna Hendrickson led the team with 7.71 assists per set (sixth in the RMAC), Lyria Brook had a team-best 25 aces, Myles Hilbert led WCU with 4.26 digs per set and Maddy Johnson led the team at 0.63 blocks per set.
 
Todd and Hendrickson were named All-RMAC Honorable Mention.
 

The WCU women's soccer program went 3-13-1 in 2019, including 3-9-1 in RMAC play. The Mountaineers improved throughout the season – including winning three of their final six games and getting one-goal victories against CSU-Pueblo (1-0, Missa Webb goal assisted by Andrea Grillo), New Mexico Highlands (3-2, OT golden goal from Megan Wheelock – assisted by Sarah Johnson) and Adams State (1-0 – Wheelock goal).
 

Webb, a freshman, paced WCU with three goals on the season while Grillo scored two goals and had two assists, Wheelock added two goals and Casey Ober had a goal and an assist. Kaeyla Noble started 15 games at keeper for the Mountaineers – leading the RMAC in saves with 111.
 
The program has a new head coach heading into the 2020 season with Amanda Raso taking over in January of 2020.
 

There is no hyperbole needed in saying the WCU 2019-20 women's basketball team's season is one to remember. The Mountaineers qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after going 20-7 overall (the third-most wins in program history and most since 1987), including going 18-4 in RMAC play (most conference wins in WCU history) to finish second in the conference (best finish since 2007).
 
There was a bit of an omen on what the Mountaineers were going to do as they defeated NCAA Division I Weber State on the road in an exhibition game, 58-49. WCU put together two six-game win streaks and a regular-season ending seven-game winning streak – capped by a win over No. 24 Colorado Mesa – during 2019-20. The season also included a victory on the road at No. 15 Westminster, the first win for the Mountaineers over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 5 Alaska-Anchorage on Dec. 19, 2009 (WCU went 2-0 over ranked opponents). WCU also reached as high as No. 5 in the South Central Regional Rankings during the season.
 

 
The Mountaineers were set for their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament after receiving an at-large bid  and face it's third ranked opponent of the season against No. 25 West Texas A&M on March 13 in Lubbock, Texas, before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

 
WCU had four players recognized in the RMAC postseason honors – Hannah Cooper (9.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.3 spg) was named RMAC Freshman of the Year and to the All-RMAC Second Team, juniors Samantha Coleman (10.8 ppg, 59 3-pointers – fourth on the WCU single-season list) and Katie Dalton ( 8.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg – sixth in the RMAC) were named to the All-RMAC Second Team and senior Gabie Doud (9.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg) was named All-RMAC Honorable Mention. Coleman also tied a WCU record during the season with seven 3-pointers in a game against USW in Grand Junction on Nov. 30.
 

The WCU men's basketball program made a furious charge at the end of the season, winning its final six games of the year, to try and qualify for the RMAC Tournament – but fell just a game short.
 
While the Mountaineers missed the postseason, they still equaled their best season in more than two decades by going 14-14 on the season (tied for the most wins since 1998-99), including 11-11 in RMAC play (also tied for the most since 1998-99). The Mountaineers snapped an 11-year, 12-game losing streak in Durango against Fort Lewis with an 87-83 win on Feb. 22. WCU also closed in on a single-game program 3-point record when they hit 18 3-pointers in a win over Colorado Christian – fourth most in WCU history.
 

 
Individually, senior Monroe Porter grabbed 20 rebounds not once, but twice in a game during the season (against Adams State and New Mexico Highlands) – one rebound short of the WCU record set in 1966-67 by Steve Gottlieb. Porter and Gottlieb are the only Mountaineers to grab 20 rebounds in a game, both doing it twice. The 20 rebounds were an RMAC high on the season and at 6-foot-3 was tied for the shortest player to grab 20 rebounds in a game in NCAA Division II.
 
Porter (9.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg – second in the RMAC, 3.0 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.5 bpg), sophomore Cole Sienknecht (13.6 ppg, 52 3-pointers) and freshman Matthew Ragsdale (12.4 ppg, 72 3-pointers, 44.4 3FG% - second in the RMAC, 2.7 3-pointers per game – third in the RMAC) were named All-RMAC Honorable Mention.
 

The WCU women's indoor track and field team had its season cut short of the NCAA Championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic after placing fifth at the RMAC Championships.
 
Bailey Sharon won an RMAC title in the 800 for the Mountaineers and followed it up by helping the 4x400 team of her, Chelsey Murphy, Tianna Terrell and Kaiya Firor win a conference championship. Taking second at the conference championships was Terrell (400) and the distance medley relay team of Sharon, Murphy, Jessica Cusick and Katie Doucette while Murphy also picked up a third for WCU in the 60-meter hurdles.
 
While the NCAA Championships weren't held, Sharon (800), Murphy (60H) and the DMR team qualified - all earning All-American honors.
 
As for WCU records set on the season, Chelsey Murphy broke the 60-meter hurdles record with a time of 8.60 seconds and the 4x400 relay team of Terrell, Murphy, Sharon and Sophie Purse set a new mark of 3:48.72
 

Like the women, the WCU men's indoor track and field team's season was cut short prior to the NCAA Championships after the Mountaineers placed fourth at the RMAC Championships.
 
Taylor Stack picked up an RMAC title in the 5,000 for the Mountaineers while also finishing fourth in the 3,000. Picking up runner-up RMAC finishes for the Mountaineers was Gage Mayo (800), Kyle Downey (pole vault) and Rhys Ryba (shot put) and taking third was Adrian Iribe (400).
 
Qualifying for the NCAAs for the Mountaineers were Stack (5,000 and 3,000), Charlie Sweeney (5,000 and 3,000), Jonathan Specht (mile), Evan Sutherland (mile), Mayo (800), Collin Scheuring (pole vault) and the distance medley relay team of Woodrow Murray-Wood, Iribe, Mayo and Specht. All those who qualified earned All-American honors.
 
As for WCU records broken, Brian Schmidt did so in the long jump with a distance of 24 feet, 1 inch.
 

The WCU women's swimming and diving team took fifth at the RMAC Championships this season and had another swimmer qualify for nationals. During the season, the Mountaineers went 7-4 in duals along with winning the UNK Mini-Invite on Nov. 2.
 
Savannah Tice paced the Mountaineers as she was named a two-time All-American in the 100 and 200 backstroke (determined after NCAA Championships canceled). She won the RMAC title in the 100 backstroke and took second in the 200. Also earning All-RMAC honors during the event was Lauren Sanders (Second Team – 1,000 free) and the 400 medley relay team (Second Team – Tice, Jordyn Richey, Rylee Denney, Addison O'Donnell).
 

 
Tice set a WCU record in the 100 back at 55.25 seconds at the CMU A3 Invite in November while Arden Tesch set a pair of records in the 500 freestyle (5:08.56) and 1,650 free (17:48.45) – also at the CMU A3 Invite in Grand Junction. Sarah Mortenson set diving records in the 1-meter (217.20) and the 3-meter (227.78) – both at the UNK Mini-Invite on Nov. 2.
 

The defending RMAC wrestling champion Mountaineers came just short of defending their conference crown, going 6-1 in RMAC duals to take second place. WCU is 17-3 in RMAC duals in the three seasons Mountaineer alum Charlie Pipher has been head coach. The Mountaineers went on to take second at the Super Region VI Championships.
 

 
The Mountaineers were led this season by freshman Patrick Allis. The Larkspur, Colorado, native went 27-8 during the season with eight pins, went 5-0 in RMAC duals, took second at the Region VI Championships and was named an All-American at 125 pounds after the NCAA Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also knocked off two No. 1 wrestlers during the course of the season – including the defending national champion at 125 pounds. Allis was also named the RMAC Freshman of the Year, All-RMAC First Team and the NWCA Super Region 6 Rookie Wrestler of the Year.
 
The Mountaineers' Hunter Mullin qualified for the NCAA Championships as well at 165 pounds after taking third at regionals. The redshirt sophomore went 15-12 during the season.
 
Also earning All-RMAC honors for the Mountaineers was Jimmy LaConte (174 pounds) and Cody Fatzinger (133) – both selected to the second team. Fatzinger and Jason Hanenberg (141) each took fourth at regionals while Cole Mortensen (157), LaConte (174), Kris Davis (197) and Sammy deSeriere (285) each placed fifth while Ruger Wyneken (184) finished sixth.
 

The Western Colorado cheer team returned in 2019-20 with Karen Aranda, Brittany Campbell, Aileen Duarte and Arizona Hager representing the Mountaineers. They made their impact at home events this season and are looking forward to making a larger impact in 2020-21.
 

The WCU esports team made its debut this year and found success already with several victories over already established programs – including some Division I schools in games such as League of Legends, Rocket League, Overwatch and Smash Bros Ultimate. With a roster of 28 and growing – along with a new esports arena – the WCU esports team is on the way up heading into year two.
 

ALL-AMERICANS
Men's Cross Country: Taylor Stack, Charlie Sweeney
Women's Cross Country: Alexia Thiros
Men's Indoor Track & Field: Gage Mayo (800), Evan Sutherland (mile), Jonathan Specht (mile) Taylor Stack (5,000 & 3,000), Charlie Sweeney (5,000 & 3,000), DMR Team (Adrian Iribe, Mayo, Stack, Sutherland)
Women's Indoor Track & Field: Chelsey Murphy (60 hurdles), Bailey Sharon (800), DMR Team (Murphy, Sharon, Jessica Cusick, Katie Doucette)
Women's Swimming & Diving: Savannah Tice (100 Back & 200 Back)
Wrestling: Patrick Allis
 
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Men's Cross Country: Taylor Stack (Division II Cross Country Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year)
 
ALL-REGION
Football: Garrett Boyd (Punter, Third Team), Will Lydle (Defensive Line, Third Team)
Men's Indoor Track & Field: Taylor Stack (5,000 & 3,000), Charlie Sweeney (5,000), Gage Mayo (800), Collin Scheuring (Pole Vault), Brian Schmidt (Long Jump), Rhys Ryba (Shot Put)
Women's Indoor Track & Field: Bailey Sharon (800), Chelsey Murphy (60H), Distance Medley Relay (Bailey Sharon, Chelsey Murphy, Katie Doucette, Jessica Cusick)
Wrestling: Patrick Allis – NWCA Super Region 6 Rookie Wrestler of the Year

RMAC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Women's Basketball: Hannah Cooper
Wrestling: Patrick Allis
 
ALL-RMAC
(65 total)
Football (13): Garrett Boyd (Punter, First Team), Will Lydle (Defensive Line, First Team), Andrew Barrier (Offensive Line, Second Team), Desmond Marfizo (Linebacker, Second Team), James Bryant (Honorable Mention), Dominick Fletcher (HM), Xander Witt (HM), Robert Garlock (HM), Joey Orrino (HM), Malcom Wesley (HM), Lane Farris (HM), Alex Weber (HM), Josh Nelson (HM)
Men's Basketball (3): Monroe Porter (HM), Matthew Ragsdale (HM), Cole Sienknecht (HM)
Men's Cross Country (4): Taylor Stack (First Team), Charlie Sweeney (First Team), Max Sawyer (Second Team), Evan Sutherland (Second Team)
Men's Indoor Track (12): Taylor Stack (First Team – 5,000, Second Team – 3,000), Rhys Ryba (First Team – Shot Put), Gage Mayo (First Team – 800), Kyle Downey (First Team – Pole Vault), Adrian Iribe (First Team – 400), Charlie Sweeney (Second Team – 5,000), Jonathan Specht (Second Team – 800), Hayden Ell (Second Team – Heptathlon), Cole Jaquette (Second Team – 60H), Woodrow Murray-Wood (Second Team – Mile), Timothy Ellis (Second Team – Pole Vault)
Volleyball (2): Hanna Hendrickson (HM), Jordyn Todd (HM)
Women's Basketball (4): Samantha Coleman (Second Team), Hannah Cooper (Second Team), Katie Dalton (Second Team), Gabie Doud (HM)
Women's Cross Country (7): Alexia Thiros (First Team), Alexa Rodriguez (First Team), Lindi Congour (Second Team), Katie Doucette (Second Team), Alyssa Tatum (Second Team), Hannah Mae Gigstad (Second Team), Bailey Sharon (Second Team)
Women's Indoor Track (9): Bailey Sharon (First Team - 800), Tianna Terrell (First Team - 400), Chelsey Murphy (First Team – 60H), Women's 4x400 (Sharon, Murphy, Terrell, Firor – First Team), Distance Medley Relay (Sharon, Murphy, Cusick, Doucette – Second Team), Sophie Purse (Second Team – 400), Amber Gustason (Second Team – Shot Put), Katie Doucette (Second Team – 3,000), Jessica Blahnik (Second Team – Triple Jump)
Women's Soccer (3): Annie Grillo (HM), Kaeyla Noble (HM), Megan Wheelock (HM)
Women's Swimming & Diving (5): Savannah Tice (First Team – 100 & 200 backstroke), Lauren Sanders (Second Team – 1,000 free), 400 medley relay team (Second Team – Tice, Jordyn Richey, Rylee Denney, Addison O'Donnell).
Wrestling (3): Patrick Allis (First Team), Cody Fatzinger (Second Team), Jimmy LaConte (Second Team)
 
ACADEMIC ALL-RMAC
(99 total)
Football (16): Chandler Davis (Kicker, First Team) / Honor Roll: Kaleb Gaster, Nathan Meyer, Gavin Dement, Ty Leyba, Chase Starman, Andrew Berrier, Jordan Karels, Alex Weber, Garrett Boyd, Lane Farris, Zach Manchester, David Wilson, Dylan Jacob, Spencer Smith, Damian Macias
Men's Basketball (5): Honor Roll – Monroe Porter, Brian Read, Cole Sienknecht, James Willis, Will Willis
Men's Cross Country (9): Taylor Stack (First Team) / Honor Roll – John Kraft, Max Sawyer, Ricky Esqueda, Riley Howard, Parker Vanlandingham, Gage Mayo, Ross Husch, Charlie Sweeney
Men's Indoor Track & Field (15): Taylor Stack (First Team) / Honor Roll – John Kraft, Max Sawyer, Jacob Stroup, Luke Wuesthoff, Ricky Esqueda, Riley Howard, Parker Vanlandingham, Andrew Jorgenson, Brian Schmidt, Hayden Ell, Gage Mayo, Graham Butcher, Ross Husch, Charlie Sweeney
Volleyball (5): Honor Roll - Emilee Scates, Kirsten Companik, Maddy Johnson, Lyria Brook, Brianna Duke
Women's Basketball (7): Honor Roll – Samantha Coleman, Taytem Coleman, Katie Dalton, Jessie Erickson, Jadyn Kanzler, Mikaela Parker, Payton Paro
Women's Cross Country (10): Bailey Sharon (First Team), Alexia Thiros (First Team) / Honor Roll: Hannah Mae Gigstad, Malindi (Lindi) Congour, Sarah Laverty, Emily Smith, Jessica Cusick, Bridget Goddard, Amelia Strahan, Katie Doucette
Women's Indoor Track & Field (12): Bailey Sharon (First Team) / Honor Roll – Hannah Mae Gigstad, Malindi Congour, Alexia Thiros, Emily Ortiz, Kayla Mullen, Emily Smith, Tessa Anderson, Jessica Cusick, Amelia Strahan, Bridget Goddard, Katie Doucette
Women's Soccer (9): Honor Roll – Macy Arseculeratne, Parker Barndhardt, Andrea Grillo, Aly Hargrove, Emilee Krehbiel, Alex Mason, Casey Ober, Delaney West, Megan Wheelock
Women's Swimming & Diving (7): Honor Roll – Nina Crouch, Gabriella Garcia, Jocelyn Jo, Mikaela Romano, Kali Stier, Savannah Tice, Megan Walton
Wrestling (4): Colby Duncan, Johnny Murphy, Jason Slaughter, Michael Thelen
 
RMAC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Football: Robert Garlock (Defensive, 9/16), Chandler Davis (Special Teams, 9/23 & 10/7), Desmond Marfizo (Defensive, 10/28)
Men's Basketball: Monroe Porter (Defensive POTW 1/13 & 2/24)
Men's Cross Country: Charlie Sweeney (9/18)
Men's Indoor Track & Field: Brian Schmidt (Field, 2/25), Taylor Stack (Track, 1/28)
Women's Basketball: Samantha Coleman (12/2)
Women's Indoor Track & Field: Bailey Sharon (Field, 1/28)
Women's Soccer: Kaeyla Noble (Goalkeeper, 10/22)
Women's Swimming: Savannah Tice (1/29)
Wrestling: Patrick Allis (1/28), Cody Fatzinger (2/11)

Before we go, we again want to congratulate our 2020 Mountaineer student-athlete graduates!