DENVER Colo.   The Mountaineers landed on the podium in both the women's and men's races at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship meet Saturday (Oct. 21) morning in Denver, Colo.  

On the women's side, Allison Beasley and Leah Taylor were named first-team all-conference and Jayda Nix and Peyton Weiss were named second team all-conference. For the men's team, Simon Kelati and Tyler Nord earned first-team all-conference, while Michael Grabowski, John Houdeshell, Kyle Partin and Albert Hesse were named to second team all-conference. Tyler Nord was the first freshman in the men's race to cross the finish line earning him the Men's Cross Country Freshman of the Year honors. 

The RMAC determines all-conference roster based off of placing at the RMAC Cross Country Championship meet, first through 14th place earn first-team honors while 15th through 28th is second team all-conference.  

 
JUST THE FACTS 
Event: RMAC Championships  
Location: Washington Park, Denver, Colo. 
Final scores, men's 8K: 1. Colorado School of Mines– 32points, 2. Adams State – 59points 3. Western Colorado -  69 
Final scores, women's 6K: 1. Adams State– 32 points, 2. Colorado School of Mines– 56 points 3. Western Colorado - 94 points  
Top 3, men: 1. Andrew Amor, New Mexico Highlands (23:58.4), 2. Simon Kelati, Western Colorado (24:11.0), 3. Duncan Fuehne, Colorado School of Mines (24:19.5) 

Top 3, women: 1. Brianna Robles, Adams State (20:34.1), 2. Allison Beasley, Western Colorado (20:48.4), 3. Emily Schoellkopf, Adams State (21:02.9) 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The women's race was first, and Allison Beasley set the tone for the rest of the Mountaineers, running at a pace of five minutes and 35 seconds.  The junior was the first Western Colorado runner to cross the finish line with a time of 20:48.4, good for a second-place finish. Beasley was only 14 seconds behind the first-place runner. 

• Beasley was followed by Leah Taylor who crossed the finish line with a time of 21:33.9, for 11th place finish. Jayda Nix, Peyton Weiss and Lauren Willson all scored for the Mountaineers in 25th, 26th and 30th place, respectively. The spread between Beasley and Willson was one minute and 48 seconds.  

• Simon Kelati finished second in the men's 8K with a time of 24:11.0, which was only 13 seconds behind the first-place runner. Tyler Nord also earned a top-ten finish for the Mountaineers with a time of 24:28.6 (seventh place).  

• Michael Grabowski, John Houdeshell and Kyle Partin placed 19th, 20th and 21st for Western Colorado. The spread between Kelati and Partin was 49.3 seconds, which is their second narrowest spread of the season.  
   

UP NEXT 
The Mountaineers will take a week off before heading to Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday, Nov. 4 for the South-Central Regional Championships.