GOLDEN – No. 17 Colorado School of Mines golf team took top honors at the Bob Writz Invitational by eight strokes on Friday at Bear Creek Golf Club in Denver.
The Orediggers were led by an even-par round by sophomore medalist Jordan Arnd, the win was the third of the season by Mines, who also captured team championships at the CMU Invitational (RMAC No. 1) and Ryan Palmer Invitational earlier this season.
Friday’s opening round will be the first and final round of the tournament after snowfall in the Denver Metro area caused Saturday’s final two rounds to be cancelled.
All five of Mines’ scoring golfers finished in the top-13 overall, including Arndt, who notched his first career victory with his 72 on the 7,609-yard course.
The win was Arndt’s fourth top-10 finish of the season.
Track tabbed third and fifth
The Colorado School of Mines men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams were voted third and fifth in the 2013 RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches’ Poll, as released March 21 by the conference office.
Led by senior NCAA All-Americans and RMAC Preseason selections Russell Drummond and Hannah Schuster, the Orediggers mirrored their finishes from February’s RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, receiving 20 and 42 points, respectively.
Drummond, a two-time outdoor RMAC Preseason choice, recently earned his second straight All-American accolade in the mile and third in the distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships with respective fifth- and eighth-place efforts.
Defending outdoor conference champion Adams State was picked to repeat in both polls, tallying seven points and seven first-place votes on the men’s side and nine points and nine of 10 first-place nods in the women’s balloting.
Chadron State (1 first-place vote; 15 points), Mines, Western State (22 points) and Black Hills State (35) filled the top-five men’s slots, while New Mexico Highlands (18 points), Western State (1 first-place vote; 24 points) and Chadron State (34 points) took 2-3-4 in the women’s poll.
Mines beat Colorado Mesa
No. 13 Colorado School of Mines softball team defeated Colorado Mesa 5-2 Friday morning in its return to the CSM Softball Field in Golden.
Senior outfielders Macy Jones and Kamee Vessey combined for three RBI and Kelly Unkrich threw seven innings of five-hit ball as the NFCA
In addition to a leadoff double in the first inning, Jones upped the Oredigger (21-3-1, 12-1 RMAC) lead to 4-0 in the second with her third home run this season, a high-arcing two-run shot over the left field fence in the second that plated freshman Elise Dugwyler who reached on an error by the second baseman.
Following a two-run homer in the fourth by CMU (12-8-1, 10-4-1 RMAC), Vessey gave Mines its ending three-run cushion in the bottom of the frame with a two-out double to right that also scored Dugwyler after she opened with an infield single.
Jones and Vessey totaled four of the Orediggers’ six base hits, each going 2-for-3, while Jones and Dugwyler both scored a game-high two runs.
Baseball, softball cancelled
Snow accumulation as well as sub-freezing temperatures in the Golden area have resulted in a cancellation of three softball games at CSM Softball Field on Saturday, the Colorado School of Mines athletic department announced on Friday.
Saturday’s finale of the three-team round-robin conference series was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with Colorado Mesa and Metro State, followed by Mines and CMU at 12 p.m. and the Orediggers and MSUD at 2 p.m. No make-up dates have been set.
In addition, Saturday’s baseball doubleheader between Colorado School of Mines and Metro State has been cancelled, the athletic department announced.
The games weren’t played on Sunday either. Mines will return to action next weekend when they travel to New Mexico Highlands for a four-game series beginning on Friday.
