16 All Americans, plus 12 top 25 finishers, added to 6 top 10 finishers sprinkled with the top 3 team finishes in the country and you have a recipe for the toughest conference in Division 2; The RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference).

Located 3hrs from the third place team in the country, Colorado School of Mines, and 2hrs from the second place team, Western State; situated serenely in Alamosa, CO is the team that has set the standard for not only Division 2 but proved last year they can run with the best of them in the country; The Adam State Grizzlies.

Damon Martin quietly and methodically trains his men and women at 7,500ft who both now currently hold the number one spot on the NCAA coaches’ poll and who are the co-defending NCAA champions; this alone wouldn’t be enough though. 

You add to this mix the 3^rd place team returning 6 of their top 7 from the previous NCAA Championships, a team who has showed considerable strength this year having barely lost to a Western State team who ran phenomenal and had 5 guys average 24:00.  Aaron Swift took the lead last year at the NCAA championships finishing 14^th overall.

Western State only looses 2 of their top 7 and for a team who beat Colorado Mines by 67 points at the National Championships last year you would think they're are locks for second at the big dance. However, if you add to the fact that they had to run very well to beat Colorado earlier this year and conference is a smaller field size: suddenly Western seems a little vulnerable.

The team who has lost the most in terms of a returningg class is also the team that seems the most unbeatable. The Adams State Grizzlies lose 3 of the their top 7 from the previous year. All of which were in the top 8. Adams had 4 seniors on the roster last year but Luke Cragg has been granted a special 6^th year of eligibility. Giving the Grizzlies some experience up front from the overall 11^th place finisher.

When looking at predictions you have to look at the big picture. Ultimately these teams are focused on knocking the other 2 off on December 4^th. However, this doesn’t mean they won’t come to compete and win a conference championship. That being said I feel as though Adams is a clear-cut favorite at this point. The dicey decision comes in picking second. Many people feel as though Western is the second best team in the country and rightly so as they are ranked as such and have ran well all year. I am going to pick a little upset though and choose Colorado Mines over Western at the RMAC Championships.

Adding to the dynamic of the team championship the individual battle cannot go unnoticed. Ryan McNiff of Adams State has been running well for most of the year and has embraced his opportunity to break out of the shadow the 3-4 dominating runners he ran in last year. McNiff placed 17^th in a stacked Chili Pepper Invite earlier this year.

McNiff will be faced with some great competition outside of his own team mates. Ben Zywicki of Colorado Mines  has ran 23:48 this year for 8k and will be a contender.  Gabe Proctor of Western State has been the leader for much of the season and placed second to Zywicki at the Tiger Cross Country Open.

Regardless of the outcome of the conference championships these three dominant teams will meet 2 more times and have the chance to prepare themselves for December 4^th and the opportunity to win the National Championship. The question is can Adams State be beat this weekend, or any weekend because as of now they are the team that is distancing themselves.

* Add your predictions in the comment box below.

 

 

Team Predictions:

1.     Adams State Grizzlies

2.     Colorado Mines

3.     Western State

Individual Predictions

1.     Ryan McNiff

2.     Luke Cragg

3.     Ben Zywicki

4.     Gabe Proctor

5.     Brandon Birdsong