Zywicki named RMAC Men’s Athlete of the Month for November

GOLDEN, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines cross country runner Ben Zywicki has been selected at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Athlete of the Month for November as announced this morning by the RMAC.

Zywicki, a senior from Colorado Springs, Colo. (Rampart H.S.), became the first CSM cross country athlete to earn USTFCCCA Central Region Athlete of the Year honors.  Zywicki won the individual title at the 2010 Division II Central Region Cross Country Championships in Wayne, Neb. on Nov. 20th. Zywicki edged out Western State’s Sean Brown in a photo finish by .01 seconds with a time of 31:03.37. Zywicki helped Mines finish third at the Central Region Championships and qualify for the NCAA Championships for the sixth straight season.

On December 4th in Louisville, Ky., Zywicki helped lead Mines a fourth-place finish at the 2010 NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships. Zywicki finished 22nd overall matching his finish at the 2008 Championships. Zywicki’s time of 31:19 was his fastest time at the National Championships earning him All-American honors for the fourth time during his cross country career. Zywicki became the first athlete in the history of Mines to claim All-American honors four times in a sport or single-individual event.

It was the sixth consecutive appearance for the Oredigger men at the National Championships and the sixth time in as many trips in which the squad has placed in the top ten. In both 2009 and 2010 the squad placed in the top four.