Last year's star runner (now competing for Colorado School of Mines), Sean Gildea, ran in his season opener this past weekend at the UCCS (UC-Colorado Springs) Rust Buster Invite. Sean went into the race unsure if he would red shirt or compete for his team, but got his answer when he crossed the finish line in a time of 19:42, ranking 5^th for his team. Detailing the race, Sean exclaimed "It went well. 1942 for a hard 6k. I got 3^rd in the open race (separate from the team race) behind coach and an all American. My time was 5^th fastest on the team, so I won't be redshirting!"

            Sean has the opportunity this season to race alongside one of the nation's best NCAA DII teams. They boast an incredibly deep team, having 10 runners go under 20:15 at the Rust Buster invite, with front runner Ben Zywicki leading the pack in a time of 19:08. Just 11 seconds and 4 places behind was teammate Nate Hatleback, with two more coming in the top ten. School of Mines ranks 3^rd in the preseason rankings for the NCAA DII Central Region, and 8^th in the overall national rankings. The top two ranked teams in the nation, Adams State and Western State, just so happens to be in the same region as School of Mines. They have their work cut out for them this season, but having such a deep, talented team, with new runner Sean Gildea added to the mix, who knows how high they can place come November.