2012 RMAC Hall of Fame Ceremony

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Twenty-five years since the 1986 Western State College men's cross country won the program's first national championship, that team will join one other team and six individuals at the 2012 RMAC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Banquet July 20 at the Colorado Springs Marriott.

The team tied for the national championship with Adams State with coach Duane Vandenbusche and national team members Eduardo Navas, Juan Diaz, Frank Oropeza, Jose Rojas, Steve Cathcart, Steve Roch and Doug Meade. The “Venezuelan Connection” of Navas, Diaz, Oropeza and Rojas helped the Mountaineers tie the national favorite Grizzlies in the final stretches of the race. Navas finished as the national runner-up, with Diaz in third and Catchart in eighth. Oropeza placed No. 31 overall and Roch No. 56 overall for the scoring runners, while Meade placed No. 98 and Rojas No. 197 as the Mountaineer displacers.

Before the use of the today's timing systems, results weren't announced until the evening awards banquet which meant the Mountaineers had to wait for the final team standings. The All-America awards to Navas, Diaz and Cathcart were announced before the team standings, and then the fifth through third teams were announced. The tie for the national championship was the first in NAIA championship history and the second in collegiate history.

The 2012 ceremony will begin with a social hour at 5 p.m. before the dinner at 6 p.m. and the ceremony at 7 p.m. Additional information for tickets and room rates will be released closer to the ceremony. The evening will also feature the recognition of the RMAC Honor Student-Athletes and the 2011-12 conference coaches of the year.