The Mackay Muckers have once again earned gold in the International Collegiate Mining Competition, hosted by Montana Tech in Butte, Montana. The coed team won their division, and the men’s team put up a hard fight.

The mining competition encourages students to practice traditional mining techniques, like the hand steel, track stand, gold pan, jackleg, swede saw, mucking and survey.

The team of ten students, chaperoned by faculty advisor and laboratory manager for the Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering John Leland, left for Butte on March 19, staying overnight to break up the 11.5 hour drive in Twin Falls, Idaho. The team returned on March 25. Annie Huhta, director of the Mackay School, shared her thoughts on another Muckers victory.

“As director for the Mackay School, it is always wonderful to see student groups such as the Mackay Muckers perform so well on an international stage,” Huhta said. “What I appreciate even more is the dedication, hard work, and consistent effort these students and their advisor have put in since returning victorious from Australia last year. This is a great group of young men and women who are committed to their education, to serving our campus and our communities. I am so very proud of their accomplishments both on and off the field as they live, work, and play The Wolf Pack Way!”

The coed team placed first in gold pan, swede saw and hand steel, second in jackleg and drilling, and third in track stand. The competition is hosted each year by major mining schools. Last year, the women’s Muckers team took first place overall in Australia. Next year’s competition will be hosted by the Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall, England.

While the men’s team didn’t return with any trophies this year, Leland said they’ve come a long way since last year and is proud of the work the team has put in since starting with a brand-new team last year.

“Between both teams everyone has shown remarkable improvement!” Natalie Rubio, president of the Mackay Muckers team, said. “This was the men's team’s second year competing together and they faced stiff competition from twenty other men's teams competing. They were able to get seventh overall and fourth place in track stand. This has been a huge improvement for them since last year's competition. The coed team was brand new and was able to secure a first-place overall win. I couldn’t have been happier with the results of both teams. It will be exciting to see how well the teams do next year in England!”

Below are the full rosters for each team.

• Co-Ed Team:
  • Gabrielle Azevedo
  • Ramon Grijalva
  • Natalie Rubio
  • Tate West
  •  James Woods
• Men’s Team:
  • Luke Andersen
  • Duncan Brown
  • Rafael Echeverria
  • Sterling Ferguson
  • Sean Morton