Men’s and women’s mucking teams from the University of Missouri-Rolla will try to win world championships for the third year in a row when they compete in the Intercollegiate Mining Competition April 15-16 in Kalgoorlie, Australia.         

Teams from around the world participate in the annual competition, which features events that are based on mining techniques used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. UMR finished first in the men’s division and first in the women’s division in 2004 and 2005. This year, UMR will send two men’s teams and one women’s team to Australia.         

Students compete in timed events like gold panning, surveying, hand-mucking, hand-steeling, track-standing, Swede sawing and jackleg drilling.         

The debris left over from a mining blast is known as a muck pile; hence, the term mucking, explains UMR team captain Adam Kresler.         

Montana Tech of the University of Montana and the Western Australia School of Mines, which is hosting this year’s competition, are usually UMR’s strongest challengers, according to Kresler, a senior in mining engineering from Winter Park, Colo.         

The students practice at UMR’s Experimental Mine. Toni Donovan, captain of the women’s team, says UMR excels at “laying track,” which is one of the mucking events.         

Members of the 2006 UMR women’s team are: Donovan, a junior in mining engineering from Homewood, Ill.; Rio Amick, a junior in mining engineering and geophysics from Jefferson City, Mo.; Jennifer Fizer, a sophomore in mining engineering from Slater, Mo.; Carolyn Grondin, a junior in business administration from Ware, Mo.; Shannon Lusk, a graduate student in mining engineering from Jackson, Mo.; and Brittany Parker, a sophomore in mining engineering from Johnston, Iowa.         

Members of the first 2006 UMR men’s team, captained by Kresler, are: Chris Barks, a senior in mining engineering from Gordonville, Mo.; Bryan Lewis, a senior in history from Rolla; Adam Lucas, a senior in mining engineering from Shelbyville, Mo.; Braden Lusk, a graduate student in mining engineering from Huchinson, Kan.; and Nathan Woods, a junior in mining engineering from Nixa, Mo.         

Members of the second 2006 UMR men’s team are Matt Angle, a senior in mining engineering from Sedgewickville, Mo.; Alex Hofstetter, a senior in mining engineering from Labadie, Mo.; Klaus Nunemacher, a junior in mining engineering from Palmyra, Mo.; Dan Richards (captain), a senior in mining engineering from Greenwood, Ind.; and Tristan Worsey, a freshman in mining engineering from Rolla.