Men’s and women’s “mucking” teams from the University of Missouri-Rolla have finished second in the Intercollegiate Mining Competition, held April 15-16 in Kalgoorlie, Australia.

Approximately 33 teams from around the world competed against the UMR men’s and women’s teams, which were both defending world championships. UMR won titles in men’s and women’s mucking in 2004 and 2005. 

The host team for the 2006 championships, the Western Australia School of Mines, won both the men’s and women’s divisions this year. 

Mucking events are based on mining techniques used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 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, a senior in mining engineering from Winter Park, Colo.  

Members of the 2006 UMR women’s team are: Rio Amick, a junior in mining engineering and geophysics from Jefferson City, Mo.; Toni Donovan, a junior in mining engineering from Homewood, Ill.; 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.        

A second UMR men’s team was also entered this year and finished in seventh place. Members of that 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.