2021 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships – Saturday, (W) 8:30 a.m. (ET) / (M) 9:45 a.m. (ET) [Live Results] [Live Video] [Championship Central]
St. Leo, Fla. – The Abbey Course

---

THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
This weekend, the Colorado School of Mines Men's and Women's Cross Country teams will compete for a pair of national crowns at the 2021 NCAA Division Cross Country Championships at The Abbey Course in St. Leo, Fla. It marks the culmination of 11 weeks, 11 combined races and a total of 47,000 meters in competition for the men with 28,000 competitive meters for the women. Both Oredigger teams claimed automatic berths thanks to top-three finishes at the NCAA South Central Region Championships two weeks ago. On Saturday morning, seven men and seven women from Mines will take the course in St. Leo, Fla., and race for the title of NCAA National Champion. Any team inside the top four makes the podium. Individuals finishes 40th and better garner USTFCCCA All-America distinction.
 
WEATHER REPORT
Florida's humidity will certainly be present, but otherwise the forecast looks perfect for racing. The temperature for the women's race should be under 70 degrees with a light wind up to 13 miles-per-hour as humidity sits at a heavy 87 percent. There will be similar conditions for the men's race with temperatures into the 70s to along with slightly more wind and a little less humidity. For reference, the course is about 30 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico.
 
COURSE PREVIEW (WOMEN | MEN)
Saturday's championships will be run at The Abbey Course on the campus of St. Leo University in St. Leo, Fla., just northeast of Tampa Bay. It is a golf course positioned about 30 miles straight east of the ocean which means it will be flat and relatively fast. As an active golf course in the south, the surface will mostly be Bermuda grass which is common on most golf courses in warm climates. The women's race is slated for 6,000 meters and includes about 1.5 loops around the preset track while the men's 10,000 meters will take about 2.5 loops. The start line and finish line are located in separate locations.
 
GUEST LIST
Since it is the national championships, it's pretty safe to assume that the field is elite from top to bottom. There are a total of 34 teams competing for each gender along with 24 additional individuals. That brings the field to 262 runners for the men and 262 racers for the women. Out of the 34 teams, 24 earned automatic qualification by finishing in the top three in the eight region races across the country. The remaining 10 teams for each gender were selected at-large based on their performances throughout the season and within their respective regions. Mines qualified out of the South Central Region which dominated the at-large selections. In total, the South Central boasts six of the 34 men's teams and eight of the 34 women's teams. All 14 of those teams are ranked inside the top-30 in the nation.
 
MINES AT THE NATIONAL MEET
In 2020, the NCAA canceled all fall championships for NCAA Division II. That makes this weekend the 16th consecutive appearance for Mines' men at national meet and the seventh straight appearance for the Oredigger women. It also means the Oredigger men head to Florida as the defending NCAA Division II Cross Country Champions after winning it all in 2019. The men also tout a title from 2015 which was the first national championship for any varsity program in the Colorado School of Mines Athletic Department. However, as Julie Andrews would say, let's start at the beginning.  Mines' women were the first of the two programs to qualify as a team for nationals. They earned their inaugural bid in 2003. The Oredigger men earned their initial team bid in 2005 and haven't missed a national meet since. Furthermore, Mines' men have never finished lower than #9 when qualifying and tout a run of #5 or better every year since 2009. Additionally, since winning their first national title in 2015, the Oredigger men have not finished outside the top three in the nation. Mines' women made their own history in 2019 by making their first podium with a third-place finish on 110 points. Prior to that historic moment, the Oredigger women had finished #5 twice (2018, 2005). In total, Mines' women tout five finishes inside the top-10 in their 10 appearances at nationals. Through the entire history of Mines cross country, 27 men and nine women have combined for 58 All-America awards.
 
ALL THE ACCOLADES
Dillon Powell serves as the headliner for Mines' robust list of accolades collected this fall. Not only did he earn two RMAC Runner of the Week awards and one National Athlete of the Week honor, but he also claimed RMAC Runner of the Year and NCAA South Central Region Athlete of the Year after winning both those races. He added First-Team All-RMAC  and USTFCCCA All-Region as well. Right behind Powell is Head Coach Chris Siemers who was voted RMAC Men's Coach of the Year and NCAA South Central Region Men's Coach of the Year thanks to the men winning both team titles. Additionally, Duncan Fuehne and Zoe Baker swept the RMAC Academic Runner of the Year honors while Fuehne also claimed RMAC Freshman of the Year. Overall, the Oredigger men and women combined for 14 All-RMAC awards, 10 All-Region accolades and 28 RMAC Academic honorees.
 
SEASON SUMMARY
The Orediggers started their season on Sept. 3 at the Wyoming Invite. Dillon Powell ran as an attached individual and won the whole race. Zoe Baker led the women and helped them finish #3 only behind DI Colorado State and Colorado. Up next was the Roadrunners Invitational on Sept. 17. Chris Cathcart raced to individual gold, Zoe Baker was the top DII runner, and the men and women swept the team titles. Highlighting the regular season was the prestigious Chile Pepper Festival on Oct. 1. Dillon Powell finished third in the loaded field and led the men to the team title ahead of multiple DI programs. Heather Keniry was tops for the women and helped them take sixth in the team standings. Mines' men rounded out the regular season at the UCCS XC Open where no team scores were kept, but Kyle Moran won individual gold. Mines hosted the RMAC Championships to start the postseason with the men claiming that team title as well behind Powell's individual crown. Once again, Baker led the women and team took second. It was the same story two weeks later at the regional championships. Powell won, the men won, Baker led the women and they finished runner-up. The end.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
At this point in the season, the USTFCCCA's national rankings seem fairly inconsequential. You get the ranking based on your finish this Saturday. That being said, here is a quick update. The Oredigger men enter the national race ranked #1 in the nation with seven of eight first-place votes. Mines' women are #5 in the nation. Other ranked RMAC programs include Adams State, Colorado Christian, UCCS and Western Colorado on the men's side with Adams State, UCCS, Western Colorado, Colorado Christian and CSU Pueblo representing the conference's women's programs.
 
STANDING IN THE HALL OF FAME
On the first weekend of October, two Colorado School of Mines Cross Country and Track & Field stars were inducted into the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2021 class. Mack McLain and Dr. Mark Husted entered the Hall of Fame together as two of the most decorated Orediggers of all time in any sport. McLain enters as easily the most decorated Oredigger with three individual national titles and 12 career all-America awards which are the most by any Oredigger in any sport. Husted joins him as a two-time NCAA Division II National Champion and six-time all-American as a student-athlete. Husted was also part of the coaching staff for the men's cross country national crown in 2019. He will be guiding the team on Saturday as well.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The next action for Mines' distance crew will be the start of the indoor track & field season. The Orediggers open their schedule Dec. 3-4 by hosting the Mines Alumni Classic inside Steinhauer Fieldhouse. Additional information regarding the event will be released the week of at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines cross country on Twitter and Instagram at @csmtrack. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.