Mines Alumni Classic – Dec. 3-4
Steinhauer Fieldhouse – Golden, Colo. [Schedule] [Live Results] [Home Meet Info]

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BACK IN ACTION
This weekend, the Colorado School of Mines Men's and Women's Track & Field teams will open their 2021-22 indoor campaign by hosting the Mines Alumni Classic inside Steinhauer Fieldhouse. The two-day event starts Friday evening and runs through Saturday afternoon. For the first time in nearly two years (Feb. 21, 2020), fans will be welcome to spectate inside the fieldhouse with masks required regardless of vaccination status. Admission will be free for both days.
 
MASKS REQUIRED FOR FANS AT STEINHAUER FIELDHOUSE
As stated above, fans are required for all spectators in Steinhauer Fieldhouse regardless of vaccination status. This is consistent with the Jefferson County Public Health indoor masking order effective Wednesday, Nov. 24. Fans are also asked to remain in the stands and not move around the fieldhouse while athletes are competing.
 
PARKING INFORMATION
Fans and teams alike are asked to park in Q Lot located just west of Elm Street and West Campus Road. With Mines also hosting the NCAA Football National Quarterfinals on Saturday, parking will be limited and Q Lot will be the only one available. Fans must pay to park before 5 p.m. on Friday. Parking is free all day on Saturday.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
This weekend's meet will not have live video due to equipment and staffing constraints. However, as previously stated, fans are welcome to attend while wearing masks. Live results will also be offered at www.minesathletics.com/tracklive starting on Friday evening.
 
WEEKEND FORMAT
The 2021-22 season opener features a relatively compact schedule with small field sizes. Action begins on Friday at 4:30 p.m. with the long jump (men, then women) and pole vault (women, then men). The first day closes with the shot put (women, then men) at 6 p.m. Day two features an early start with the men's weight throw at 9 a.m. Field action continues at 12 p.m. with the men's triple jump while the track opens at the same time with the men's 60-meter hurdle prelims. This weekend's meet feeds the distance fiends with the running of the 5,000 meters at 2:55 p.m. As per usual, the event closes with the 4x400-meter relays. Those will start at 3:30 p.m. The full meet schedule is linked above.
 
GUEST LIST
As of Thursday afternoon, four different programs will be represented in Golden this weekend. Obviously, the Oredigger men and women will be out in full force. Joining Mines will be the CSU Pueblo men and women, Western Colorado's men and women, San Francisco State's women and a handful of Griffin women from Westminster. There are also a handful of unattached individuals in the field.
 
WHAT TO WATCH
All of it. There is no reason not to catch every event possible.
 
LAST SEASON
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic carrying all the way through the 2020-21 season, Mines put together a full schedule and found great success. During the indoor season, the Orediggers opted out of the RMAC Championships but traveled to Birmingham, Ala., for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. There, the men finished #6 in the nation while the women tied for #23 while the two teams combined to crown 24 USTFCCCA All-Americans. The outdoor season saw the men and women sweep third in the team standings at the conference championships in Pueblo, Colo. Mines capped the year with a historic performance at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships where the men finished #6 and the women were #35. A program record 15 USTFCCCA All-Americans were crowned at the outdoor championships.
 
CROSS COUNTRY RECAP
As those familiar with track & field know, the fall 2021 cross country season only recently came to an end with the Oredigger distance specialists putting on a show before rolling into the indoor season. Mines' cross country men and women finished their year on the podium once again. The Oredigger men took #3 in the nation and the women earned their second straight podium at #4 in the nation. Overall, six individuals raced to all-America status for Mines including four men and two women. Other highlights from the season included the men winning their third straight RMAC title and the Chile Pepper Festival, while the women took another silver medal at the conference championships and placed sixth in Arkansas.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Both the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll and the USTFCCCA National Track & Field Rating Index have yet to be released. Fans can look for the conference poll prior to the new year. According to the USTFCCCA's website, the first edition of the national rankings will come out on Tuesday, Jan. 25.
 
SMALL CHANGE
This may play to the niche crowd, but the NCAA has made a small yet notable change for the 2021-22 season. There will be not automatic qualifying times or marks for the national meet. Only a provisional line will be set for all events and the selection committee will choose from those meeting that one mark.
 
UP NEXT
After this weekend's season opener, Mines' men and women take more than a month off from competition before returning to action on Jan. 21-22 at the UCCS Invite in Colorado Springs.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram at @MinesWBB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.