Chile Pepper XC Festival – Friday, Oct. 1 – 5 p.m. CT [Live Video] [Live Results] [Course Maps]
Fayetteville, Ark. – Agri Park

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IT'S THE CHILE PEPPER FESTIVAL!
For the fifth time since 2015, the Colorado School of Mines Cross Country program will make an appearance at the 33rd Annual Chile Pepper Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas at Agri Park this Friday evening in Fayetteville. It's easily the biggest race of the regular season for the #1-ranked men and #2-ranked women with fields featuring nearly 20 NCAA Division I programs and nine nationally-ranked programs in each race. The women go first with a 5K and a 5 p.m. (CT) gun followed by the men's 8K at 5:30 p.m. (CT). It marks the men's first trip to Arkansas since 2019 and the women's first since 2017. Neither team has finished lower than fifth since Mines' regular attendance started in 2015.
 
WEATHER REPORT
Rain through the day on Thursday and all day Friday will make for a soft, slow, muddy race. Race-time conditions call for a 40-percent chance of rain, 60-percent humidity and a temperature just under 80 degrees. Those marks change to 41-percent chance of rain, 77-percent humidity and 73 degrees by 7 p.m. While the races should be will over by then, it gives fans an idea of what the weather is expected to do. In summary, it's going to be wet, muddy, humid and warm for one of the biggest cross country races in the nation. A good time shall be had by all – maybe.
 
LOADED LIKE A BAKED POTATO
To say that Friday's races are loaded would be an understatement. These proverbial baked potatoes have all the toppings. The College Women's 5K features 38 teams including 19 NCAA Division I programs, 15 from DII, two DIII squads, one from the NJCAA and one NAIA team. Out of the 38 teams, nine are nationally ranked in their respective divisions. Most notable on the women's side are #10 Arkansas, #14 Oklahoma State, #2 Mines (DII), #4 Augustana (DII), #6 Southwest Baptist (DII) , #17 CSU Pueblo (DII) and #27 Western Colorado (DII). Also noteworthy is the hosting Arkansas women who won the DI national title in 2019.
 
MORE TOPPINGS
The author didn't want to make the previous section too long, so it's continued here. Friday's McDonnell Memorial College Men's 8K includes 36 teams with 17 NCAA Division I squads, 13 DII teams and five junior college powerhouses. Just like the women's side, nine of the programs are nationally ranked in their division. At the DI level, Arkansas sits #8 and Tulsa is #11. Those teams went #4 and #6 at the most recent NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. The DII field is equally loaded with #1 Mines leading the way. Augustana is #4 in the nation while Alabama-Huntsville sits #8. Conference foe Western Colorado checks in at #18. Not to be forgotten are the five junior college programs which include the last two national champions in Iowa Central CC and Cloud County CC. Currently, Iowa Central ranks #1, Iowa Western is #3 and Cloud County is #5.
 
THE FORMAT
While the actual Chile Pepper Festival is a two-day affair featuring multiple races for different levels, those reading this article really only care about the first day. Friday's slate features to 5,000-meter races and two 8,000-meter races. Mines' women are slated for the College Women's 5K at 5 p.m. (CT). The Oredigger men run in the McDonnell Memorial College Men's 8K at 5:30 p.m. (CT). Both "Prairie Fire Pepper" events are not the droids you are looking for. Standard scoring for collegiate cross country will be used to determine the team standings. Each team's top-five runners will collect the number of points equal to their individual placement while the sixth and seventh runners don't score, but can change the scoring of another team's runner. For example, if the Orediggers finished 10-17, the top five would produce a team score of 60 points while the sixth and seventh runners would push runners behind them down two spots. We won't dip in to adjustment for unattached runners. Like golf, lowest score wins.
 
OREDIGGER LINEUP
Head Coach Chris Siemers appears ready to make a statement on Friday with an elite lineup of men and women. Kyle Moran, Dylan Ko, Dillon Powell, Luke Julian, Loic Scomparin, Chris Cathcart, Duncan Fuehne, Steven Goldy, John O'Malley, Max Sevcik, Jake Mitchem and Andrew Kaye will carry the banner for the Oredigger men. Zoe Bkaer, Heather Keniry, Molly Maksin, Holly Moser, Brin Strouse, Alayna Szuch, Emma Arterbury and Alex Raichart will represent Mines' women. That group combined touts a total of 38 all-America awards between cross country and track & field. Four of the men and three of the women also ran for the Orediggers at the historic 2019 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships where the men won their second title and the women earned their first podium appearance in program history.
 
MINES AT THE FESTIVAL
The Orediggers made their first known appearance at the Chile Pepper Festival in 2015. The men and women traveled to Arkansas three straight years before a break in 2018. Then, the men returned in 2019. In four appearances, Mines' men have taken second overall every time, finishing second to nationally-ranked Arkansas on three occasions. The best team performance for the men was in 2017 when Matthew Kade ran a 30:20 10K to finish sixth overall and help the Orediggers produce a 10-point gap between them and the #5 Razorbacks. In 2019, Mines was nearly as impressive as Dylan Ko raced a 23:59.4 8K and finished eighth overall with the team coming in 22 points behind the University of Texas which was receiving votes in the national polls. The women also turned in a top performance in 2017 by claiming silver in the team standings behind #9 Arkansas thanks to Megan Wenham running 17:24 and finishing 13th.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Nearly two weeks ago, the Oredigger men and women swept the team titles at the Roaderunners Invitational hosted by MSU Denver at Washington Park in – well – Denver. It was the season debut for the men's team after the Wyoming Invite was postponed, and they did not disappoint. Chris Cathcart finished first in 24:16.9 to spearhead the result. All five Oredigger scorers finished 10th or better. That combined performance bested then #10 Colorado Christian, Colorado State, Fort Hays State, MSU Denver and Regis. On the women's side, Zoe Baker and Molly Maksin provided a powerful punch by taking second and third as individuals. The only runner ahead of the duo was an unattached Megan Mooney who ran for both Florida State and Colorado State. Like the men, all five scorers finished top-10 and helped the women knock off Colorado State, Colorado Christian, MSU Denver, Fort Hays State, UCCS, Wyoming and Regis.
 
ANOTHER RMAC RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Chris Cathcart's first-place finish at the Roadrunners Invitational garnered him the second RMAC Runner of the Week award of his career. He outran 91 other competitors and produced a record-shattering time of 24:16.9. The previous record on the 8K course was 24:42 set by Zouhair Talbi from Northwest Kansas Tech in 2019. In marked the second first-place finish in Cathcart's collegiate career. In just four career cross country starts, the Fort Collins, Colo., native has finished #1, #5, #4 and #1.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released week three of their national rankings on Wednesday afternoon and the Orediggers saw no change in their standing. Mines' men checked in at #1 for a third straight week while the women held strong at #2 for the same span of time. Other ranked RMAC teams include Adams State (#3), Colorado Christian (#5), UCCS (#14) and Western Colorado (#18) on the men's side. Adams State (#3), UCCS (#7), CSU Pueblo (#17), Colorado Christian (#21) and Western Colorado (#27) bolster the RMAC's standing for the women.
 
HALL CALL X2
This weekend, one day after the Orediggers complete the Chile Pepper Festival, two Colorado School of Mines Cross Country and Track & Field stars will be inducted into the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2021 class announced earlier in August. Mack McLain and Dr. Mark Husted will go into 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.
 
RMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS TO GOLDEN
The 2021 RMAC Cross Country Championships are coming to Golden, Colo. Mines was scheduled to host in 2020 but opted out due to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. That means the Orediggers take their turn this year and host their first cross country race of any sort since 2004. The 2021 edition will be run at Applewood Golf Course just east of Golden with the women's gun at 10:40 a.m. followed by the men's race at 11:30 a.m. When Mines last hosted the RMAC Championships in 2004, the men and women both finished fourth in the team standings. Western Colorado claimed the men's title and Adams State brought home the women's crown.  
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
On Nov. 3, 2018, the Colorado School of Mines Men's Cross Country team finished fourth at the RMAC Cross Country Championships. Since that time, the Oredigger men have finished no lower than second in any race they've run. In fact, Mines' only second-place finishes over that span are the 2018 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships and the 2019 Chile Pepper Festival. The Oredigger men have taken first in every other race for a total of nine team titles. Furthermore, an individual from Mines has taken gold in seven of those races with Dylan Ko claiming three first-place finishes including two RMAC crowns. The icing on the cake is Dillon Powell running solo and taking first in a field filled with NCAA Division I runners at the Wyoming Invite earlier this season, making eight individual titles in a 12-race span. Check back next preview for an equally impressive rundown on Mines' women.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines will race back-to-back weeks for the only time this season as they head to the Colorado Springs XC Open on Friday, Oct. 8, at the Cherokee Ridge Golf Course. A full preview and applicable live coverage information will be offered next week 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.