2022 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships – Friday, Dec. 2 – 10 a.m. PT  [Live Results] [Live Video]
University Place, Wash. – Chambers Creek Regional Park

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REASON FOR THE SEASON
The Colorado School of Mines men's and women's cross country teams have reached the pinnacle of their season. This Friday, both Oredigger squads will race at the 2022 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships as part of the DII Fall Festival in Seattle, Wash. National titles are on the line for both teams. They will run at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Wash., with the men's 10K at 10 a.m. (PT) followed by the women's 6K at 11:15 a.m. (PT). It marks the culmination of more than three months of training, six races, and well over 21 competitive miles. It truly is the reason for the collegiate cross country season.
 
HOW TO WATCH
There will be live results and live video of both national races on Friday. Both options are free to all fans. The live video will be provided at www.ncaa.com/live with separate links for the men's and women's races. Live results for both the men and women will be available at the same link above.
 
WEATHER REPORT
Rain and snow are in the University Place, Wash., forecast for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Outside of partly cloudy skies on Wednesday, the high temperature is not projected to break 40 degrees. On Friday at 10 a.m., the forecast at the writing of this preview features a race-time temperature of 35 degrees with a chance of snow showers. By the time the men and women have both finished, it looks to be raining with a temperature of 37 degrees. Those planning to attend the race in person should pack and dress for wet, muddy, cold conditions.
 
THE COURSE
Friday's national championship races will be competed at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Wash., which is about 40 miles south of Seattle. Mines' men and women have run the course before thanks to a trip to the D2 Pre-Nationals earlier this season. Located adjacent to Chambers Bay Golf Course, the route essentially features two linked loops. There are no trees, the large majority of the course is grass, and any incline is gradual or rolling as opposed to sharp and steep. Overall, it would normally be a fast track for a national race, but this week's weather could slow the pace significantly.
 
GUEST LIST
As one could imagine, this weekend's guest list features the best of the best. In fact, it's so packed, and loaded, some of those considered the best were left out. In total, 34 men's teams and 34 women's teams were selected for each championship. There were also 24 additional individuals selected to compete. The men's side features 29 of the top-30 teams according to the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association national rankings. Five of the 34 teams are from the South Central Region and four are from the RMAC including #1 Mines, #6 Colorado Christian, #8 Western Colorado, and #11 UCCS. The only top-30 team left out of the men's field was #20 Adams State. On the women's side, 27 of the USTFCCCA's top-30 ranked teams are in the field. That includes eight from the South Central Region and six from the RMAC with #1 Adams State, #3 Mines, #4 UCCS, #9 CSU Pueblo, #12 Western Colorado, and #20 Colorado Christian all making the trip to the Pacific Northwest. Overall, each race projects a field of 262 runners each.
 
STARTING SEVEN
Mines will send seven men and seven women to the Pacific Northwest to compete for individual and team national titles. Tentatively representing the men will be Chris Cathcart, Duncan Fuehne, Steven Goldy, Luke Julian, Paul Knight, Dillon Powell, and Loic Scomparin. The women's tentative lineup features Zoe Baker, Molly Maksin, Holly Moser, Clare Peters, Jenna Ramsey, Grace Strongman and Alayna Szuch.
 
LOADED LINEUP
The men's tentative lineup has combined to win 20 USTFCCCA All-America awards between cross country and track & field. Additionally, Dillon Powell is the defending NCAA Champion in the 10,000-meter run and a two-time regional and RMAC cross country champion. The women's combined resume features 14 USTFCCCA All-America awards from cross country and track & field. Baker and Maksin also ran in the national race in 2019 when Mines' women appeared on their first podium in program history.
 
AVAILABLE HARDWARE
The team with the lowest combined score from its top-five runners will be crowned NCAA National Champion on the men's and women's side. The individual man and woman that cross the finish line first will also earn the national champion moniker. Additionally, individual finishers 1-40 in each race will be granted USTFCCCA All-America distinction. All other superlative awards are voted on by the coaches after the race.
 
WHEN IT STARTED
Mines' women first qualified as a team for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in 2003. The Oredigger men made their first team appearance at the national meet in 2005.
 
KEEPING IT ROLLING
On Friday, the Colorado School of Mines men will make their 17th consecutive appearance at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. They have not missed a national meet since first qualifying in 2005. For the Oredigger women, Friday marks their eighth straight NCAA Championship appearance and 12th overall.
 
TOP TEAM FINISHES
The top team finish for the Colorado School of Mines Men's Cross Country team is #1. The Orediggers earned the title NCAA National Champion both in 2015 and 2019. They have never finished lower than #9 as a team, have finished #5 or better every year since 2009, and #3 or better every year since 2015. The top team finish for the Colorado School of Mines Women's Cross Country team was #3 in 2019 when the Orediggers appeared on their first podium in program history. Mines' women also boast a fourth-place finish last year and two #5 finishes in 2018 and 2005, respectively. Overall, the Oredigger women have finished top-10 six times in 11 appearances at nationals.
 
BEST INDIVIDUALS
Kyle Moran and Dylan Ko are tied for the best individual national finish in the history of men's program. Moran finished #4 in 2019 at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, Calif., as he led the Orediggers to their second national title. Ko finished #4 last season at The Abbey Course in St. Leo, Fla., where the men finished #3 in the nation. Chloe Cook, who is now an assistant coach for Mines, owns the top individual national finish for the women. She took #7 in 2019 as part of the Oredigger women's historic finish. She also happened to be the top American runner in that year's race. Throughout the entire history of Mines cross country, 28 men and 10 women have combined for 64 all-America finishes.
 
ELITE 90 SWEEP
Colorado School of Mines collected two national awards before ever arriving in Seattle on Wednesday evening. At the opening ceremonies of the NCAA Division II Fall Sports Festival, Zoe Baker and Duncan Fuehne were announced as the winners of the NCAA Elite 90 Award for DII cross country. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships. It marks the first such award for Fuehne and the third for Baker who also won it for indoor track & field in 2021 and 2022. In summary, no other woman competing at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships has a higher GPA than Baker, and no other man at the same race has a higher GPA than Fuehne.
 
HOW WE GOT HERE
Two weeks ago, the Oredigger men and women ran at the NCAA South Central Region Cross Country Championships at Washington Park in south Denver. Mines' men won their fourth consecutive regional title and the women finished runner-up as both claimed automatic berths in the national meet. Individually, Dillon Powell took gold for a second straight year which anchored a 1-4-5-7-8 finish for the Oredigger men. All seven of the men were all-region (top-25). Molly Maksin and Zoe Baker led the Oredigger women by taking #5 and #7. A total of four women were all-region. Back in the team race, Mines' men posted a score of 25 compared to 59 by runner-up Colorado Christian. It marked the lowest team score in a South Central men's race since at least 2012. The Oredigger women totaled 72 points and finished just five back of regional champion Adams State.
 
MORE ZOE BAKER
Earlier in November, Zoe Baker wrote Oredigger history for the second time in as many months. After being named to the national Top 30 for NCAA Woman of the Year in October, the Mines graduate student advanced as a finalist to the top nine for the prestigious award earlier this month. She was the first Oredigger to ever advance to the Top 30, which means she's also the first Oredigger into the top nine. The finalists feature three women from each of the three divisions of the NCAA. From those finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year and announce the winner at the NCAA Convention in January in San Antonio, Texas. The Longmont, Colo., native started as one of 577 nominees across all levels of the NCAA. Read Zoe Baker's entire profile for the award HERE.
 
DILLON POWELL
There could be entire essays or books written on Dillon Powell's accomplishments as an Oredigger, but will keep it to the most notable. Thus far, Powell has run nine collegiate cross country races in a Mines uniform. He has won six of them. Headlining his individual titles are the 2021 RMAC Championships, the 2021 South Central Region Championships, the 2022 RMAC Championships, and the 2022 South Central Region Championships. His average margin of victory in those four races alone is 30.4 seconds with all four wins coming against Afewerki Zeru of UCCS. Zeru was the 2022 5K national champion and finished #3 in the 10K as well. As previously mentioned, Powell is also the defending NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Champion in the 10,000-meter run. We could go on, but that seems like enough, for now.
 
AT THE HELM
Colorado School of Mines Cross Country Head Coach Chris Siemers is in his 11th season at the helm for the Oredigger men and women. Headlining his resume are a pair of NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships which Mines' men brought home in 2015 and 2019. Over the last decade, Siemers has built Mines into a national power in distance running. On the men's side, 19 Orediggers have earned 35 Cross Country All-America honors under his guidance. That has led to six RMAC crowns (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and fove NCAA South Central Regional titles (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022). No men's team coached by Siemers has ever finished lower than fifth in the nation. On the women's side, seven individuals have earned eight cross country all-America honors under Siemers' watch. As a team, the women earned their first national podium finish in 2019 by finishing third at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships and added a second in 2021 by taking fourth place. Mines' women have finished as high as #2 at both the RMAC and regional championships on multiple occasions.
 
THAT'S KIND OF NEAT
Earlier this season, the Colorado School of Mines men and women competed at D2 Pre-Nationals which marked their first race in Washington since 2013. That 2013 trip to the Pacific Northwest was also for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships held in Spokane, Wash. At that race, the men of Mines placed fifth in the nation behind Andrew Epperson, Derek Alcorn, Phil Schneider, Marty Andrie, Frank Socha, Seth Topper, Drew Kerschieter. Chloe Gustafson competed as an individual qualifier for the Oredigger women and finished 52nd out of 244.
 
WORLD CHAMPION
In late June of this year, Oredigger assistant coach, Colorado School of Mines graduate and Mines Athletics Hall of Fame member Dr. Mark Husted earned the title World Champion. He competed in three different events at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Finland where he took gold in the 5,000-meter run, silver in the 1,500-meter run and fourth in the world in the 800-meter run. While a student-athlete at Mines, Dr. Husted was a six-time USTFCCCA All-American and two-time NCAA Division II National Champion.
 
THE ROAD TO CHAMBER'S BAY
We're here. That is all.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
No matter what happens this weekend, the Oredigger men and women are next headed to indoor track & field. The distance runners first shot at competition will be the Colorado Running Company Pre-Holiday Invite & Multi on Dec. 9-10 at UCCS.
 
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.