CU Time Trials – Friday, Sept. 1 – 7:15 a.m.  [Course Info]
Boulder, Colo. – Buffalo Run Cross Country Course

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SEASON OPENER
The Colorado School of Mines Men's and Women's Cross Country teams begin their 2023 season this Friday at the CU Time Trials in Boulder, Colo. It is a collegiate-only event hosted by the University of Colorado with Colorado Christian's men and women also set to attend. Racing is set to begin at 7:15 a.m. with the women running 5,310 meters. Following the women's competition, the men will run 7,080 meters starting at 7:45 a.m. There will be no team scoring but individual times will be kept and the races will count towards official competition.
 
WEATHER REPORT
An early gun will help competitors and spectators both beat the heat on a day with a projected high of 94 degrees in Boulder, Colo. Both the men and women should start and finish their respective races with a temperature between 65-70 degrees. Clear skies, low wind, and humidity under 40 percent should make for a pleasant morning of racing. At 5,430 feet of elevation, sun screen remains highly recommended.
 
FAN/LIVE COVERAGE INFORMATION
There will be no live results or live video of Friday's race. That means the best way to keep up with the action is to attend in person. The University of Colorado Athletics Department has stated that the general public is warmly (pun intended?) invited to attend and show their support for the student-athletes by cheering them on. The Buffalo Run Cross Country Course is located on CU's South Campus. Click here for more information and directions.
 
COURSE PREVIEW
Only limited information on the Buffs' home course is available. What we do know is the route is long and narrow, starting near the parking lot, running south past the tennis courts for about a mile and then coming back north with a shorter loop incorporated as well. Most of the running surface appears to be a gravel trail. The start/finish elevation is listed at 5,354 feet with a high point of 5,465 feet.
 
PREVIEWING THE BUFFS
While the overall field for Friday's races is small, it does provide top-tier competition to start the season. There will be no cupcakes in either race. Leading the list are the hosting Buffs who compete at the NCAA Division I level. In 2022, CU's men finished #8 in the nation and women took #11 as both squads appeared in their 14th consecutive NCAA championships together. Even more notable is CU's women returning 12 runners from that team and the men bringing back 22 individuals. The Buff's men are currently #7 in the USTFCCCA preseason rankings while their women are #5.
 
LOOKING AT THE COUGARS
A look at the other third of the opposition finds a Colorado Christian squad that had a historic 2022 which rolled into a historic start to 2023. The CCU men finished #3 in the nation at the 2022 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, marking their best team performance ever. The Cougar women were #10 in the nation in 2022. Those results showed in the national preseason rankings which slated CCU's men #6 in DII and the women appeared at #9.
 
OREDIGGER LINEUP
Head Coach Chris Siemers is deploying two different strategies for his men and women. On the men's side, it will be a smaller group mixed with experienced runners and fresh faces who look to get their legs under them to start the year. Fans can watch for Max Bonenberger, Alberto Campa, Ethan Grolnic, Andrew Kaye, John O'Malley, and Braden Struhs to make a statement for the Orediggers. For the women, Coach Siemers is bringing over two-thirds of his team including multiple returning all-Americans and one true freshman. Margaux Basart, Imani Fernandez-Gorbea, Lexi Herr, Gabriela Kenly, Emily LaMena, Ashleigh Loe, Molly Maksin, Riley McGrath, Josie Mejia, Holly Moser, Callen Nash, Clare Peters, Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge, and Grace Strongman will look to come out of the gate fast and run as a team.
 
THE BOSS
No, we're not talking about Bruce Springsteen, but the man we are talking about might be equally legendary in the world of cross country. Colorado School of Mines Cross Country Head Coach Chris Siemers is entering his 12th season at the helm for the Oredigger men and women. Headlining his resume are three NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships which Mines' men brought home in 2015, 2019, and 2022. On the men's side, 25 individuals have earned 42 Cross Country All-America honor. That has led to six RMAC crowns (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and five 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, eight individuals have posted 11 Cross Country All-America finishes. As a team, the women earned their first national podium finish in 2019 by finishing third at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. They added a second in 2021 by taking fourth place. In 2022, the women matched their best finish in program history with a third-place finish for their third straight podium Mines' women have finished as high as #2 at both the RMAC and regional championships on multiple occasions including 2022.
 
MORE SIEMERS
One section just wasn't enough for Mines' fearless leader. Thanks to the team accomplishments listed above, Coach Siemers boasts the following awards on his resume. He is a three-time USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country National Coach of the Year, a CaptainU Division II Men's Cross Country College Coach of the Year, five-time USTFCCCA South Central Region Men's Coach of the Year and six-time RMAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year. In the classroom, Siemers' squads have had 21 Orediggers rack up 43 CSC (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-America honors along with two Academic All-America of the Year awards. They have also brought home two Brechler Awards honoring the RMAC's highest team GPA.
 
THE MEN OF MINES IN 2022
Last season was nothing less than historic for the Orediggers. Following a quality regular season, Mines' men won their fourth straight RMAC crown and sixth of the last seven. They also won their fourth straight NCAA South Central Region title, making five of the last six. The men capped their season with a third national title as they posted a score of 43 compared to 177 by runner-up Wingate for the largest margin of victory in the history of the DII national meet. All seven of Mines' runners finished as USTFCCCA All-Americans. They were led by individual national champion Dillon Powell with Duncan Fuehne in third, Loic Scomparin at #10, Luke Julian at #13, Chris Cathcart at #23, Paul Knight at #24, and Steven Goldy at #30.
 
WOMEN'S HISTORIC 2022
Mines' men weren't the only ones making history in 2022. The Oredigger women also posted a season for the record books. They started the year by winning two of their regular-season races. In the postseason, Mines' women grabbed team silver at the RMAC Cross Country Championships and the NCAA South Central Region Championships. They were second only to eventual national champion Adams State. At the national meet, the Oredigger women surged to a third straight podium thanks to team bronze which matched their highest finish in program history. The historic run was fueled by three USTFCCCA All-Americans in #12 Molly Maksin, #33 Zoe Baker, and #39 Grace Strongman. That also matched the most USTFCCCA All-Americans in a single season in program history. The only other team with three all-America finishes was the 2019 squad featuring Chloe Cook, Morgan Molesworth, and Zoe Baker. Furthermore, Zoe Baker won CSC (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-American of the Year for a second straight season. Also notable for 2022-23 was the first RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championship in Mines women's history.
 
PRESEASON POLLS
Two different preseason polls were released in the past month. The first was the RMAC Coaches' Preseason Poll which picked the Oredigger men to win a fifth straight conference title with Mines' women slotted #2. Adams State was picked as the favorite to win the RMAC title. The second preseason list was the USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Preseason National Coaches' Poll. Those rankings also picked the men of Mines to defend their title with the Oredigger women voted #3 in the nation to start the season.
 
KEY RETURNERS
On paper, Colorado School of Mines returns a total of five USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Americans for 2023, but that doesn't tell the whole story. As previously mentioned, Duncan Fuehne finished #3 in the nation in 2022 while Loic Scomparin was #10 and Paul Knight was #24. Knight was also RMAC Freshman of the Year. Molly Maksin took #12 in the nation for the women and Grace Strongman pushed to the #39 spot in the national race. That being said, the 2023 rosters feature numerous other all-Americans. Alberto Campa, Max Bonenberger, Holly Moser, Clare Peters, and Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge were all Oredigger all-Americans in track & field during the 2022-23 season.      JP Rutledge, Logan Bocovich, Riley McGrath
 
FRESH FACES
Not so fast! Well, actually, so fast. There are even more all-Americans on Mines' 2023 cross country squads. Coach Siemers brought in 13 newcomers on the distance side for the 2023-24 campaign. Among those are three transfers touting USTFCCCA All-American resumes. JP Rutledge joined the team after running for Missouri Southern where he finished sixth in the nation in 2021 at the DII championships in St. Leo, Fla. Another DII addition came on the women's side with Riley McGrath coming up I-25 from UCCS. She racked up multiple all-America honors during her time as a Mountain Lion including a 32nd-place finish at the DII cross country championships in 2022. Rounding out the all-American transfers is Logan Bocovich who ran for four years at DIII power St. Olaf in Minnesota. His 2022 season included an eighth-place finish at the DIII championships.
 
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
In addition to Rutledge, McGrath, and Bocovich, 10 other newcomers joined the Orediggers this summer. Jeremy Gillett, Nolan Hoffman, Garrett Mackey, Hayden Triebold, Shalom Trowbridge, Sam Walls, and Chandler Wilburn joined the men's team. Maria Forster, Emily LaMena, and Nicole Perez joined the women's team. All 10 produced highly-decorated prep careers including multiple Nike all-Americans which you can read about HERE.
 
SCHEDULE SNAPSHOT
After their opener on Friday, the Oredigger men and women will run three more regular-season races during the 2023 season. On Saturday, Sept. 16, Mines will compete at the Roadrunners Invitational hosted by MSU Denver at Washington Park. The third appearance of the year will be at the UCCS XC Open on Friday, Oct. 6, in Colorado Springs. A trip to the greater Chicago area on Saturday, Oct. 7, will round out the 2023 regular season as the Orediggers run at the Lewis Crossover Invitational in Romeoville, Ill. The postseason begins with the RMAC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 21 at Washington Park in Denver. The NCAA South Central Regional Championships are slated for Saturday, Nov. 4, in Lubbock, Texas. Finally, the Orediggers will chase more history at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18, in Joplin, Mo.
 
HALL CALL FOR ART SIEMERS
On Sept. 30, former Colorado School of Mines Head Cross Country and Head Track & Field Coach Art Siemers will be inducted into the Harry D. Campbell Oredigger Hall of Fame. Siemers, older brother of current Head Cross Country Coach Chris Siemers, turned Mines into a distance running powerhouse. He arrived at Mines in 2002 and added head track & field coach duties in 2005. The elder Siemers remained in that position until 2012 when he became the head cross country coach at NCAA Division I Colorado State. On the course, he coached 21 cross country all-Americans and led nine appearances to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. Read his full profile HERE.
 
MAKE IT TWO
Art Siemers is not the only cross country-affiliated Oredigger making history. Joining him on Sept. 30 inside Lockridge Arena will be the 2015 men's cross country team. The 2015 squad will be inducted into the Harry D. Campbell Oredigger Hall of Fame after bringing Mines its first-ever national championship. The Orediggers captured the 2015 NCAA Division II championship, defeating RMAC rival Adams State to lift the first walnut and bronze trophy in school in history. Under national coach of the year Chris Siemers, Mines scored 100 team points to edge the Grizzlies by 27. Get the full rundown on the historic team HERE.
 
WORLD CHAMPION ON STAFF
In the June of 2022, 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.
 
LEGENDARY COACHING STAFF
The Colorado School of Mines cross country coaching staff is chalk full of decorated alumni. While the aforementioned Dr. Husted has worked with the team since 2011, both Grant Colligan and Chloe Colligan (nee Cook) joined the staff in 2022. Grant Colligan competed in cross country and track & field at Mines from 2014-2020 and earned 10 USTFCCCA All-America awards while helping the Oredigger men win the first national championship in the history of Mines Athletics in 2015. He will be part of the Hall of Fame induction on Sept. 30. Chloe Colligan, who competed at Mines as Chloe Cook from 2014-19 was a three-time USTFCCCA All-American including two honors in the mile. She was the #1 runner for Mines' women in 2019 when they took third in the nation, marking the first podium finish in program history. New additions for 2023 include volunteer assistants Steven Goldy and Max Sevcik. Goldy was a four-time USTFCCCA All-American between cross country and track & field and a member of the 2022 national championship team. Sevcik was a member of the 2019 men's cross country team and the 2022 squad, both which won national titles. He was also a USTFCCCA All-Region and First-Team All-RMAC runner for the cross country team. Goldy and Sevcik are both pursuing doctoral degrees from Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines' next competitive appearance will be the Roadrunners Invitational hosted by MSU Denver at Washington Park. A full preview and any live coverage information will be released the week leading up to the event 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.