Lewis Crossover Invitational – Saturday, Oct. 12 – 9:45 a.m. CT [Meet Info] [Live Results] [Live Video]
Romeoville, Ill. – Lewis XC Course

---

REGULAR SEASON FINALE
That's right folks. It might only be the second week of October, but on Saturday, the Colorado School of Mines Men's and Women's Cross Country teams will run their final race of the regular season. The Orediggers' finale will take place at the Lewis Crossover Invitational in Romeoville, Ill., on the Flyers' home cross country course. The men's gun is set for 9:45 a.m. CT – that's 8:45 a.m. in Colorado. The women's 6K will start at 10:30 a.m. CT, making it 9:30 a.m. in Colorado. It's a field that's easily much larger and arguably more loaded than the national championship races. A huge challenge for nationally-ranked Mines in its final tune-up for postseason racing.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday's races will have both live results and live streaming provided by The Stride Report on its YouTube channel. Fans can access either service at the links available. There is no known cost/charge to watch the live stream.
 
WEATHER REPORT
Romeoville, Ill., located just south and west of Chicago, has been warm and dry for many weeks. That has made the course extremely dry and bumpy in areas. The trend continues into the weekend with no moisture in the forecast, but a much-needed cooldown on the way. Saturday's high temperature is currently projected at 70 degrees with partly cloudy skies and a light breeze. There is a 20-percent chance of rain. Race-time temps look to be closer to 60 degrees which makes conditions perfect for the runners and potentially require light jackets and hoodies for specators.
 
COURSE PREVIEW
According to www.lewisflyers.com, the Lewis Cross Country Course was opened for competition in the fall of 2014. There are 4/5/6/8/10 kilometer, and one mile setup options. It is relatively flat with a 10-meter wide path for the competitors which appears to be all grass. The start and finish line are just south of Lewis Stadium with the course looping around the southern side of campus. Saturday's women's race will essentially be two full loops of the course totaling 6,000 meters. The men's 8,000-meter race will include two full loops and an extra rabbit ear just before the sprint to the finish. For those who are visual learners, maps of the different layouts can be found HERE.
 
THE FORMAT
Standard NCAA cross country scoring rules apply. Teams are not capped at seven runners, but only five will score with two "bumpers" for each team touting five or more entries. First place scores one point, second place scores two points, and so on. The team with the lowest score wins the team title.
 
IT'S GOING TO BE HUGE
According to communication from meet administrators earlier this week, the 2024 Lewis Crossover Invitational has 52 different schools from 24 states committed to the meet. The men's race features 16 teams that are either nationally ranked or receiving votes. The women's race includes 12 nationally-ranked/receiving-votes programs. Add in five additional regionally-ranked men's teams and seven regionally-ranked women's teams and it's easy to argue this weekend's meet is bigger and nearly as competitive as the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship races. All eight regions from NCAA Division II are represented. In total, there will be more than 1,100 athletes racing at Lewis on Saturday. Nationally-ranked teams in the men's field include #3 Mines, #4 Grand Valley State, #10 Lewis, #11 Western Washington, #16 Biola, #17 Saginaw Valley State, #18 Colorado Christian, #23 Michigan Tech, #24 Azusa Pacific, #25 Washburn, #26 Fort Lewis, #28 Anderson, #29 Florida Southern, and #30 Augustana with Findlay and Illinois-Springfield receiving votes. Nationally-ranked teams in the women's field are #2 Grand Valley State, #4 Augustana, #5 Mines, #6 Lewis, #11 Western Washington, #15 Biola, #19 Alaska, #20 Winona State, #22 Walsh, and #29 Colorado Christian with Azusa Pacific and Colorado Mesa receiving votes.
 
THE LINEUP
Mines Head Coach Chris Siemers has made the decision to run just six men on Saturday. His tentative lineup includes Alberto Campa, Ethan Grolnic, Matthew Mettler, Braden Struhs, Jeremiah Vaille, and Chandler Wilburn. It will be Campa's 2024 debut. The Oredigger women have 12 entries including Karina Andersen, Margaux Basart, Avary Catchings, Imani Fernandez-Gorbea, Lexi Herr, Gabriela Kenly, Emily LaMena, Ashleigh Loe, Josie Mejia, Callen Nash, Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge, and Grace Strongman. For Andersen, it will be her 2024 debut and her first time running in a Mines uniform after competing at the University of Colorado in 2022 and 2023.
 
LAST WEEK
Last Saturday, Oct. 5, the Oredigger men and women raced at the Ted Castaneda Classic hosted by Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Mines' men won the team title thanks to a total of 34 points. Alex Shaw was the top Oredigger and top DII runner in the field, taking ninth in a time of 26:08.4. Mines' women placed third as a team, outpacing NCAA Division I Air Force while sitting just behind UCCS. Host Colorado College, ranked #1 in NCAA Division III posted a perfect team score in the women's race. The Orediggers were led by Callen Nash who made her 2024 debut with a seventh-place finish in a time of 22:40.0.
 
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
Mines appeared at the Lewis Crossover Invitational last season as well. It was a statement race for both teams with the Oredigger men and women sweeping team gold. In the 6K race, Mines downed perennial power Grand Valley State by nearly 50 points with a score of 49. Holly Moser was seventh overall while Clare Peters, Margaux Basart, Jenna Ramsey Rutledge, and Grace Strongman went 9-10-11-12. The men's 8K finished with the Orediggers touting 34 points – more than 40 ahead of second-place Colorado Christian. Duncan Fuehne claimed silver with Andrew Kaye, Logan Bocovich, John O'Malley, JP Rutledge, Alberto Campa, and Daniel Appleford giving Mines seven runners inside the top-20. It marked the Orediggers' first known appearance at the Lewis event in program history with records dating back to 2009.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
The fourth edition of the DII cross country national rankings came out on Wednesday. Mines' men dipped from #2 to #3. The Oredigger women held strong at #5 for a second straight week. Wingate and Adams State remained #1 on the men's and women's lists, respectively. Both Wingate and ASU have been ranked #1 the entire season including the preseason polls.
 
POSTSEASON PRIMER
After Saturday, every race for Mines will be of the postseason variety. The Orediggers start their push at the 2024 RMAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 26, in Las Vegas, N.M. The next test for Mines will be the 2024 NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Washington Park in Denver, Colo. If all goes well, the Orediggers will conclude their 2024 campaign at the 2024 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23, in Sacramento, Calif.
 
FUN FACT
The last time the men of Mines won the NCAA Division II National Championship was 2022. The last time Mines started its season at the Roadrunners Invitational was in 2022. It just so happens that 2022 was the last time the Orediggers raced at the Ted Castaneda Classic and it was their second race of the season. Not sayin', just sayin'.
 
THE BOSS
Still not Bruce Springsteen, but still potentially equally legendary. Colorado School of Mines Cross Country Head Coach Chris Siemers is in his 13th 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. Siemers' men's teams have had 35 individuals earn 63 cross country all-America honors. That has led to seven RMAC crowns (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) and six NCAA South Central Regional titles (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023). No men's team coached by Siemers has ever finished lower than fifth in the nation. On the women's side, 10 individuals have posted 15 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. The last two seasons have seen the women match their best finish in program history at the national race, taking third and extending their podium run to four straight. Mines' women have finished as high as #2 at both the RMAC and regional championships on multiple occasions including 2023.
 
MORE SIEMERS
One section just wasn't enough for a Mines legend. 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, six-time USTFCCCA South Central Region Men's Coach of the Year and seven-time RMAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year. In the classroom, Siemers' squads have had 23 Orediggers rack up 49 CSC (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-America honors along with three Academic All-America of the Year awards. They have also brought home two Brechler Awards honoring the RMAC's highest team GPA. Finally, and arguably most importantly, Siemers was inducted into the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 30, 2023, as part of the men's 2015 national championship team.
 
HUSTED STRIKES GOLD – AGAIN
Oredigger assistant coach, Colorado School of Mines graduate, and Mines Athletics Hall of Fame member Dr. Mark Husted has won multiple world titles after a successful summer at the World Masters Athletics Championships. He took gold in the 5,000-meter run which added to his 5K crown won in 2022. While a student-athlete at Mines, Dr. Husted was a six-time USTFCCCA All-American and two-time NCAA Division II National Champion.
 
LEGENDS ON 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, and Dr. Chloe Gustafson came on board over the summer of 2024. 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 was part of the Hall of Fame induction in 2023. 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. Gustafson ran for Mines from 2011-15. She was a two-time USTFCCCA All-American for the Orediggers including a seventh-place finish in the 3,000-meter run at the 2015 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, and a 13th-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.  Also on staff are 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 heads to Las Vegas, N.M., on Saturday, Oct. 26, for the 2024 RMAC Cross Country Championships. The men's race is slated for a 10:45 a.m. gun. The women's race will go off at 11:35 a.m. Keep an eye on www.minesathletics.com for all live coverage and a full preview.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines cross country on "X" (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @csmtrack. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, "X" and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.