Ted Castaneda Classic – Saturday, Oct. 5 – 10 a.m. [Meet Info] [Live Results]
Colorado Springs, Colo. – Monument Valley Park North

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BACK IN ACTION
The nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines Men's and Women's Cross Country teams are back in action this weekend. They'll be racing at the Ted Castaneda Classic hosted by Colorado College at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs, Colo. It will be the women's 6K going off first at 10 a.m. The men's 8K has a 10:45 a.m. gun. Despite being just the second race of the Orediggers' 2024 campaign, it marks the halfway point of the regular season for Mines.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live results for both of Saturday's races will be provided by MeetPro Powered by MileSplit. Fans can keep up with the live results by clicking HERE, using the link above, or going to the cross country schedule page at www.minesathletics.com. There will not be any live video.
 
DIRECTIONS AND PARKING
Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs, Colo., has two main sections. Don't let the navigation system fool you. To get to Monument Valley Park North, put in 205 W Fontanero Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80907. Street parking is available for free next to the park along Culbera Avenue. However, it is limited so those arriving late may have to park a couple blocks away and walk to the course.
 
WEATHER REPORT
Colorado's unseasonably warm weather this fall will carry into Saturday at the very least. The race-time temperature at 10 a.m. is projected for 76 degrees with clear skies, a light breeze, and humidity under 15 percent. It's likely that temps will soar quickly into the 80s before both races are complete. No need for an umbrella, but sunscreen is highly recommended.
 
COURSE PREVIEW
The Orediggers are no stranger to the course at Monument Valley Park North in Colorado Springs. They have raced there at least eight times in the last decade. The course is made up of a 3,000-meter loop and a 2,000-meter loop which follow mostly gravel trails with some traversing across grass. The women will run a pair of 3K loops. The men run two 3K loops and finish with a 2K loop. The start/finish line is located in the open space located south of the playground and just north of W Del Norte Street. To the south of that location, the course follows the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail along Monument Creek. To the north, runners will cut past the playground, through the trees and around Boddington Park. Maps of both the 6K and 8K course can be found by clicking on the "meet info" link above.
 
SCORING FORMAT
There is no cap on the number of entries each team can have, but the scoring will follow the standard NCAA format. The top five runners on each team will score with two holding places. First place scores one point, second place scores two points, and so on. Teams must have five runners finish to factor in the team standings. There will be a plethora of unattached runners. For awards, the top-16 collegiate individuals and the top-three unattached individuals will be presented with t-shirts when they finish.
 
WHO'S COMING?
There are a total of eight programs officially represented in each race. Despite the smaller field, the teams in attendance are impressive. The women's 6K features NCAA Division I Air Force, #5-ranked Mines, #1-ranked Colorado College (DIII), MSU Denver, Regis, Fort Hays Tech Northwest (NJCAA), a Trinidad State (NJCAA) team that's receiving votes, and #9-ranked UCCS. The men's race includes #28-ranked and NCAA Division I Air Force, #2-ranked Mines, Colorado College (DIII), #14-ranked Fort Hays Tech Northwest (NJCAA), #27-ranked Fort Lewis, MSU Denver, Regis, and #24-ranked Trinidad State (NJCAA). All teams in the men's race have at least five individuals entered. Back on the women's side, MSU Denver, Regis, Fort Hays Tech Northwest, and Trinidad State will not factor in the team scoring.
 
THE LINEUP
As of Friday morning, Mines had seven men and seven women slated to run in uniform. The entries for the Oredigger men include Jeremy Gillett, Garrett Mackey, Rowan Nicholas, Andreas O'Malley, Alex Shaw, Shalom Trowbridge, and Sam Walls. It will be the first collegiate cross country race in a Mines uniform for Mackey and Walls. Gillett, Nicholas, O'Malley, Shaw, and Trowbridge all raced at the Roadrunners Invitational on Sept. 21. Featured for the Oredigger women will be Avary Catchings, Maria Forster, Gabriela Kenly, Josie Mejia, Callen Nash, Emma Nelson, and Nicole Perez. Nash will be making her 2024 debut while Perez will be making her collegiate cross country debut. Catchings, Forster, Kenly, Mejia, and Nelson all appeared in the Orediggers' season opener.
 
SEASON OPENER SUMMARY
Mines' men and women opened their 2024 slate two weeks ago at the Roadrunners Invitational hosted by MSU Denver at Washington Park. The Orediggers' swept the team titles and Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge won individual gold. Her margin of victory was over 28 seconds and she broke the course record with a time of 20:59.0. Paul Knight was the lead runner for the men and the top collegiate finisher. He finished third overall, only trailing two professional runners in Emad Bashir-Mohammed and Yasin Sado. His final time was 24:27.0. Both teams topped respective fields featuring numerous nationally-ranked teams including the University of Colorado women.
 
NATIONAL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge was named the National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) after her gold-medal finish on opening weekend. As mentioned above, she won by more than 28 seconds and broke the course record. It marked the second national award of her career after she won the Roadrunners Invitational and the weekly accolade in 2022.
 
RMAC SWEEP
It was nearly a foregone conclusion that Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge would also win RMAC Runner of the Week, which she did. Paul Knight made it an Oredigger sweep of the conference's weekly award. His time as the top collegiate finisher at the Roadrunners Invitational made him the fastest man in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference that weekend. No other man in the league came within a minute of his 8K pace.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Orediggers have only raced once in 2024. Even so, both the men and women continue to improve in the national rankings. On Wednesday, the USTFCCCA boosted the women from #7 to #5. The Oredigger men stood strong at #2 for a second straight week. They started the season #3 and then tied for #2 before breaking the tie and standing alone just behind defending national champion Wingate. Defending national champion Adams State remained #1 in the women's rankings.
 
SCHEDULE SNAPSHOT
Overall, the Mines cross country schedule features six guaranteed races with high hopes for a seventh. Regular-season running includes the aforementioned Roadrunners Invitational, this weekend's Ted Castaneda Classic, the UCCS XC Open in Colorado Springs on Oct. 11, and the Lewis Crossover Invitational in Romeoville, Ill., on Oct. 12. Postseason competition begins at the RMAC Cross Country Championships in Las Vegas, N.M, on Oct. 26. The regional championships are slated for Oct. 9 at Washington Park. If all goes well, the Orediggers will close their season at the 2024 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on 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 returns to action quickly after Saturday's trip to Colorado Springs. The Orediggers may send a group to the UCCS XC Open on Friday, Oct. 11, in a non-team-scoring event. Mines for sure will run at the highly-competitive, loaded Lewis Crossover Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 12, in Romeoville, Ill. A full preview and any available live coverage will be made public on Thursday at www.minesathletics.com.
 
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.