Franson Last Chance & Multi
Hosted by Azusa Pacific - Thursday-Saturday [Live Results] [Schedule]

Loper Twilight
Hosted by Nebraska-Kearney - Saturday  [Live Results] [MIAA Network] [Schedule]

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LAST CHANCE TO QUALIFY AS MINES COMPETES IN CALIFORNIA, NEBRASKA
Two final chances at national qualifying marks are up this weekend as Colorado School of Mines sends a selection of athletes to the Franson Last Chance & Multi at Azusa Pacific on Thursday through Saturday, and the Loper Twilight at Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday. Live results of both meets are available at the links above, and the Loper Twilight will also be streamed on the MIAA Network.

WHAT TO WATCH - at AZUSA PACIFIC
Mines will send three athletes to Azusa Pacific to compete in four events, starting with Avery Wright in the heptathlon on Thursday and Friday. Wright, the RMAC champion in the event, is currently 22nd nationally with 4,944 points set at the RMAC Championships; the top 16 are invited to nationals, and Wright will make a final qualifying push with the current cut line sitting at 5,157 points. Day 1 of the heptathlon starts at 2 p.m. PT on Thursday, and Day 2 is at 3 p.m. PT on Friday. Joining Wright are Everett Delate (110/400 hurdles) and Lexye Wood (long jump), who competed on Friday and Saturday. Delate is double entered in the 110m hurdles (prelims Friday at 3 p.m., finals Saturday at 1:35 p.m.) and the 400m hurdles (Saturday at 2:55 p.m.), while Wood will compete in the long jump (Saturday at 1 p.m.). If the NCAA Championships started today, Delate would qualify in both events, currently ranked 13th nationally in the 110m hurdles (13.94) and looking to shore up his #18 seed time in the 400m hurdles of 52.07 with a sea-level run. Wood's nationals qualification is secure as she is currently ranked 10th in NCAA Division II at 6.11m.

WHAT TO WATCH - at NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
Three more Orediggers head to Nebraska-Kearney's Loper Twilight meet on Saturday looking to secure NCAA qualifications of their own. Kitt Rupar likely punched her nationals ticket last weekend with a 56.42m hammer throw mark that ranks 12th nationally; she will try to add qualifications in the shot put and the discus (Saturday at 2 p.m. CT), where she sits just outside the bubble in both ranking 21st in the discus (46.78m) and 22nd in the shot put (14.63m). Tim Thompson hopes a fast 800m field (Saturday, 7 p.m. CT)  will help get him into qualifying position as the RMAC champion currently sits 30th at 1:50.50, with the current NCAA cut time at 1:50.05, and Grant Redmond will try to improve in a crowded national high jump field (Saturday, 5 p.m. CT), where he is ranked #24 at 2.10m, with 2.13m the current qualifying bar.

LAST WEEKEND
The CSU Pueblo Last Chance was a productive meet for Mines last Saturday as Kitt Rupar and Claire Kintzley set new program records and four Orediggers put themselves into likely nationals contention. Rupar's 56.42m hammer throw - a nearly four-meter PR - snapped the program record and put her into the national top 12, while Kintzley broke the Mines triple jump record with an 11.94m attempt. Meanwhile, Noah Kelly cleared a season- and personal-best 5.08m to move him to 11th nationally, and both Alberto Campa and Brock Drengenberg made it into the 1,500m top 15 with converted times of 3:43.74 and 3:43.79, respectively.

RMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS REWIND
The Oredigger women captured their first-ever outdoor team title and the men finished a close third at the 2024 RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on April 26-28 in Grand Junction. Mines crowned eight individual champions at the meet, including Logan Bocovich (5K), Tim Thompson (800m), Avery Wright (heptathlon), Everett Delate (110m hurdles), Avery Herbold (PV), Hunter Potrykus (PV), Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge (10K), and Duncan Fuehne (10K). 

NATIONAL LIST LOOK
Heading into the final weekend of qualifying, Mines is well-positioned to have a large nationals squad with 32 performances currently ranked in the top 20 of NCAA Division II. The men currently have 15 performances in the national top 20 including Alberto Campa (#10) and Brock Drengenberg (#12) in the 1,500m; Logan Bocovich (#9), Duncan Fuehne (#13), and Paul Knight (#20) in the 5,000m; Bocovich (#10), Knight (#11), Fuehne (#13), Dawson Gunn (#14), JP Rutledge (#17), and Andrew Kaye (#20) in the 10,000m; Everett Delate in the 110m hurdles (#13) and 400m hurdles (#18); and Hunter Potrykus (#3) and Noah Kelly (#11) in the pole vault. The women hold 17 top-20 marks Aryelle Wright (#4) in the 800m; Riley McGrath (#20) in the 1,500m; Zoe Baker (#5), Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge (#17), and McGrath (#18) in the 5K; Baker (#8), Ramsey-Rutledge (#9), Grace Strongman (#13), Molly Maksin (#15), and Holly Moser (#16) in the 10K; Margaux Basart in the steeplechase (#19); Lexye Wood in the long jump (#10); Kitt Rupar in the hammer (#12); and four pole vaulters with Hannah Miller (#3), Avery Herbold (#10), Ava Kowalski (#14), and Dale Thompson (#17). 

SETTING RECORDS
The Orediggers have re-written their record book this spring with 11 new or improved program records through last weekend. The women have broken or reset nine of the 21 active program records thanks to Aryelle Wright (800m), Riley McGrath (1,500m), Zoe Baker (5,000m), Allison Comer (400m hurdles), Hannah Miller (pole vault), Lexye Wood (long jump), Claire Kintzley (triple jump), Kitt Rupar (hammer), and Avery Wright (heptathlon); the men have added a pair with Everett Delate (110m hurdles) and Hunter Potrykus (pole vault) resetting their marks. 

IN THE POLLS
The USTFCCCA national ratings index release this week puts the Mines women at #7 and the men at #11 in NCAA Division II. That ties the women's best-ever outdoor rating as they sit in the spot for a third consecutive week.

COMING UP
Mines' final meet of the season will be at the NCAA Championships, set for May 23-25 at Emporia State in Kansas. The field of qualifiers will be announced on the afternoon of Monday, May 13.