Franson Last Chance
Thursday-Saturday- hosted by Azusa Pacific [FloTrack] [Live Results] [Schedule]

Air Force Twilight
Friday - 10 a.m. MT - hosted by Air Force [Live Results][Schedule]

Loper Twilight
Saturday - 2 p.m. CT - hosted by Nebraska-Kearney [MIAA Network] [Live Results] [Schedule]

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ONE LAST CHANCE AHEAD OF NATIONALS
This weekend represents the final chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships, and Colorado School of Mines will take full advantage of the opportunity with three last-chance competitions on the slate. The Orediggers will split up across three time zones, sending a large group of competitors to southern California for the Franson Last Chance at Azusa Pacific (Thursday through Saturday), pole vaulters to Colorado Springs for the Air Force Twilight (Friday), and throwers to Kearney, Neb. for the Loper Twilight (Saturday). 

LIVE COVERAGE
All three meets will have live results available at the links above. Both the Franson Last Chance (FloTrack) and Loper Twilight (MIAA Network) will stream on pay-per-view, as well.

WHAT TO WATCH
The aim at the end of the weekend is to sit in the top-22 of an individual event (or top 16 of a combined event) on the national performance list, and Mines has a number of athletes on the bubble looking to shore up their NCAA spots. 

Avery Wright will start the weekend on Thursday in the heptathlon at Azusa Pacific; the RMAC champion and program recordholder is, as of today, the 16th and last competitor in the NCAA field at 5,057 points. Friday will be the busiest day at APU with Wright finishing the heptathlon, Everett Delate competing in the 110m hurdles, Tim Thompson going in the 800m, and five distance runners finishing the night as Daniel Appleford, Ethan Grolnic, and Loic Scomparin run the 5K and Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge and Braden Struhs compete in the 10K. Both Delate (11th) and Thompson (14th) are likely in in their events already, but the distance performances will be key as Scomparin, the indoor runner-up, has yet to run a countable 5K this season, Grolnic is seeking his qualifying time, and Appleford is on the outside currently ranked 34th. Ramsey-Rutledge, the NCAA indoor 5K champion, is safely qualified at that distance but is trying to add the 10K, while Struhs currently stands 25th nationally in the 10K after taking bronze at RMACs and hopes to join five other Orediggers already in the top-22. 

Saturday's action wraps up with a trio of 400m hurdlers in action; RMAC champion Allison Comer is safely in ranked eighth in D-II but Aani Hardesty, coming off an RMAC bronze and PR in her last race, hopes to improve on her 39th-place standing. For the men, Elijah Quinby, the RMAC silver medalist, will push to improve from 38th. Indoor all-American Claire Kintzley will try to punch her ticket in the outdoor triple jump where a mark in the 12.20m range is the likely cut-off. 

At Air Force on Friday, vaulters Aidan Bennett and Kai Miller will compete; Bennett cleared a personal-best 5.00m last week and needs to be a bar higher as he is currently at 25th nationally, while Miller has exceeded 4.70m in three straight meets looking to hit a big height. 

Mines' throwers are in great shape heading into the Loper Twilight on Saturday, with five performances currently in the national top-14 (Kitt Rupar in the shot put and discus, and Holden Murphy, Jennifer Jarnagin, and Abbi Gillespie in the hammer). Franklin Rambo and Murphy are just outside the men's shot put bubble with Rambo ranked #24 and Murphy #25 nationally, and Murphy stands #34 in the discus. 

GET THAT SILVER
As the Orediggers compete across the country this weekend, 28 members of the Mines cross country and track & field program will be back in Golden receiving silver diplomas as graduates in the school's Class of 2025. Six men - Alberto Campa, Coulton Chan, Brock Drengenberg, Ethan Grolnic, Noah Kelly, and Brody Welch - will receive bachelor's degrees, six more - Everett Delate, Davin Kiesby, Holden Murphy, Hunter Potrykus, Loic Scomparin, and Jeremiah Vaille - will get master's degrees, and Aaron Swift, a 2010 undergraduate degree recipient and former all-American for the Orediggers, will earn his doctorate. Fifteen women will earn degrees including Grace Galvin, Jennifer Jarnagin, Kitt Rupar, Margaux Basart, Lexi Herr, Ella Kenly, Callen Nash, Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge, and Grace Strongman receiving their bachelor's, and Allison Comer, Claire Kintzley, Ava Kowalski, Hayley Rayburn, Dale Thompson, and Ashleigh Loe getting master's degrees. The senior class has been incredibly impressive in competition: it includes 17 all-Americans, four Academic All-Americans, 26 RMAC champions, and six national champions.

RMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS REWIND
The Mines men and women finished a strong second place at the 2025 RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at the end of April at Stermole Track, with 11 gold medalists overall. The Oredigger men scored a massive 195 points - their second-most ever - while the Mines women scored their most points ever at 157. Jeremiah Vaille did the double, winning both the 5,000m and 10,000m, while Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge captured the women's 5K title. Alex Shaw and Emily LaMena swept the steeplechase golds, and Everett Delate won his third consecutive 110m hurdle crown in a new meet record 13.87 seconds with Allison Comer smashing her program record to win the women's 400m hurdles in 59.39. In the field, Dale Thompson took first in the women's pole vault, Kitt Rupar won the discus, and Jennifer Jarnagin captured the hammer throw gold while Avery Wright took home another heptathlon title. 

IN THE RANKINGS
For a second straight week, both the Mines men and women are ranked #7 in this week's USTFCCCA Ratings Index, which measures teams based on performances on the national list. 

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will compete at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Pueblo starting May 22. Selections will be announced next Tuesday, May 13.