Colorado Springs XC Open – Saturday, Oct. 24 – (M) 9:15 a.m. – (W) 10 a.m. [Meet Info] [Live Results]
Colorado Springs, Colo. – Monument Valley Park North

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REGULAR SEASON FINALE
Mines cross country has reached the final race of the regular season as the Orediggers head south Saturday for the Colorado Springs XC Open hosted by UCCS at Monument Valley Park North. Mines' men will run an 8K race with a 9:15 a.m. gun. The women are slated for a 6K competition starting at 10 a.m. There will be no team scoring, just individuals racing against each other and the clock.
 
WEATHER REPORT
After a balmy week up and down the Front Range, the weather is set to take a turn on Saturday. The forecasted high in Colorado Springs is 52 degrees. Rain is projected, but not until later in the day. Both races should finish under partly cloudy skies with 50 percent humidity and a light breeze. Layers would be wise for fans planning to attend.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both races this weekend will have live results powere by Rapid Results Timing. Those are linked above and at www.minesathletics.com. There won't 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.
 
COURSE PREVIEW
The course at Monument Valley Park North is familiar to Mines runners and Oredigger fans alike. It's the same trac where the 2025 RMAC Cross Country Championships were competed along with numerous other races hosted by UCCS. In the 8,000 meters, the men will run the lower 2K loop followed by the upper 2K loop and repeat. The 6K tract features the lower 2K loop, the upper 2K loop and one more round of the lower loop. Crushed gravel and dirt make up 98 percent of the course's surface with grass and brief concrete crossings making up the other two percent.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines has maintained its traditional light schedule in 2026. The season started on Sept. 19 at the Roadrunners Invitational where the Oredigger men took second and the women were fourth. On Oct. 25, a crew of Mines' men went to the Gans Creek Classic and finished fourth as a team in a field of NCAA Division I competition. Dawson Gunn led that charge, crossing 10th with a sub-22:00 8K. The weekend of Oct. 10-11 saw the Oredigger men and women sweep the team titles on Saturday at the FHSU Tiger Open in Hays, Kan., before Mines' women also finished first at the D2 Pre-Nationals on Sunday in Lawrence, Kan.
 
IN THE POLLS
There have been six editions of the DII national cross country rankings including the preseason poll and five regular-season releases. The latest edition was unveiled on Oct. 21 and featured Mines' men at #2 in the nation while the women were ranked #3 in the nation. Wingate was at the top of the men's poll and Adams State was #1 on the women's list. Other RMAC teams in the top 10 included Adams State's men, Western Colorado's men, Western Colorado's women, and UCCS' women.
 
WALL ON WORLD STAGE
Over the summer, Sierra Wall showed out on the world stage. She started by winning the USATF United States U20 championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on June 18 at Hayward Field in Oregon. She did it with a lifetime best of 10:08.30. That punched her ticket to the World Athletics U20 Championships, also at Hayward Field. Wall advanced through prelims, finishing seventh in the first round with a time of 10:14.92. The Boulder, Colo., native eventually finished 14th in the world at the U20 level after running 10:21.21 in smoky conditions in Oregon.
 
CHRIS SIEMERS
Colorado School of Mines Cross Country Head Coach Chris Siemers is in his 15th season at the helm for the Oredigger men and women. Headlining his resume are four NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships which Mines' men brought home in 2015, 2019, 2022, and 2024 along with a national runner-up finish for the women in 2025. Siemers' men's teams have had 30 individuals earn 56 cross country all-America honors. That has led to eight RMAC crowns (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) and seven NCAA South Central Regional titles (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). No men's team coached by Siemers has ever finished lower than fifth in the nation. On the women's side, 15 individuals have posted 21 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 podium in 2021 by taking fourth place. The 2022 and 2023 seasons saw the women make it four straight podiums before a program-best finish of second in 2025. Mines' women also won its first-ever team title at the RMAC Championships in 2025 and have finished as high as #2 at the regional championships on multiple occasions.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
After wrapping the regular season, Mines looks to the postseason which starts Saturday, Nov. 7, at the RMAC Cross Country Championships in Rapid City, S.D.
 
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.