2026 RMAC Cross Country Championships – Saturday, Nov. 7 – (M) 9:30 a.m. – (W) 10:15 a.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Results] [Championship Central]
Rapid City, S.D. – Hart Ranch

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BRING ON THE POSTSEASON
The regular season is in the books, and the postseason has arrived for the nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines men's and women's cross country teams. Up first are the 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Rapid City, S.D. at Hart Ranch. There is an open race at 8:15 a.m. The gun for the men's 8K is set for 9:30 a.m. Finally, the women's 6K goes off at 10:15 a.m. Mines' men are chasing their ninth title since 2016 and the Oredigger women are looking to go back-to-back as team champs which should make for an exciting day of college cross country.
 
SPECTATOR INFORMATION
The address for Hart Ranch Camping resort is 23756 Arena Drive, Rapid City, S.D., 57702. Spectators are encouraged to use Google Maps if using GPS to navigate to the course. The course starts next to the rodeo grounds and event center which is on the left while driving in on the main road. There is a spectator parking fee of $10 per vehicle in the main lot. Cash or card will be accepted. Fans can also pre-purchase parking passes from the RMAC.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Fans can watch Saturday's championship races with a subscription to the RMAC Network. The open race will not be streamed live. There will also be live results of the championship races powered by Rapid Results Timing.
 
RMAC NETWORK
The RMAC Network continues to have a pay-per-view model for all events. Fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $12.50, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. Additionally, there is a RMAC Championship Day Pass available for $15 which permits access to all championship broadcasts for 24 hours. For technical support questions, fans can contact Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.
 
WEATHER REPORT
Saturday in Rapid City, S.D., will end up overcast, but the day starts under partly sunny skies with the temperature ranging from 40-60 degrees. The high for the day is projected at 66 degrees. There is minimal chance for precipitation, humidity under 40 percent and a light breeze no more than 10 mph.
 
PREMIER CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
This weekend's RMAC races represent arguably the most competitive events in all of NCAA Division II. The evidence is in the national rankings. On the men's side there are seven teams ranked in the top 30. Mines tops that list at #2 with Adams State #3, Western Colorado #9, Fort Lewis #13, UCCS #14, Colorado Christian #19, and CSU Pueblo #26. Furthermore, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference has accounted for 25 of the last 33 national champions dating back to 1992. There was no national race in 2020. The women's side might be even more competitive with a total of eight programs from the RMAC ranked in the top 30 including four in the top 10. That list includes #1 Adams State, #3 Mines, #5 Western Colorado, #7 UCCS, #11 Colorado Christian, #12 Fort Lewis, #22 Colorado Mesa, and #27 Black Hills State. Adams State and Western Colorado have accounted for 24 of the last 33 DII national titles. Needless to say, there will be a lot of talent competing Saturday morning in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
 
OREDIGGER LINEUP – MEN
Conference rules allow each team to have up to 10 runners compete in each championship race. Seven is standard, and at least five individuals need to finish to get in on the team scoring. Mines' entries into the men's 8K as of Friday morning include Daniel Appleford, Brock Drengenberg, Cole Fiorillo, Ethan Grolnic, Dawson Gunn, Rowan Nicholas, Andreas O'Malley, Chris Pietrak, Braden Struhs, and Cody Wyman. Overall, that group has combined for 15 USTFCCCA All-American finishes in cross country and track & field. Individually, Gunn headlines the Oredigger squad as he touts the second-fastest 8K in all of NCAA Division II this season after running 22:57.7 at the Gans Creek Classic on Sept. 25. He was also last year's national runner-up in the indoor and outdoor 5K on the track.
 
OREDIGGER LINEUP – WOMEN
Just like the men, the women are allowed 10 entries with five scorers and two displacers all based on order of finish. No previous declaration is required. Mines' women squad features Gabi Boeckman, Angela Friedman, Emily LaMena, Josie Mejia, Madison Miles, Callen Nash, Olivia Olson, Jemma Petrie, Katie Price, and Sierra Wall. That group has combined for 10 all-American finishes across cross country and track & field. LaMena steals the spotlight as the defending national champion in the outdoor steeplechase. Also notable is Wall who won the USATF U20 title in the steeplechase over the summer and eventually finished 14th in the world.
 
HOW TO SCORE
With each RMAC team allowed up to 10 runners. Saturday's championship field could include up to 135 men and 135 women. Standard college cross country scoring will be used. That means each team's top-five runners will collect the number of points equal to their individual placement while the sixth and seventh runners serve as displacers. They don't score, but can change the scoring of another team's runner. For example, if the Orediggers finished 10-17, the top five would produce a team score of 60 points while the sixth and seventh runners would push runners behind them down two spots. The bottom three finishers do not factor into the scoring, but there is no pre-designation as to who is 1-10.
 
THE HARDWARE
The postseason means legitimate hardware is on the line. To start, the men's and women's teams with the lowest total score (as described above) are named RMAC Champions. Next are the RMAC Runner of the Meet awards. Those are given to the men's individual champion and the women's individual champion. The conference runner of the year award is voted on by the coaches after the national meet. RMAC Freshman of the Meet is granted to the highest-finishing freshman or redshirt freshman on either side with the yearly award also being voted on after the national meet. RMAC Coach of the Year is voted on after the meet as well. There is also the RMAC Summit Award given to the competitor with the highest cumulative grade-point average (undergraduate only) who is competing at the championship site along with other criteria involved. Finally, All-RMAC honors are given to the top-28 finishers in each race. First-Team All-RMAC goes to those finishing 1-14 overall. Second-Team All-RMAC is awarded to overall finishers 15-28. Individuals do not have to be in the top seven on their team to earn All-RMAC.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Mines' men have won eight conference titles since 2016. Last year's team silver snapped a streak of six consecutive RMAC crowns for the Oredigger men. Even so, Paul Knight raced to individual gold at the 2025 race. The Oredigger women finally broke through in 2025 after a slew of runner-up finishes – clinch the first RMAC cross country title in program history. They were led by individual champion Grace Strongman who was the second woman for Mines to finish first at the conference meet. Mines' women will look to defend their title on Saturday and go back-to-back for more program history.
 
LOOKING BACK
The last time the Orediggers were in competition was the Colorado Springs XC Open on Oct. 24. It was a non-scored event with individuals racing against each other and the clock. Jemma Petrie was Mines' top finisher on the women's side, taking eighth with Madison Miles right behind in ninth. Gael McClain Martinez led the Oredigger men in 11th. Prior to that, Mines' women won the D2 Pre-Nationals on Oct. 11. The Oredigger men and women also swept the team titles at the FHSU Tiger Open on Oct. 10. Mines' men were fourth at the Gans Creek Classic on Sept. 25 which featured nearly exclusive NCAA Division I competition. The Roadrunners Invitational on Sept. 19 was the 2026 opener for the Orediggers and the men were second with the women placing fourth.
 
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
The next race for Mines cross country will be the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Nov. 21 in Lubbock, Texas.
 
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.