Gans Creek Classic – Friday, Sept. 25 – (M) 8:45 a.m. CT [Meet Info] [Live Results] [SEC Network+]
Columbia, Mo. – Gans Creek Cross Country Course

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BIG TEST AHEAD
This weekend, the Colorado School of Mines men's cross country team is headed to Columbia, Mo., to compete in the Gans Creek Classic hosted by the University of Missouri (Mizzou). They'll compete in the Gold Invitational 8K Race which goes off at 8:45 a.m. CT. It marks a giant test for the Oredigger men as they take on a field filled primarily with NCAA Division I programs. It'll easily be the biggest race of the regular season for Mines' men. Meanwhile, the Oredigger women will continue training and preparation for their big test in October at the D2 Pre-National meet.
 
WEATHER REPORT
Friday's forecast is as close to perfect as it gets for cross country racing. Cloud cover is predicted for most of the day. The high is projected at 71 degrees with a low of 58. There's just a 10-percent chance of rain, but the humidity will be 70-80 percent. Wind will be minimal at just four miles per hour. Fans planning to attend should probably wear a couple light layers and bring an umbrella just in case.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Friday's action will be one of the best-covered races of the year. There will be live results powered by Primetime Timing. Additionally, fans can watch the meet live with a subscription to SEC Network+.
 
GUEST LIST
As stated above, Friday's field for the Men's Gold Invitational 8K race features mostly NCAA Division I programs. Out of 28 men's teams entered, only three are not NCAA Division I. That short list includes Mines, Iowa Western Community College, and Taylor. Mines is ranked #2 in NCAA Division II. Iowa Western is the #1 team in NJCAA Division I. Taylor was #11 in the NAIA's preseason national rankings. Notable among the 25 DI programs in attendance are #16 Arkansas, #28 Missouri, #30 Kansas, and a Tennessee team receiving votes in the national rankings. Additional recognizable DI names in attendance are Kentucky, Texas, Illinois, Florida State, Kansas State, and Nebraska. It's also worth mentioning that Friday serves as a preview for the 2026 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Cross Country Championships which will be held on the same course in late October.
 
COURSE PREVIEW
According to the home page for the University of Missouri athletics department, Gans Creek Cross Country Course opened on Sept. 27, 2019. The facility is touted as state-of-the-art and spreads across 320 acres. It features a permanent start/finish line adjacent to the medical support and athlete recovery tent. It's considered fan friendly with a spectator berm which sits 12-15 feet above the final 500 meters. There is a two-rail estate fence that helps define and control cross points around the course and keeps fans off of the many wide turns. Gans Creek Cross Country Course was used for the 2021 SEC Championships, the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Midwest Regional Championships, the 2025 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships and will host the aforementioned 2026 SEC Cross Country Championships. Friday will be the eighth addition of the Gans Creek Classic and the first one Mines has ever run at.
 
SCORING FORMAT
Entries for the Gold Invitational races were capped at 10 runners per team. Even with up to 10 individuals racing for each squad, standard college cross country scoring will be used on Friday. 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. A perfect team score in college cross country is 15 points.
 
OREDIGGER ENTRIES
Mines Head Coach Chris Siemers decided not to fill all 10 available slots. He has eight men entered to represent the Orediggers. The roster for Friday includes Daniel Appleford, Ethan Grolnic, Dawson Gunn, Rowan Nicholas, Andreas O'Malley, Chris Pietrak, Braden Struhs, and Cody Wyman. That group touts a combined 11 all-American finishes between cross country and track & field. Furthermore, six of the eight were on Mines' 2024 team which won the DII national title.
 
LOOKING BACK
The Oredigger men's and women's cross country teams opened their 2026 campaign last weekend at the Roadrunners Invitational hosted by MSU Denver at Washington Park. Mines' men finished second as a team. They only trailed NCAA Division I and #6-ranked Colorado. The Orediggers' 84 points best Air Force, Colorado Mesa, Wyoming, MSU Denver, Northern Colorado, Regis, and Colorado Northwestern CC. Cole Fiorillo was the top finisher for Mines, taking #14 overall. In the women's race, the Orediggers finished fourth in the team scoring. They were led by Chloe Savoy and Maria Forster who finished 19th and 20th overall.
 
IN THE POLLS
Mines' men and women were prominent in both the conference's preseason coaches' poll and the latest national rankings. The RMAC coaches voted the Oredigger men and women to sweep the conference crowns. Both squads claimed exactly eight first-place votes and six second-place votes to finish just a few points ahead of Adams State on both lists. In the latest national polls put together by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA), Mines' men held strong at #2 in the nation and the women stayed at #4 nationally. The next national list for DII is slated to come out next week on Sept. 30.
 
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.
 
TOP RETURNERS
The 2026 Colorado School of Mines men's and women's cross country rosters feature nine different individuals who have at least one all-American finish in either cross country or track & field in their respective careers. Oredigger all-Americans on the men's roster include Daniel Appleford, Brock Drengenberg, Ethan Grolnic, Dawson Gunn, Rowan Nicholas, Andreas O'Malley, and Braden Struhs. Most notable is Gunn who was the national runner-up in the indoor and outdoor 5K last season. Mines' all-American women are Emily LaMena and Sierra Wall. LaMena was the NCAA Division II Champion in the steeplechase last season. While all-Americans grab headlines, there is always a high likelihood of new names emerging on any Chris Siemers' coached team.
 
FRESH FACES
During the offseason, Head Coach Chris Siemers added 15 true freshmen to his squads. Newcomers for the men included Brian Arndt, Nathaniel Bartunek, Asher Feddock, Ty Forbes, Duncan Lorang, Owen Mangrum, and Grayson Milne. Fresh faces for the women are Kaitlyn Burns, Emma Chesterman, Gwenyth Elizalde, Reese Kindig, Madison Miles, Olivia Olson, Elsa Vessely, and Elise Wrenholt.
 
SCHEDULE SNAPSHOT
Mines' 2026 schedule features a few more events than past seasons. The campaign started with the Roadrunners Invitational on Sept. 19. This week's Gans Greek Classic hosted by the University of Missouri makes two races for the Orediggers in one week's time. Mines split squads the weekend of Oct. 10-11 with part of the team headed to the FHSU Tiger Open in Hays, Kan., on Saturday while a groups of women goes to the national preview in Lawrence, Kan., on Sunday. The regular season closes with the UCCS XC Open on Oct. 24. Postseason racing starts with the RMAC Championships on Nov. 7 in Rapid City, S.D. The South Central Region Championships are Nov. 21 in Lubbock, Texas. The 2026 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will run Friday, Nov. 4, at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan.
 
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
Mines will race at the FHSU Tiger Open on Saturday, Oct. 10, and again at D2 Pre-Nationals on Sunday, Oct. 11.
 
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.