DENVER, Colo. – The field is set for the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, which will be hosted by Metropolitan State University of Denver at Washington Park in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, October 21. The women's 6k event is scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m. MT, followed by the men's 8k race will begin at 11:35 a.m.
 
A total of nine individuals will run for each the CSC men's and women's teams. Four different runners will compete in the open race.
 
On the women's team, Josie Diffendaffer, Samantha Rodewald, Lydia Peters, Alissa Wieman, Katelyn Beshara, Elizabeth "Misti" Schlabach, McKinsey Poulson, Izabella Miller and Zelma Rudd will all be competing.
 
Topi Alahuhta, Charles Fossey,  Nate Mann, Cale Schafer, Wyatt Bly, Kyle Shirley, Miles Mitchell, Trevor Eisenbraun and Adam Beard are competing for the CSC men's team.
 
Colorado School of Mines enters the weekend targeting a repeat for the men's team title after earning last year's RMAC championship by a 20-point margin with a final team score of 26. They ended the season by earning their third national title in program history.
 
"At MSU-Billings, all our five men's scorers re-wrote the Top-10 in CSC 8k XC history with their performances, so we are really excited to build off of that momentum going in conference," Head Coach Luke Karamitros said.
 
The RMAC Women's Cross Country Championship field remains as competitive as ever with seven programs earning spots among the top 30 in the latest USTFCCCA poll. Adams State ranks No. 2 nationally, while Colorado School of Mines and Western Colorado check in at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. UCCS stands sixth in the nation, followed by No. 7 CSU Pueblo, No. 13 Colorado Christian and No. 25 Fort Lewis.
 
"Our top two women also jumped into the Top-10 CSC Women's 6k records in Billings and we had just a few teammates behind them as well," Karamitros said. "The women are running strong as a pack in practice, so we have a great opportunity to showcase that this weekend at RMAC's."
 
"The RMAC has eight men's programs in the national rankings and seven women's programs, so we've got some stiff competition but it's exhilarating at the same time," Karamitros said.
 
The women's 6k event is scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m. MT, followed by the men's 8k race will begin at 11:35 a.m.
 
Spectators will be permitted entrance to the RMAC Cross Country Championships at no charge and can follow along with live results and course maps, which are located on the RMAC Cross Country Championship page.