UCCS Men Have Strong Showing in Boulder

Aaron Rubalcaba-Lopez finished 10th among Division II runners and 21st overall to lead the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs menâ€^TMs cross country team to a third-place finish in its Division at the Rocky Mountain Shootout in Boulder on Saturday.

The meet, hosted by the University of Colorado at Boulder, publishes results in two divisions: NCAA Division I and non-Division I.

Adams State, ranked No. 1 in U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coachesâ€^TM Association national Division II poll, was the top non-Division I finisher with 20 points â€" five more than the minimum possible. Western State, ranked No. 3, took second.

Both schools, like UCCS, are members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The Mountain Lionsâ€^TM third-place finish put them ahead of six other RMAC schools. That result was particularly significant since UCCSâ€^TM next competition will be the RMAC Championships on Oct. 21.

Host Colorado won the Division I portion of the meet, topping Wyoming and Northern Colorado.

Rubalcaba-Lopez covered the 8-kilometer course in 26 minutes, 53 seconds. Dan Pinter was close behind for UCCS, finishing 14th in his division with a time of 26:56.

Other scoring runners for the Mountain Lions were Gabe Small (23rd), Joel Keinitz (24th) and Aric Holmes (27th). Shea Wilfong, Alex Tiernan, Brian Zakavec, Dustin Simoens, Carlos Ruibal, Davis Harmer, Brendan Kullbach, Matt Philson and Allen Browne also competed.

Small, Keinitz and Holmes continued the Mountain Lionsâ€^TM propensity for pack running, finishing within 15 seconds of each other.