UCCS Women Qualify for Nationals

The Mountain Lions are headed for nationals.

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs women's cross country team finished third at the North Central Region Cross Country Meet Saturday at Wayne, Neb. The performance earned the Mountain Lions a berth at the NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championship Meet on Nov. 18 at Wayne, Neb.

Shannon Payne led UCCS, finishing third individually. The sophomore from Franktown, Colo., covered the 6-kilometer course at the Wayne Golf Course in 21 Minutes, 20.8 seconds. Payne was 22 seconds behind the winner, Esther Komen and 12 seconds behind second-place Agnes Kroneraff, both of Western State.

In a reversal of the result of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship Meet, Western State topped Adams State for top team honors. Those two schools have won every national championship since moving to NCAA Division II in 1992.

Augustana, North Dakota and Fort Lewis were the other team qualifiers.

Ashley Birger and Jenna Dorsey-Spitz were the next two Mountain Lions to finished, taking 11th and 12th respectively. Sarah Shepard, who took 25th, and Christy Severy, who was 56th, were UCCS' other two scoring runners.

Lisa Short (59th) and Whitney Lund (74th) also competed for the Mountain Lions.