Aaron Rubalcaba-Lopez narrowly missed qualifying for nationals as the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs men's cross country team's season came to an end Saturday with an eight-place finish at the North Central Regional Cross Country Meet at Wayne, Neb.

Rubalcaba-Lopez finished 19th individually, covering the 10-kilometer course at Wayne Golf Course in 32 minutes, 7.50 seconds. Running in a tight pack, he finished 2.02 seconds behind 16th-place David Kemei of New Mexico Highlands. Had he crossed among the top 16, he would have qualified individually for the NCAA Division II National Cross Country Meet on Nov. 18 in Pensacola, Fla.

The Mountain Lions took eighth in the team standings. Since only the top five teams qualify for nationals, UCCS was left on the outside looking in.

As the team's only senior, Rubalcaba-Lopez will be the only member of the Mountain Lions who will not get another chance. Sophomores Dan Pinter and Gabe Small finished second and third among UCCS runners (32nd and 44th overall), while freshman Aric Holmes was fourth (63rd overall) and sophomore Alex Tiernan was fifth (71st overall). The Mountain Lions' other two competitors, both freshman, were Joel Kienitz (72nd) and Shea Wilfong (96th).

Adams State won the team title, while Western State was second and Colorado School of Mines was third, mirroring the results of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship meet on Oct. 21. Western State and Adams State have combined to win all but two national championships since the schools joined NCAA Division II in 1992.

Minnesota State, Mankato and Augustana were the other national qualifiers.

In a reversal of the results at the RMAC championship, Western State's Kim Hogarth won the individual competition while Adams State's Jesus Solis took second.