COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs will serve as host to the 2020 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships this Saturday, Oct. 24 at Monument Valley Park.  The men's 8K championship race will start at 9:30 a.m., followed by the women's 6K race at 10:15 a.m.
 
Both squads enter Saturday's races with strong performances during the regular season.
 
The men's squad is packed with experience as five runners return from last year's national qualifying team – Evan Graff, Rafael Marmolejo-Daher, Matthew Schramm, Mark Simmons and Afewerki Zeru.  The five Mountain Lions combined for eight national championship appearances.  Zeru went undefeated in 2020, winning both races he competed in (UCCS Rust Buster and UCCS XC Open).
 
The Mountain Lions placed fourth at last year's RMAC Championships with 102 points behind all-conference performances by Zeru, Schramm and Simmons.
 
The women's team won all three of their competitions as junior Hannah Ellis led the Mountain Lions in all three races, including two individual wins at the UCCS Rust Buster and the West Texas A&M Buffalo Stampede.  Ellis is joined by Layla Almasri who both competed in last year's NCAA Division II National Championship.  Molly Weir, who did not compete in cross country last season, also qualified for the 2018 National Championships.
 
UCCS earned 122 points for a fourth-place finish at the 2019 RMAC Championship race in Grand Junction, Colo.  Almasri notched All-RMAC Second Team accolades with a 17^th place finish.
 

RMAC MEN'S QUALIFIERS

Name (Hometown) 8K PR (Date, Meet)
Branden Bohling (Graduate, Arvada, Colo.) 26:21.2 (Sept. 4, 2020 at UCCS Rust Buster)
Evan Graff (R-Sophomore, Montrose, Colo.) 25:16.6 (Oct. 26, 2019 at RMAC Championships)
Gavin Harden (R-Freshman, Glenwood Springs, Colo.) 27:38.5 (Sept. 4, 2020 at UCCS Rust Buster)
Rafael Marmolejo-Daher (R-Jr., Denver, Colo.) 25:23.0 (Oct. 26, 2019 at RMAC Championships)
Sam Nofziger (R-Senior, Oakdale, Minn.) 25:29.0 (Sept. 7, 2018 at UCCS Rust Buster)
Luke Rodriguez (R-Junior, Fernley, Nevada) 26:23.8 (Sept. 4, 2020 at UCCS Rust Buster)
Walker Rudolph (R-Sophomore, Colorado Springs, Colo.) 26:24.2 (Sept. 7, 2019 at UCCS Rust Buster)
Matthew Schramm (Senior, Fountain, Colo.) 24:28.3 (Oct. 26, 2019 at UCCS Rust Buster)
Mark Simmons (R-Senior, Tabernash, Colo.) 24:25.8 (Oct. 26, 2019 at RMAC Championships)
Afewerki Zeru (Junior, Colorado Springs, Colo.) 23:47.6 (Oct. 26, 2019 at RMAC Championships)
 

RMAC WOMEN'S QUALIFIERS

Name (Hometown) 6K PR (Date, Meet)
Layla Almasri (R-Junior, Colorado Springs, Colo.) 21:18.2 (Nov. 23, 2019 at NCAA DII Championships)
Sarah Bassett (Freshman, Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Hannah Ellis (Junior, Greeley, Colo.) 22:19.7 (Oct. 26, 2019 at RMAC Championships)
Kate Hedlund (Freshman, Manchester, Conn.)
Riley McGrath (Sophomore, Springs Ranch, Texas)
Rachel Richtman (Freshman, Elburn, Ill.)
Kelsey Rycenga (Freshman, Montrose, Colo.)
Jenny Smith (R-Senior, Colorado Springs, Colo.) 23:38.9 (Oct. 26, 2019 at Maverick Open)
Molly Weir (R-Junior, Rockford, Mich.) 23:06.1 (Nov. 4, 2017 at NCAA South Central Championships)
 

NATIONAL RANKINGS

Five of the top 15 teams ranked in this week's Division II men's and women's national rankings hail from the RMAC.  The men's race will feature No. 1 Colorado School of Mines, No. 2 Western Colorado University, No. 3 Adams State University, No. 7 Colorado Christian University and No. 9 UCCS.

The women's race is highlighted by No. 1 Colorado School of Mines, No. 2 Adams State University, No. 3 Western Colorado University, No. 8 UCCS and No. 12 MSU Denver.
 

COVERAGE

Fans will be able to follow Saturday's action via live results and live streaming.
 
The championship races are open to the public to watch.  Spectators are expected to wear face coverings and practice social distancing.
 

DIRECTIONS

Course Address: Monument Valley Park (Start/Finish near North Portion near the Picnic, Shelter and Playground) 1794 Culebra Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80907 
 
Driving Directions: The course is located in the north portion of Monument Valley Park on the east side of I-25. Take the Uintah exit and go East on Uintah for a couple of blocks until you reach Cascade (a stop light) and you turn left (North). Proceed on Cascade a few blocks until you reach Fontanero and go left (West). There will be a gravel parking lot at the end of Fontanero as well as along the streets in the neighborhood. The start and finish area are only a couple hundred feet from the street.
 

ALL-RMAC

The winner of each race will be named the RMAC Runner of the Year while the top freshman finisher will earn the RMAC Freshman of the Year award.  The top 14 individuals will earn First Team All-RMAC honors while the next 14 finishers (15-28) will be named to the Second Team All-RMAC. The RMAC Coach of the Year awardees will be named next week.
 

UP NEXT

In lieu of the 2020 NCAA Division II National Championships that were canceled for the fall season, a 2020 D2 National Invitational meet will be held on Nov. 14 on the campus of Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas.  The top six teams in the RMAC Championship and the top three individuals from each race will qualify for the National Invitational.