COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Five University of Colorado Colorado Springs cross country student-athletes earned 2020 All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country honors after their performances at Saturday's conference championship meet.  Matthew Schramm earned All-RMAC Men's Cross Country Second Team honors, while four Mountain Lions represented the women's program.  Earning All-RMAC Women's Cross Country First Team honors are Layla Almasri and Hannah Ellis.  Riley McGrath and Molly Weir ran to All-RMAC Second Team honors.
 
Senior Matthew Schramm (Fountain, Colo.) led the Mountain Lions Saturday at Monument Valley Park with a 25^th place finish in 25:41.1.  Schramm also ran in the season opening UCCS Rust Buster meet on Sept. 4, posting a third-place finish in 26:17.7.  A product of Fountain-Fort Carson High School, Schramm is a two-time National Qualifier in cross country.  In 2019 as a junior, he earned All-RMAC First Team and USTFCCCA All-South Central Region honors.
 
Layla Almasri (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the Mountain Lions at the RMAC Championship meet, crossing the finish line in a career best time of 21:58.3 to finish eighth overall.  Almasri, who competed in all four meets for UCCS this season, posted a season best 5K time of 18:34.5 at the West Texas Buffalo Stampede on Oct. 9.  Last season, Almasri notched USTFCCCA All-South Central Region honors and All-RMAC Second Team honors while also competing at the NCAA National Championship meet.
 
A two-time national qualifier and a two-time all-conference performer, Hannah Ellis finished in the Top-10 of every race this season.  Her ninth-place finish at the RMAC Championship meet was her highest finish at a conference championship as she recorded a personal best time of 22:04.0.  Ellis entered the race after winning the individual title on Oct. 9 at the West Texas Buffalo Stampede in a 5K time of 18:23.0.  She started the season on Sept. 4 winning the UCCS Rust Buster in 18:06.1, followed by a third-place finish at the UCCS XC Open.
 
A transfer from Texas State University, newcomer Riley McGrath garnered all-conference status after placing 21^st overall in 22:41.7 this past Saturday.  The sophomore ran in all four meets this season, notching a career-best time of 19:17.1 for a seventh-place finish at the West Texas Buffalo Stampede on Oct. 9.
 
Six spots behind McGrath was junior Molly Weir whose time of 22:57.3 was a 6K personal best.  In her final meet of the regular season, Weir posted a 5K personal best time (18:38.3) at the West Texas Buffalo Stampede on Oct. 9.   Weir is making her second appearance on the All-RMAC Second Team after earning the honors in 2017.  As a sophomore in 2018, Weir helped the Mountain Lions qualify for the National Championships meet while also earning Academic All-RMAC accolades. A competitor in all four meets this season, she opened the 2020 season with a time of 18:43.7 and a third-place finish at the UCCS Rust Buster.
 
Colorado School of Mines swept the RMAC Runner of the Year awards as Dylan Ko and Zoe Baker won the individual titles.  Loic Scomparin (CSM) and Kira MacGill (Colorado Mesa University) earned RMAC Freshman of the Year honors, while Chris Seimers (CSM) was named the RMAC Men's Coach of the Year and Jennifer Michel (Western Colorado University) was voted the RMAC Women's Coach of the Year.