CANYON, Texas – Junior Hannah Ellis led the University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's cross country team to their third straight win of the season on Friday at the West Texas A&M 5K Stampede, held at The Range course in Canyon, Texas.  The Mountain Lions nearly recorded a perfect score and finished with 17 points to top all seven teams.  Ellis bested all 60 runners with a 5K time of 18:23.0.
 
Running in 19 mph wind and 82-degree heat, Layla Almasri and Molly Weir finished second and third as UCCS took the top three slots.  Almasri crossed the finish line in 18:34.5 as Weir recorded a personal best 5K time of 18:38.3.
 
Makiah Salzano of Fort Lewis College took fourth place in 19:03.8 to break up the Mountain Lions perfect score.  Salzono and the Skyhawks finished second overall in the team scoring.
 
Freshmen Kate Hedlund (19:11.0) and Rachel Richtman (19:13.2) placed fifth and sixth overall to combine for 11 points.  They were followed by Riley McGrath (19:17.1) and Kelsey Rycenga (19:17.5) to close out the Mountain Lions scorers in seventh and eighth place.
 
Friday's meet was the third and final regular season meet for the Mountain Lions.  UCCS won their previous two meets on Sept. 4 at the UCCS Rust Buster and on Sept. 18 at the UCCS XC Open.
 
The Mountain Lions will compete next on Oct. 24 when they host the 2020 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs, Colo.