COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs head men's cross country coach Mark Misch has announced the 2020 class for the Mountain Lions.  Eight new members will be joining the men's cross country program this fall: Justin Banta, Branden Bohling, Isaiah Bradley, Sean Graff, Trevor Jones, Adam Maal, Blake Ohlson and Paul Thomas.
 
Justin Banta (Colorado Springs, Colo.) competed in cross country and track and field for the Air Academy High School Kadets.  A recent graduate from AAHS with a 3.9111 grade point average, Banta earned the Les Schwab Tire Centers Academic Team Championship Award and was named Les Schwab Academic All-State.  Banta and the Kadets placed third at the state championship meet in 2018, and fifth overall at the state meet after winning the regional championship. 
 
Branden Bohling joins the Mountain Lions as a graduate student after spending the past four years running for the Cardinals at Saginaw Valley State University.  A 2020 graduate from SVSU with a degree in Computer Science, Bohling recorded a career best 5K time of 15:07 and a top 10K time of 32:31.  He earned All-GLIAC Cross Country honors in 2017.   Bohling ran cross county in high school at Ralston Valley High School in Arvada, Colo, boasting times of 4:36 in the mile and 16:21 in the 5K for the Mustangs.
 
A native of Aurora, Colo. and a 2019 graduate of Overland High School, Isaiah Bradley was named All-City Second Team and All-League Second Team twice while also qualifying for the state championship meet two times.  He helped the Trailblazers finish in the top four at the 2017 regional meet and came in second place at the 2018 regional Aurora City championship meets while qualifying for the 2017 and 2018 state meets.  A four-year academic letterwinner and a three-time Honor Roll student, Bradley tallied personal best times in the 5K (16:34) and 10K (35:06.67).
 
Sean Graff (Montrose, Colo.) will join his older brother, Evan, on the Mountain Lions cross country program.  Graff is a 2020 graduate of Montrose High School where he was a 4A state qualifier for the Indians.  He finished the 2019 state championship meet in 16^th place overall with a time of 16:35.7.
 
A two-sport athlete at Sand Creek High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., Trevor Jones competed in track and field and soccer for the Scorpions.  A three-time letterwinner in track and field, Jones recorded personal best times in the 1500m (4:50.38), 800m (2:02.69) and the 400m (52.45).
 
Adam Maal is a product of Pueblo West, Colo. and a 2019 graduate of St. Mary's High School in Colorado Springs, Colo.  He was named the Pirates Team MVP four times in cross county and was the team captain as a senior for the cross country and track and field programs.  He owns personal best times of 16:54 in the 5K and 37:52.15 in the 10K.  A four-time cross country state qualifier and a three-time track and field state qualifier, Maal placed third at the Colorado 2A Region 3 cross county meet.  The 2019 8000m Tri-Peaks league champion, Maal qualified for seven individual events and six relays at the CHSAA track and field championship from 2017 through 2019.
 
A 2020 graduate of Dakota Ridge High School, Blake Ohlson (Littleton, Colo.) received four varsity letters for the Eagles in cross country and track and field.  He recorded a personal best time of 17:00.18 in the 5K while helping DRHS to two state cross country championship titles in 2018 and 2019.  In 2018, Ohlson won the Nike Cross Regionals Southwest race, before finishing second in the same race in 2019.  This past fall, he placed seventh at the Nike Cross Nationals meet.
 
Paul Thomas earned three cross country letters and four track and field letters at Fountain-Fort Carson High School.  The team MVP, he earned the Hall of Game patch and guided the Trojans to the 2017 and 2018 Colorado 5A championship titles.
 
The Mountain Lions will open the 2020 season at the annual UCCS Rust Buster Invite the first weekend in September.