NEW ORLEANS, La. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs cross country teams maintain their top-15 national rankings in the Week 5 edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II Cross Country National Coaches' Poll.  Both programs stayed in the same ranking position as last week with the UCCS women's program ranked at No. 6 with 195 points, and the men's program ranked at No. 13 with 144 points.
 
Staying on top of the men's Division II poll are Grand Valley State University and Colorado School of Mines as they are tied for first place with 236 points.  Adams State University took sole possession on top of the women's national poll, breaking the tie with GVSU as they received 236 points and five first place votes.
 
UCCS closed out the regular season portion of their schedule with a home meet last Friday at the UCCS XC Open, held at Cherokee Ridge Golf Course.  In the women's 6k race, three Mountain Lions crossed the finished line in the unscored team meet.  Nadine Almasri paced UCCS with a time of 25:12.1 to finish 18^th overall.  Liz Bindert crossed the finish line in 26^th place, five places ahead of Elizabeth Richter (26:53.1).  In the men's 8k race,  Troy Cournoyer was the first Mountain Lion to cross the finish line as he posted a time of 27:30.4 to place 31^st overall.  Three spots behind Cournoyer was Luke Rodriguez in 27:44.9.  Justin Banta (41^st place) and Sean Graff (45^th place) notched times of 28:23.5 and 29:02.6, respectively.  Rounding out the Mountain Lions was Walker Rudolph (53^rd place) in 29:35.8 and Blake Ohlson (55^th place) earning a time of 30:06.8.
 
On Tuesday, the USTFCCCA announced the Week 5 regular season regional rankings with the women's team staying at No. 3 and the men's program staying at No. 4.

The Mountain Lions return to action on Saturday, Oct. 23 for the 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship meet, held at Applewood Golf Course in Golden, Colo.
  
The 2021 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday, November 20 at Abbey Golf Course in Tampa, Florida.

2021 USTFCCCA DII XC NATIONAL RANKINGS

Oct. 13 (Week 5)
Women - No. 6
Men - No. 13
 
Oct. 6 (Week 4)
Women - No. 6
Men - No. 13
 
Sept. 29 (Week 3)
Women - No. 7
Men - No. 14
 
Sept. 22 (Week 2)
Women - No. 9
Men - No. 13
 
Sept. 15 (Week 1)
Women - No. 9
Men - No. 23

Sept. 1 (Preseason)
Women - No. 12
Men - No. 25