LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 6 ranked University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's cross country team automatically qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country National Championship meet after placing third this morning at the 2021 NCAA South Central Regional meet, hosted in Lubbock, Texas by Lubbock Christian University.  UCCS finished third with 109 points behind first place Adams State University (30 points) and Colorado School of Mines (89 points).  The top three teams in each region automatically qualify for the national meet.
 
INSIDE THE NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL 6K CHAMPIONSHIP

• Course | Location: Chaparral Ridge Cross Country Course | Lubbock, Texas
• Course Length: 6K

 
AROUND THE COURSE

• Layla Almasri led the Mountain Lions with her second straight runner-up finish.  Almasri, who was just six seconds off the leader, ran a personal best time of 20:24.3.
• Riley McGrath came in second for UCCS and 13^th overall with PR time of 21:09.1.  Also finishing in the 21-minute mark with personal best times were Kate Hedlund (21:28.0, 24^th place) and Anna Fauske in 35^th place with a time of 21:48.5.  Closing out the Mountain Lions scorers was Hannah Ellis with a mark of 22:10.8 to place 50^th overall.
• Competing in their first NCAA regional meet were Sarah Bassett (53^rd place) and Kelsey Rycenga (76^th place).  Both Mountain Lions earned personal best times of 22:19.3 and 23:02.1, respectively.

                        
RACE LEADERS

• Brianna Robles led all 173 runners, crossing the finish line in 20:24.3 to lead the Grizzlies to a first-place team finish.

 
BEYOND THE FINISH LINE

• With their top-25 finishes, Almasri, McGrath and Hedlund have earned USTFCCCA all-region awards.
• As a team, the Mountain Lions will be competing in their 12^th NCAA Championship race (2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2006, 2004, 2002, and 2000). 
• This year's national championship meet will be the fifth straight time UCCS has competed in the national championship race, and the fifth time UCCS has qualified under head coach Corey Kubatzky.
• Today's third place finish tied the highest finish UCCS has recorded at a regional meet.  It is also the first time UCCS has automatically qualified for the national championship.
• Six Mountain Lions recorded personal best 6k times today (Almasri, McGrath, Hedlund, Fauske, Basssett and Rycenga).

UP NEXT

• UCCS will head to St. Leo, Florida for the 2021 NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country National Championship meet on Saturday, Nov. 20.

 
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.