Stephen Hinkle - CCU

2021 Women’s Cross Country Season in Review

12/21/2021 2:21:00 PM

Women's Cross Country Season Recap

Behind his seventh year at the helm of the Mountain Lions women's cross country program, head coach Corey Kubatzky led UCCS to one of their most successful seasons in program history. Following a COVID-19 shortened season in 2020 with no NCAA post-season races, the Mountain Lions returned in 2021 to finish seventh overall at the NCAA Division II Championship meet on Nov. 20, capping off a season which had the Mountain Lions ranked in the USTFCCCA Top 10 Division II poll in every regular season and post-season poll. The seventh place at the national meet tied the program's highest finish ever at a national championship (2006).
The Mountain Lions championship run started on Sept. 4 at the 14th annual UCCS Rust Buster, held at Monument Valley Park. Layla Almasri shattered the course record by 16 seconds to win the race and lead UCCS to win the six-team 5k race with 36 points. Almasri crossed the finish line in 17:31.5 and was joined by Kate Hedlund (18:13.9) and Hannah Ellis (18:17.1) who finished third and fifth, respectively. Freshman Sarah Bassett came in 12th overall and fourth on the Mountain Lions team to score 12 points and earn a time of 18:46.3. Not far behind Bassett was freshman Kelsey Rycenga in 15th place with a time of 18:55.6.
One month later on Oct. 2, the Mountain Lions returned to the course as a team, this time at the Division I dominant meet, Live In Lou Classic, held in Louisville, Ky. UCCS finished ninth out of 44 teams and second among Division II teams while finishing ahead of 21 Division I programs. The first six Mountain Lions to cross the finish line recorded personal best times. Almasri placed 26th overall in a time of 17:09.8 to lead the Mountain Lions. Hedlund recorded a top-50 time when she posted a time of 17:34.0 to finish 40th overall.
Two weeks after their dominant performance at the Live In Lou Classic, the Mountain Lions earned a third place finish at the 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country 6k championship meet hosted by Colorado School of Mines at Applewood Golf Course in Golden, Colo. UCCS was led by Almasri's runner-up finish, making it her highest finish at a RMAC Championship Meet as she earned her second straight All-RMAC First Team award. She was joined on the All-RMAC First Team by Ellis who posted a 10th place finish with a personal best 6k time of 22:26.7. Competing in her first career 6k race, Anna Fauske earned an All-RMAC Second Team honor after crossing the finish line in 16th place in 22:45.8. Riley McGrath came in fourth for the Mountain Lions and 29th overall with a time of 23:14.0, followed by Hedlund in 33rd place in 23:28.3.
UCCS continued their post-season ascendency two weeks later at the NCAA South Central Regional meet in Lubbock, Texas. Their third-place finish at the 25-team meet automatically qualified UCCS for the 2021 NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country National Championship meet. 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. McGrath came in second for UCCS and 13th overall with PR time of 21:09.1. Also finishing in the 21-minute mark with personal best times were Hedlund (21:28.0, 24th place) and Fauske in 35th place with a time of 21:48.5. Closing out the Mountain Lions scorers was Ellis with a mark of 22:10.8 to place 50th overall.
The Mountain Lions biggest race of the season came on Nov. 20 in Saint Leo, Fla. at the NCAA Division II National Championship where UCCS finished seventh out of 34 teams. Almasri and McGrath ran to All-American honors as they finished in the top 40. Almasri finished 12th overall in a time of 20:57.9, marking her highest finish at a national championship. McGrath's time of 21:28.4 was the 39th fastest time while Fauske, Ellis and Hedlund finished in a pack of five seconds of each other.

Award Winners

Layla Almasri (All-American, All-South Central Region, All-RMAC First Team, RMAC All-Academic First Team)
Nadine Almasri (RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)
Sarah Bassett (RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)
Liz Bindert (RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)
Hannah Ellis (All-RMAC First Team, RMAC All-Academic First Team)
Anna Fauske (All-RMAC Second Team)
Ashley Frye (RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)
Emily Gentry (RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)
Rachel Goodrich (RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)
Kate Hedlund (All-South Central Region, RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)
Mason Ingallinera (RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)
Riley McGrath (All-American, All-South Central Region, RMAC All-Academic First Team)
Elizabeth Richter (RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)
Rachel Richtman (RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)
Kelsey Rycenga (RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll)

Hot Takes

Almasri and McGrath become the fourth duo in program history to earn All-America honors (2000, 2005, 2006).
Almasri and Ellis made their second and third appearances at the NCAA National meet. Ellis' first appearance was in 2018 when she finished in 104th place with a time of 24:25.8. The following season she crossed the finish line in 22:34.4 in 183rd place. Almasri ran in her first national championship meet in 2019, earning a 62nd place finish in 21:18.2. Their highest team finish was seventh place in 2006 and the highest individual finish came from Shannon Payne in 2008 when she placed third overall in 21:29.
As a team, the Mountain Lions have competed in 12 national championship meets.
Ellis became the sixth Mountain Lion to qualify for the national championship meet at least three times (Katie Novak, Sam Bauer, Sarah Shephard). Two Mountain Lions have qualified for the national meet all four years – Kayla Wooten and Shannon Payne. Almasri is the 24th Mountain Lion to qualify for multiple national championship meets.

National Rankings

The Mountain Lions were ranked in all nine USTFCCCA Division II national polls during the 2021 season. UCCS started the season with a No. 12 ranking in the preseason poll on Sept.1 before entering the Top 10 in the first regular season poll on Sept. 15 with a No. 9 ranking. After two weeks ranked ninth in Division II, UCCS moved up again to No. 8 in the third regular season poll, before notching a No. 6 ranking where they would stay for the next four weeks.
Ranked in the Top 10 in all seven regular season polls, the Mountain Lions closed the 2021 season with a No. 7 ranking with 263 points in the final poll on Nov. 20.

2022 Outlook

The Mountain Lions cross country season rolls right into the indoor track and field and outdoor track and field seasons through the end of May 2022.
UCCS will kick off the 2022 season with the 15^th annual UCCS Rust Buster on Saturday, Sept. 3 at Monument Valley Park. Coach Kubatzky looks forward to the 2022 season: "We bring a really strong good group back next year, and we have a great class coming in. We've got the right kind of people on the team that are really invested in each other's success. That started many years ago of how we built this program. Our alums made a good luck video for the team before the national championships. There are people all over the country that have been a part of the program, and we go to play that video the night before nationals. It was really special for the team to know that they're part of something much bigger than just this year or just the seven people in jerseys; it's something that spans a lot of years and something that people have done a lot of work."

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