THIS WEEK'S MEET
- Following a fourth-place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional championship on Nov. 19, the No. 11 University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's cross country team received an at-large bid to run for the NCAA Division II National Championship meet on Friday. The men's 10k race will begin at 11 a.m. (MT) from Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Wash.
MEET INFORMATION
LAST TIME OUT
- Behind three USTFCCCA all-region performances, the Mountain Lions finished fourth at the NCAA South Central Regional meet, the second highest finish at a regional meet in program history.
- Redshirt-senior Afewerki Zeru repeated last year's performance with a runner-up finish in 30:28.90 to earn his fourth straight USTFCCCA All-South Central Region honor.
- Evan Graff scored 14 points for the Mountain Lions with a 14th place finish and a time of 31:32.90 for his second straight all-region accolade.
- Running in his second regional race and first South Central regional meet for the Mountain Lions was graduate student Marcus Graham. Graham's 22nd place finish in 31:51.80 earned him all-region accolades.
MOUNTAIN LIONS COMPETING AT NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP MEET (10K PR TIMES)
- Logan Cole (33:57.8 at NCAA South Central Regional – Nov. 19, 2022)
- Evan Graff (31:00.7 at NCAA South Central Regional – Nov. 6, 2021)
- Marcus Graham (31:23.4 at NCAA Southeast Regional – Nov. 19, 2019)
- Gavin Harden (31:49.6 at NCAA South Central Regional – Nov. 6, 2021)
- Will Young (32:08.7 at NCAA South Central Regional – Nov. 6, 2021)
- Afewerki Zeru (29:42.2 at NCAA South Central Regional – Nov. 6, 2021)
- Jagger Zlotoff (32:38.9 at NCAA South Central Regional – Nov. 19, 2022)
- Alternate: Tim Chambers (First 10k race)
- Alternate: Jack Donze (33:44.7 at NCAA South Central Regional – Nov. 19, 2022)
- Thirty-four teams will be competing for the national championship meet on Friday, with 24 teams receiving automatic bids and 10 teams receiving at-large bids. Five teams from the South Central Region qualified for the national championship, the second most of any region (seven, Midwest Region).
- South Central Region teams: Colorado Christian University, Colorado School of Mines, UCCS, West Texas A&M University, and Western Colorado University.
NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
- The 2022 NCAA DII Championship meet is the ninth time in program history the Mountain Lions have qualified as a team to the national championship. UCCS' best finish in history came last season when finished fifth out of 34 teams. This is the Mountain Lions fourth straight season qualifying for nationals.
- Four Mountain Lions competing in last year's national championship race will be running for UCCS on Friday – Afewerki Zeru, Evan Graff, Gavin Harden and Will Young. Zeru becomes the first Mountain Lion in history to have run in four NCAA Division II National Championship races. Making his third trip to the national meet is Evan Graff, while Harden and Young are making their second career appearance.
- The highest finish at a national meet came in 2004 by Moses Tum who placed eighth in 32:22.1. Zeru's 15th place finish in 30:49.7 at last year's meet is the third best finish in program history.
USTFCCCA ALL-AMERICA AWARDS
- USTFCCCA All-America honors are awarded to runners who finish in the top-40.
WEATHER FORECAST
- The high on Friday in University Place, Wash. is expected to reach 38 degrees. Early snow will turn into rain during the day with winds out of the East at 7 mph.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
- Each week the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announces Regional (Tuesday's) and National (Wednesday's) rankings. In the last set of national rankings (Week 8, Nov. 23), the Mountain Lions received their second highest ranking of 2022, No. 11.
USTFCCCA DII NATIONAL RANKINGS
| WEEK |
RANKING |
| Preseason (Aug. 29) |
No. 10 |
| Week 1 (Sept. 14) |
No. 14 |
| Week 2 (Sept. 28) |
No. 14 |
| Week 3 (Oct. 5) |
No. 15 |
| Week 4 (Oct. 12) |
No. 14 |
| Week 5 (Oct. 19) |
No. 15 |
| Week 6 (Oct. 26) |
No. 16 |
| Week 7 (Nov. 9) |
No. 14 |
| Week 8 (Nov. 23) |
No. 11 |
USTFCCCA DII SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL RANKINGS
| WEEK |
RANKING |
| Preseason (Aug. 28) |
No. 5 |
| Week 1 (Sept. 13) |
No. 5 |
| Week 2 (Sept. 27) |
No. 5 |
| Week 3 (Oct. 4) |
No. 5 |
| Week 4 (Oct. 11) |
No. 5 |
| Week 5 (Oct. 18) |
No. 5 |
| Week 6 (Oct. 25) |
No. 5 |
| Week 7 (Nov. 8) |
No. 5 |
| Final |
No. 4 |
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH MARK MISCH
- The 2022-23 school year marks Mark Misch's 16th season with the UCCS cross country and track and field programs. Misch and the Mountain Lions are coming off one of their most successful seasons in program history. In 2021, Misch led UCCS to their eighth NCAA Division II National Championship meet appearance, and their highest ever finish at the national meet. UCCS, which has qualified for the national meet seven times under Misch (2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021), finished fifth out of 34 teams on Nov. 20, scoring 254 points. Afewerki Zeru paced UCCS in the post-season, finishing second at both the RMAC and NCAA South Central Regional meets, before earning All-America accolades - the first All-American under Misch - with a 15th place finish at the NCAA DII Cross Country National Championship meet.
UPCOMING MEET
- The 2022 DII Cross Country Championship is the final cross country meet of the 2022 season.
SOCIAL
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
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.
