NEW ORLEANS, La. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's cross country teams both shifted in this week's United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Coaches' Poll, announced Wednesday afternoon.  After an idle week of competition, the men's team moves up one spot to No. 20 (82 points) while the women's program is ranked No. 7 with 192 points after a strong performance at the Live in Lou Classic.
 
The Mountain Lions women's program ran in their final regular season competitive meet this past Saturday at the Live in Lou Classic.  UCCS finished seventh overall out of 36 teams besting four top-25 programs after picking up 292 team points.  Kate Hedlund and Anna Fauske finished back-to-back, crossing the finish line in 13^th and 14^th place, respectively.  Hedlund clocked a time of 17:19.1 as Fauske put down a new career 5k time of 17:22.0 in a race that featured 325 runners.
 
The men's squad ran in their last regular season competitive meet on Sept. 20 at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational.  The Mountain Lions will host the UCCS XC Open this Friday, Oct. 6 at Monument Valley Park.  The men's 8k race will begin at 9 a.m. followed by the women's 6k race at 9:45 a.m.  Both teams return to competitive racing on Oct. 21 at the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by Metropolitan State University Denver at Washington Park.
 
In the men's poll, Colorado School of Mines keeps their top ranking for the fifth straight week with all 240 points and eight first place votes.  The women's poll shook up as Grand Valley State University took over the No. 1 ranking after defeating then-ranked No. 1 Adams State University at last week's Live in Lou Classic.
 
In the fourth regular season South Central regional rankings that were announced on Tuesday, the men's team held their position at No. 6 while the women's squad moved to No. 4.

2023 USTFCCCA DII NATIONAL & REGIONAL RANKINGS
 

Ranking	National - Women	National - Men	Regional - Women	Regional - Men
Preseason	No. 4	T-No. 25	No. 3	No. 7
Week 1	No. 5	No. 21	No. 3	No. 6
Week 2	No. 5	No. 18	No. 3	No. 6
Week 3	No. 5	No 21	No. 3	No. 6
Week 4	No. 7	No. 20	No. 4	No. 6