JOPLIN, Mo. – Anna Fauske paced the University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's cross country team Saturday morning in Joplin, Mo.  Fauske ran to All-America status after finishing ninth overall as the Mountain Lions recorded 369 team point to earn a 12^th place finish at the NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country national championship meet, hosted by Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo.
 
INSIDE THE 2023 NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP

• Course: MSSU Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course
• Location: Joplin, Mo.
• Distance: 6k
• Elevation: 1,004'

 
AROUND THE COURSE

• Behind a personal best time of 20:09.5, Fauske ran to All-American honors in her third straight national championship meet, after a ninth-place finish on the 6k course.
• Also running in her third straight Division II championship meet, Kate Hedlund crossed the finish line in 21:22.3 to post a 77^th place finish.
• Molly Breuer bested her personal best time by four seconds when she crossed the finish line in 21:44.4 for 110^th place.
• Finishing within one place and three-tenths of a second of each other were Rachel Richtman (123^rd place) and Nadine Almasri.  Richtman clocked a time of 21.51.0, just .3 seconds ahead of Almasri.
• Finishing sixth and seventh for the Mountain Lions were Rachel Goodrich (169^th place) in 22:12.9 and Emma Montoya (178th place) in 22:16.9.

                       
RACE LEADERS

• Leading all 32 teams with 59 points this morning was Grand Valley State University.  Adams State University earned runner-up honors with 86 points, followed by Colorado School of Mines (121 points) and Western Colorado University (150 points).
• Four runners recorded sub-20-minute times, led by Lindsey Cunningham of Winona State University.  Cunningham's time of 19:30.1 led all 260 competitors. 

 
BEYOND THE FINISH LINE

• UCCS finishes the 2023 season ranked No. 12 in Division II.
• Fauske bested her personal best 6k time by 31 seconds. 
• Along with Fauske and Breuer capturing new career best 6k marks, Almasri put down a new PR time by 23 seconds while Goodrich's new PR time of 22:12.9 bettered her previous mark by 31 seconds.
• Fauske is earning her second straight USTFCCCA All-America honor for cross country after placing 24^th at the 2022 national championship meet.
• Fauske becomes the fifth Mountain Lion to record a top-10 finish at the national meet: Layla Almasri (10^th place in 2022), Kayla Wooten (eighth place in 2018), Shannon Payne (third place in 2008) and Payne in 2005 (10^th place).
• Seven teams from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference competed in the national meet.  Outside of ASU, CSM and WCU, Colorado State University Pueblo placed 11th with 358 points, followed by UCCS, Colorado Christian (16th place, 450 points) and Fort Lewis College (20th place, 530 points).

 
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.