COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Caden Leal led a pack of 12 Mountain Lions at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs XC Open at Monument Valley Park Friday morning, crossing the finish line in a personal best time of 26:09.0 and 26^th overall.  Among 10 scored teams, the Mountain Lions posted 149 points for a sixth-place finish.
 
INSIDE THE UCCS XC OPEN

• Course: Monument Valley Park
• Location: Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Course Length: 8k
• Elevation: 6,109'

 
AROUND THE COURSE

• Leal, who bested his previous time by 10 seconds, finished seven spots ahead of Pablo Lomeli, who also notched a career-best 8k time of 26:19.8 (33^rd overall).
• Connor Kennedy notched a time of 26:27.3 to post a 36^th place finish and the third Mountain Lion to complete the race.
• The duo of Matt Campos (48^th place) and Tyler Campbell (51^st place) were separated by just three seconds.  Campos' recorded a time of 26:51.7 before Campbell came through the chute in 26:54.6.

                       
RACE LEADERS

• Matisse Virey from Colorado State University Pueblo won the UCCS XC Open, finishing ahead of all 128 runners in a time of 25:03.1.

BEYOND THE FINISH LINE

• Seven Mountain Lions penned new 8k career best times.  Along with Leal and Lomeli, Campos, Joseph Hamilton (56^th place, 27:10.3), TJ Saglembeni (62^nd place, 27:19.3) and Will Lamb (80^th place, 27:46.2) all set new PR times.
• Tyler Jamieson suited up for his first race in a Mountain Lion uniform, placing 83^rd overall in 27:54.9.

 
UP NEXT

• UCCS returns to competition in two weeks on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship meet. The championship meet will be hosted by New Mexico Highlands University on the Gene Torres Golf Course in Las Vegas, N.M.  The men's 8k race is slated to start at 10:45 a.m.

 
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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.