THIS WEEK'S MEET
- The University of Colorado Colorado Springs cross country teams will wrap up the 2024 season this Saturday, Nov. 23 in Sacramento, Calif. at the NCAA Division II National Championships. The No. 19 Mountain Lions men's team will start the 10k action on Saturday at 11 a.m. (MT), while the No. 5 UCCS women's program will compete in the 6k national championship race at 12:15 p.m. (MT).
NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP MEET INFORMATION
LAST TIME OUT
- At the NCAA South Central Regional meet two weeks in Denver, Colo, the Mountain Lions men's squad finished seventh out of 24 teams. For the fourth race this season, Jagger Zlotoff led the Mountain Lions with a 22nd place finish in a time of 32:16.97, earning him USTFCCCA All-Region honors.
- Automatically qualifying for the National Championships with their third place finish, the UCCS women's team was led by Anna Fauske's and Kate Hedlund's all-region performances, leading the Mountain Lions to a third place team finish among 25 teams.
MOUNTAIN LION MEN COMPETING AT NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP
(including alternates*)
Name (10k PR Time | Meet, Date)
MOUNTAIN LION WOMEN COMPETING AT NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP
(including alternates*)
Name (6k PR Time | Meet, Date)
- Molly Breuer (21:45.1 | 2023 NCAA DII Championships, 11/18/23)
- Madison Brosig (22:37.9 | 2024 Roadrunners Invite, 9/17/24)
- Anna Fauske (20:09.0 | 2023 NCAA DII Championships, 11/18/23)
- Kate Hedlund (20:53.2 | 2023 NCAA South Central Regional, 11/4/23)
- Emma Montoya (22:05.5 | Roadrunners Invitational, 9/16/23)
- Brooke Moss* (23:00.2 | UCCS XC Open, 10/11/24)
- Kseniya Nikanorov* (22:17.3 | Santa Clara Brono Invite, 22:17.3)
- Lida Padgett* (22:16.6 | RMAC Championships, 10/26/24)
- Kaya Pillivant (22.24.0 | 2024 Roadrunners Invite, 9/17/24)
- Rachel Richtman (21:39.0 | 2023 NCAA South Central Regional, 11/4/23)
THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thirty-four teams have been selected to participate in the NCAA Division II championships. The top three, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regional championships on Nov. 4, for a total of 24 teams. Ten additional teams were selected at-large. A minimum of 24 additional individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process.
NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
- The 2024 NCAA DII Championship meet is the 11th time in program history the Mountain Lion men's program has qualified as a team to the national championship. UCCS' best finish in history came in 2021 when they finished fifth out of 34 teams. This is the Mountain Lions sixth straight season qualifying for nationals.
- Five Mountain Lions from the 2023 national championship race will be running for UCCS on Saturday – Michael Burke Jr. (alternate), Brett Davis, Jack Donze, Joseph Impellitteri, and Jagger Zlotoff. The highest individual finish at a national meet came in 2022 when Afe Zeru crossed the finish line in fifth place with a time of 29:54.2.
- In the women's race, this year's national championship meet marks the eighth straight year UCCS has competed in the national championship race under head coach Corey Kubatzky, and the 11th time in the past 12 championships. In 13 championship meets, the Mountain Lions highest team finish is fourth place, which they accomplished in 2022.
- Five Mountain Lions from the 2023 national championship meet will be competing on Saturday: Molly Breuer, Anna Fauske, Kate Hedlund, Emma Montoya and Rachel Richtman. Shannon Payne placed third at the national championship meet in 2008 (21:29) to own the best finish by a Mountain Lion.
USTFCCCA ALL-AMERICA AWARDS
- USTFCCCA All-America honors are awarded to runners who finish in the top-40.
WEATHER FORECAST
- A Bomb Cyclone is currently hitting the Northwest region, bringing heavy rain to the area. The storm will have passed by Saturday, leaving muddy running conditions. The forecast on race day will be mostly cloudy skies with temperatures nearing 60 degrees.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
- Each week the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announces Regional (Tuesday's) and National (Wednesday's) rankings.
| 2024 USTFCCCA NATIONAL RANKINGS |
| WEEK |
MEN |
WOMEN |
| Preseason (Sept. 4) |
No. 23 |
No. 10 |
| Week 1 (Sept. 18) |
No. 20 |
No. 9 |
| Week 2 (Sept. 25) |
No. 19 |
No. 10 |
| Week 3 (Oct. 2) |
No. 20 |
No. 9 |
| Week 4 (Oct. 9) |
No. 21 |
No. 10 |
| Week 5 (Oct. 16) |
No. 22 |
No. 11 |
| Week 6 (Oct. 30) |
No. 16 |
No. 9 |
| Week 7 (Nov. 13) |
No. 19 |
No. 5 |
| 2024 USTFCCCA REGIONAL RANKINGS |
| WEEK |
MEN |
WOMEN |
| Preseason (Sept. 3) |
No. 8 |
No. 4 |
| Week 1 (Sept. 17) |
No. 8 |
No. 4 |
| Week 2 (Sept. 24) |
No. 7 |
No. 5 |
| Week 3 (Oct. 1) |
No. 7 |
No. 5 |
| Week 4 (Oct. 8) |
No. 7 |
No. 6 |
| Week 5 (Oct. 15) |
No. 7 |
No. 6 |
| Week 6 (Oct. 29) |
No. 7 |
No. 5 |
| Regional Final |
No. 7 |
No. 3 |
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH MARK MISCH & COREY KUBATZKY
- Head coach Mark Misch is in his 18th year leading the Mountain Lions in 2024-25. Under Misch, UCCS has qualified as a team for the NCAA Division II National Championship meet nine times, including the past five championships.
- Corey Kubatzky is in his 10th year with the UCCS cross country and track and field programs in 2024-25, serving as head coach for the women's cross country team as well as coaching the distance and middle distance women runners for indoor and outdoor track & field. Since joining UCCS in 2015, Kubatzky's teams have qualified for the past eight NCAA Division II cross country championships.
UPCOMING MEET
- Saturday's race will conclude the cross country portion of the 2024 season. The Mountain Lions will open their indoor track and field season Dec. 6-7 at Colorado School of Mines.
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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.
