THIS WEEK'S MEET
- The University of Colorado Colorado Springs cross country teams will compete this Saturday in the 2024 NCAA South Central Regional championship meet, hosted by Metropolitan State University of Denver at Washington Park. The 16th-ranked men's team will start the action at 10 a.m., followed by the No. 9 UCCS women's team at 11:15 a.m.
MEET INFORMATION
LAST TIME OUT
- Both Mountain Lions cross country programs finished in the top five of the 2024 RMAC Championships. The men's squad was led by All-RMAC First Team performers Jagger Zlotoff (fifth place) and Brett Davis (12th place). UCCS finished fourth out of 15 teams with 114 points.
- All five Mountain Lions scorers in the women's race earned all-conference accolades, including Madison Brosig (21st place) who was named the RMAC Freshman of the Year. As a team, UCCS registered 95 points to finish third overall. Anna Fauske paced the Mountain Lions with a third place finish and All-RMAC First Team honor. Joining Brosig on the All-RMAC Second Team were Kate Hedlund (19th place), Molly Breuer (26th place) and Kaya Pillivant (28th place).
MOUNTAIN LION MEN COMPETING AT NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL CHAMPIONSHIP (including alternate)
Name (10k PR Time | Meet, Date)
MOUNTAIN LION WOMEN COMPETING AT NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL CHAMPIONSHIP (including alternate)
Name (6k PR Time | Meet, Date)
THE FIELD
- Of the eight schools ranked in last week's USTFFCCCA Top 25 poll, seven of them hail from the RMAC. West Texas A&M University is the only Lone Star Conference school to earn a Top 25 ranking.
- Adams State University: No. 1 (women) / No. 5 (men)
- Colorado Christian University: No. 13 (men) / No. 17 (women)
- Colorado School of Mines: No. 2 (men) / No. 4 (women)
- Colorado State University Pueblo: No. 3 (women) / No. 15 (men)
- Fort Lewis College: No. 15 (women)
- UCCS: No. 9 (women) / No. 16 (men)
- Western Colorado University: No. 7 (men) / No. 11 (women)
- West Texas A&M: No.1 (men) / No. 11 (women)
NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL HISTORY
- The Mountain Lions men's squad ran to a seventh-place finish at last year's regional meet in Lubbock, Texas. UCCS has finished as high as third place in program history at a regional meet (2004). Afewerki Zeru captured UCCS' highest individual finish in program history, placing second overall in 29:42.20 in 2021.
- Donze and Zlotoff will be running in their third straight NCAA South Central Regional championship. Running in their second regional championship meet are Burke Jr., Davis and Impellitteri. Competing in their first career 10k race as a Mountain Lion are Cunningham, Knapp and Leal.
- The highest the Mountain Lions women's team has finished at the NCAA regional championship is third place, which has been recorded six times in program history (2022, 2021, 2016, 2012, 2006, 2002). The highest individual finish came from Shannon Payne in 2008 when she won the regional championship with a time of 21:12.
- Fauske and Hedlund will be competing in their fourth straight NCAA South Central Regional meet while Richtman, Breuer and Goodrich are running in their third regional meet. Making their debut at the regional championships are Brosig, Pillivant and Montoya.
USTFCCCA ALL-REGION AWARDS
- The top 25 finishers on Saturday will be named to the USTFCCCA All-South Central Regional team.
NATIONAL MEET QUALIFICATIONS
- Teams and individuals qualify for the national championships through participation in the eight regional meets. A total of 34 teams and 24 individuals will be selected for the national championship. The process for allocating the berths is as follows:
Teams (34)
- The top three teams from each regional meet will automatically advance to the championship finals (24 teams total).
- Ten at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Committee using the selection criteria. There is no limit to the number of at-large teams that may be selected from any given region.
Individuals (24 minimum)
- The top two individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championship finals (16 individuals total).
- All individuals who finish in the top five at the regional meet and are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championship finals.
- The next eight individuals will be selected at-large.
WEATHER FORECAST
- Saturday's races will be run under crisp conditions and partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the 40's. Winds will be coming out of the West at 5-10mph with humidity levels nearing 60 percent.
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 |
| 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 |
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 seven NCAA Division II cross country championships.
UPCOMING MEET
- The NCAA will announce the qualifying teams and individuals for the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championship meet on Monday, Nov. 11. The Division II championship races will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, Calif.
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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.
