Women's Cross Country Season Recap

• The 2024 season for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs's women's cross country team was one to remember. The Mountain Lions earned a seventh-place finish (266 points) out of 34 teams at the NCAA Division II Championship meet, finished third at the NCAA South Central Regional meet, and third at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship meet.
• UCCS' season opened by placing first out of seven teams at the annual UCCS Rust Buster 5K on Sept. 7. Two weeks later, they finished third out of 13 teams at the MSU Denver Invite 6K.
• On Oct. 5, the Mountain Lions competed at the Live in Lou Classic in Louisville, Ky., finishing seventh out of 27 teams. On the same day, several UCCS student-athletes competed in Colorado Springs at the Colorado College Ted Castaneda Classic, placing second in the eight-team meet.
• To open their first post-season race on Oct. 26, UCCS placed third in the RMAC conference championships with a total of 95 points. At the NCAA South Central Regional meet, held at Washington Park in Denver, Colo., UCCS qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championship meet by placing third.
• On Nov. 23, the Mountain Lions closed out the year with a seventh-place finish (266 points) at the NCAA Division II championship meet, led by All-American performances by Anna Fauske and Kate Hedlund.

 
Award Winners

• Abby Bartel: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Molly Breuer: RMAC All-Academic First Team, All-RMAC Second Team
• Madison Brosig: RMAC Freshman of the Year, All-RMAC Second Team
• Audrey Brunken: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Madison Chavez: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Anna Fauske: USTFCCCA All-America Honors, USTFCCCA All-Region Team, RMAC All-Academic First Team, All-RMAC First Team
• Kaley Fergus: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Emma Finchum: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Rachel Goodrich: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Kate Hedlund: USTFCCCA All-America Honors, USTFCCCA All-Region Team, RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, All-RMAC Second Team
• Mason Ingallinera: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Emma Montoya: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Brooke Moss: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Maddie Ruszkiewicz: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Kaya Pillivant: RMAC All-Academic First Team, All-RMAC Second Team
• Rachel Richtman: RMAC All-Academic First Team

 
Hot Takes

• Fauske's All-American honors are her third consecutive and her second straight season of a top-10 finish when she finished ninth with a time of 20:43.8 at the NCAA Division II championship meet. Fauske's time at the championship meet was her second-fastest time in her career. Fauske joins elite company with her third All-America nod, joining Shannon Payne as the only Mountain Lion to achieve this in program history. Payne was a four-time All-American from 2004-08.
• Hedlund is the sixth student-athlete at UCCS to receive multiple All-America cross country honors, placing 36th overall at 21:23.7 at the national championship meet.
• UCCS scored 266 points as a team, finishing seventh overall out of 34 teams at the NCAA Division II championship meet. This placement is the Mountain Lion's third top-10 finish at the national championship meet in the last four years.
• Also competing at the national championship meet with Fauske and Hedlund was Kaya Pillivant, who finished 62nd overall with a personal best time of 21:46.3, Rachel Richtman, who placed 90th with a time of 22:04.9, and Madison Brosig who finished 108th with a time of 22:15.7. Emma Montoya placed 143rd at the meet with a time of 22:33.6. Molly Breuer finished at 145th with a time of 22:34.8.
• UCCS' third-place finish at the South Central Regional championship marked the eighth straight year that the Mountain Lions have finished in the top five of the regional championship and the seventh time in program history that they finished third as a team.
• Freshman Madison Brosig was the first freshman to cross the finish line at 21st place at the RMAC championships, earning her the honor of 2024 RMAC Freshman of the Year. This honor has only gone to one other Mountain Lion in program history, with Heather Bates winning the distinction in 2014.
• Head coach Corey Kubatzky has led UCCS to the NCAA championships for an eighth straight season. The seventh-place finish was Kubatzky and UCCS' best national finish since 2022 when they placed fourth.

 
National Rankings
 

• The Mountain Lions ranked in the top 5 of the USTFCCCA Division II Women's Cross Country Poll once in nine weeks of the season but were ranked in the top 10 eight times. UCCS' highest rank came in week seven (Nov. 13) when they ranked No. 5.

 
 
USTFCCCA DII NATIONAL RANKINGS

Preseason (Sept. 4)	No.10
Week 1 (Sept. 18)	No. 9
Week 2 (Sept. 25)	No.10
Week 3 (Oct. 2)	No. 9
Week 4 (Oct. 9)	No.10
Week 5 (Oct. 16)	No.11
Week 6 (Oct. 30)	No. 9
Week 7 (Nov. 13)	No. 5
Final (Nov. 23)	No. 7

 
 
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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.