COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A total of 30 University of Colorado Colorado Springs cross country student-athletes were named to the Men's and Women's Cross Country Academic All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, announced Thursday afternoon by the league office. Four of the Mountain Lions garnered First Team Academic All-RMAC honors:
Koy Cunningham,
Joseph Impellitteri,
Kaya Pillivant, and
Maddie Ruszkiewicz.
Fourteen Mountain Lions from the men's cross country program received Academic All-RMAC Honor Roll recognition, and 12 Mountain Lions from the women's program were named to the Honor Roll team.
Margaux Basart and Cody Wyman of Colorado School of Mines were voted the RMAC Women's and Men's Academic Runners of the Year, respectively.
Each institution's athletic communications directors nominate student-athletes who academically maintain at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, along with the other criteria for the Academic Honor Roll, for recognition on the First Team Academic All-RMAC in each sport. The league's athletic communications directors for that sport vote to compose the First Team Academic All-RMAC and select the Academic Player of the Year. They are not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.
The RMAC Academic Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport who academically maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average, have completed two consecutive semesters at their current institution, and have used a season of competition.
Redshirt-junior
Kaya Pillivant is making her second straight appearance on the First Team Academic All-RMAC. Pillivant, who ran in five meets for the Mountain Lions this season, finished 21
st at the conference championship meet to earn All-RMAC Second Team honors. Two weeks later, the Cheyenne, Wyo. native ran her fastest 6k time (21:19) at the NCAA South Central Regional meet, finishing 16
th overall to earn United States Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-South Central Regional honors. The Mathematics major capped off the season with a 71st-place finish in 21:32 at the NCAA Division II Championships.
Maddie Ruszkiewicz had a breakout season in 2025, collecting USTFCCCA All-America, USTFCCCA All-Region, and All-RMAC Second Team honors. She started her redshirt-junior campaign with a 5k personal best time of 18:09.2 at the UCCS Rust Buster season-opener. The Middleton, Wis. native ran to all-conference second team honors on Oct. 25 with a 15
th place finish. Two weeks later, she finished 22
nd overall at the NCAA South Central Regional Meet, before running her best 6k time of 21:09 at the NCAA Division II National Championships to post All-America accolades and lead the Mountain Lions to a sixth-place team finish. Ruszkiewicz is majoring in Geographical and Environmental Sciences at UCCS.
A redshirt-junior from Monument, Colo.,
Koy Cunningham recorded two personal best times this season. He earned All-RMAC Second Team honors after finishing 25
th at the conference championship meet in an 8k personal best time of 25:19. A Human Physiology major at UCCS, Cunningham finished his junior campaign at the NCAA Division II National Championship meet, placing 101
st overall after clocking a 10k PR time of 31:40.
Joseph Impellitteri led the Mountain Lions to a sixth-place team finish at the 2025 NCAA South Central Regional championship meet after earning USTFCCCA All-Region honors with his 21st-place finish. Majoring in Communications at UCCS, Impellitteri finished the regional meet with a new personal best 10k time of 31:07.2. Two weeks later at the national meet, he finished 91
st in 31:30 to help UCCS place 13
th out of 34 teams.
2025 RMAC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ALL-ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
| NAME |
YEAR |
MAJOR |
HOMETOWN |
| Abby Bartel |
R-Jr. |
Human Physiology |
Fremont, Wis. |
| Molly Breuer |
R-Sr. |
Nursing |
Boerne, Texas |
| Madison Brosig |
R-So. |
Exercise Science |
Greeley, Colo. |
| Audrey Brunken |
R-Jr. |
Exercise Science |
Moreno Valley, Calif. |
| Madison Chavez |
R-Jr. |
Mechanical Engineering |
San Ramon, Calif. |
| Megan Ericksen |
R-So. |
Nursing |
Aurora, Colo. |
| Kaley Fergus |
R-So. |
Exercise Science |
Gig Harbor, Wash. |
| Emma Montoya |
Jr. |
Exercise Science |
Alamosa, Colo. |
| Lara Murdock |
R-Sr. |
Inclusive Elementary Education |
Colby, Kan. |
| Kseniya Nikanorov |
Sr. |
Business |
Castle Rock, Colo. |
| Lida Padgett |
So. |
Human Physiology |
Prairie Village, Kan. |
| Olivia Sargent |
R-So. |
Human Physiology |
Monument, Colo. |
2025 RMAC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ALL-ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
| NAME |
YEAR |
MAJOR |
HOMETOWN |
| Kyle Briggs |
R-So. |
Mechanical Engineering |
Eugene, Oregon |
| Michael Burke Jr. |
R-Jr. |
Exercise Science |
Pompton Lakes, N.J. |
| Tyler Campbell |
R-So. |
Mechanical Engineering |
Gig Harbor, Wash. |
| Logan Cole |
R-Sr. |
Geography & Environmental Studies |
Zionsville, Ind. |
| Brett Davis |
Jr. |
Mechanical Engineering |
Thornton, Colo. |
| Jack Donze |
R-Sr. |
Business Administration |
Arvada, Colo. |
| Anthony Economou |
R-Jr. |
Pre-Medicine |
Kailua, Hawaii |
| Jonas Graff |
R-So. |
Secondary Education-Math |
Montrose, Colo. |
| Enzo Knapp |
R-Jr. |
Computer Science |
Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| Will Lamb |
R-Sr. |
Philosophy |
Beaver, Pa. |
| Caden Leal |
R-Jr. |
Exercise Science |
Loveland, Colo. |
| TJ Saglembeni |
R-Jr. |
Accounting |
Monument, Colo. |
| Turner Schad |
R-Jr. |
Human Physiology |
Sauk Rapids, Minn. |
| Colin Scheller |
R-So. |
Communications |
Carver, Minn. |
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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.