• The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's cross country team had another impressive year in the 2025 season. The Mountain Lions finished in sixth place (208 points) out of 34 teams at the NCAA Division II Championship meet, earned a program-best second-place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional meet, and matched a program-best second-place finish at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship meet.
• UCCS opened the season with a first-place finish out of six teams at the annual UCCS Rust Buster 5K on Sept. 6. Three weeks later, the Mountain Lions competed at the UWP Lucian Rosa Invite in Kenosha, Wis., finishing third out of 23 teams.
• The Mountain Lions' first postseason race was at the RMAC Championship on October 25 in Colorado Springs, Colo. where they placed second out of 15 teams with 68 team points. On November 8, UCCS competed at the NCAA South Central Regional meet, held in Pueblo, Colo. The team matched a program's best second-place finish and qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championship meet.
• On November 22, the Mountain Lions ended the year with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Championship meet, led by an All-American performance by Kseniya Nikanorov.

 
Award Winners

• Abby Bartel: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Molly Breuer: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Madison Brosig: USTFCCCA All-Region Team, RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, All-RMAC Second Team
• Audrey Brunken: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Madison Chavez: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Megan Ericksen: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Kaley Fergus: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Allie Grahn: All-RMAC Second Team
• Kate Henderson: USTFCCCA All-Region Team
• Corey Kubatzky: USTFCCCA South Central Region Women's Coach of the Year
• Elizabeth McQuitty: All-RMAC First Team, RMAC Freshman of the Meet
• Emma Montoya: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Lara Murdock: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Kseniya Nikanorov: USTFCCCA All-America Honors, USTFCCCA All-Region Team, RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, All-RMAC First Team
• Lida Padgett: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
• Kaya Pillivant: USTFCCCA All-Region Team, RMAC All-Academic First Team, All-RMAC Second Team
• Maddie Ruszkiewicz: USTFCCCA All-Region Team, RMAC All-Academic First Team, All-RMAC Second Team
• Olivia Sargent: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll

 
 
Hot Takes

• Nikanorov earned her first All-America honors with her 38th-place finish and a personal best 10k time of 21:03.9 at the NCAA Division II National Championship Meet. Ruszkiewicz also recorded a personal best 10k time of 21:09 to finish 44^th.
• With their sixth-place finish (208 points) at the NCAA Division II Championship meet, the Mountain Lions have now placed in the top 10 in four of the last five seasons.
• The other Mountain Lions to score points at the National Championship meet were McQuitty, who placed 41^st, as well as Henderson and Brosig, finishing 54^th and 58^th, respectively.
• UCCS finished in second place at the RMAC Championship meet to match a program-best finish. Running in her first 6k, Grahn tallied points for UCCS, finishing with a time of 21:46.01. McQuitty was the first Mountain Lion to cross the finish line with a time of 21:01.55, earning the inaugural RMAC Freshman of the Meet award.
• The Mountain Lions' second-place finish at the South Central Regional championship marked the ninth straight year that the Mountain Lions have finished in the top five of the regional championship and the best finish they have ever had as a team.
• Each of the five scorers for UCCS at the South Central Regional (Brosig, Henderson, Pillivant, Nikanorov, Ruszkiewicz) finished in the top 25, earning All-South Central Regional Team honors.
• Head coach Corey Kubatzky has led UCCS to the NCAA championships for a ninth straight season, as the team has also competed in 12 of the last 13 national championships. Kubatzky was also named the USTFCCCA South Central Region Women's Coach of the Year.

 
National Rankings
 

• The Mountain Lions ranked in the top 5 of the USTFCCCA Division II Women's Cross Country Poll twice in nine weeks of the season and were ranked in the top 10 nine times. UCCS' highest rank came in week six (Oct. 29) when they ranked No. 3.

 
 
USTFCCCA DII NATIONAL RANKINGS

Preseason (Sept. 3)	No.7
Week 1 (Sept. 17)	No. 7
Week 2 (Sept. 24)	No.8
Week 3 (Oct. 1)	No. 8
Week 4 (Oct. 8)	No. 8
Week 5 (Oct. 15)	No. 8
Week 6 (Oct. 29)	No. 3
Week 7 (Nov. 12)	No. 4
Final (Nov. 22)	No. 6

 
 
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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.