NEW ORLEANS, La. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's cross country and track & field teams garnered 90 points for a No. 12 finish in the 2024-25 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II Program of the Year final standings that were released on Tuesday afternoon.
The USTFCCCA Program of the Year Award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution's finishes at the NCAA Championships.
In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NCAA Championships. Scoring is based on the team's finish at each NCAA Championship in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points … 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award winner. Ties among schools result in split points for positions taken.
The USTFCCCA Program of the Year award was introduced during the 2008-09 season. The honor was not awarded during the 2019-20 or 2020-21 seasons due to COVID-19.
For the sixth consecutive publication of the USTFCCCA Jerry Baltes Program of the Year Award, the UCCS women's cross country and track & field program earned a top 15 finish as they racked up a total of 90 Program of the Year points. The 2024-25 academic year got started on a high note as the women's cross country team earned an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA DII Cross Country Championships, where All-Americans
Anna Fauske and
Kate Hedlund led the Mountain Lions to a seventh place finish out of 34 teams with a total of 266 points. The women's team continued their momentum into the indoor track & field season as they qualified five student-athletes to compete across three individual entries and one relay entry at the indoor national championship meet. Fauske once again led the way for the Mountain Lions as she picked up First Team All-America accolades in the 3,000m and 5,000m while scoring each of the Mountain Lions' nine points on the women's side to secure a T-21
st place team finish. UCCS wrapped up the 2024-25 campaign in Pueblo, Colo. with four student-athletes competing across five individual entries at the 2025 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships and it was a pair of First Team All-America performances from Fauske (5,000m) and
Savannah Jorgens (Hammer Throw) that lifted the Mountain Lion women's squad to a T-56
th place finish with two team points.
USTFCCCA Program of the Year Historical Finishes (Women)
2017-18 - 7th, 61.5 points
2018-19 - 5th, 37.5 points
2021-22 - T8th, 50.5 points
2022-23 - 14th, 91.5 points
2023-24 – 10th, 72.15 points
2024-25 – 12
th, 90 points
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