PUEBLO, Colo. – The NCAA Division II South Central Region Men’s Cross Country Championship takes place on Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo, Colorado. Twenty-six teams, including 14 from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, will take the starting line, all aiming to punch their ticket to the 2025 NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championship at the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The RMAC continues to set the standard in Division II cross country, boasting the most teams featured in the national rankings. Six squads appeared in the most recent U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll. Adams State University (No. 2) and Colorado School of Mines (No. 3) will meet at the starting line once more, in what can be considered a rematch of the 2025 RMAC Cross Country Championship, where the Grizzlies pulled away from the Orediggers to capture the conference title with 32 points. 

However, the four additional ranked conference members are not to be counted out either. Colorado Christian University (No. 6) led by returning All-American Matthew Storer, the Week 1 USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week, looks to challenge the reigning top two teams at the 2024 South Central Region Championship. Western Colorado University (No. 8) looks to carry its momentum into regionals after a strong showing at the 2025 RMAC Championship. No. 15 University of Colorado Colorado Springs and No. 24 Fort Lewis College look to play spoiler and shake up the standings this Saturday.

Other nationally ranked teams competing in the NCAA Division II South Central Region Championship include Lone Star Conference member West Texas A&M University (No. 12), fresh off its 13th consecutive conference title. West Texas A&M looks to spoil the RMAC’s dominance to avoid a third straight third-place regional finish. Texas A&M International University’s Ian Rono is the third-best runner in Division II this season and enters this meet after earning the Lone Star Conference’s individual title with a commanding 23:31.5 8k. 

A strong test awaits RMAC squads as they compete to clinch a 2025 NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championship berth. 

The men’s 10k race will follow the women’s 6k at 11:15 AM. The top three finishing teams and the top two runners, or any of the top five finishers, not on one of those three teams earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championship to be held on November 22 at the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 

The 34-team, 24-individual championship field will include automatic qualifiers, along with 10 additional teams and eight individuals from across all regionals selected by the NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Committee. The official selections will be announced Monday afternoon via a press release on NCAA.com.
 
About the RMAC
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, headquartered in Colorado Springs, is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 institutions located in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah. The RMAC currently competes in 22 NCAA Division II sports and has earned 67 national championships and 53 national runners-up since 1992. Founded in 1909, the RMAC is the most historic athletic conference in the western United States and Division II.