By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Adams State University, the defending NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country national champion, is picked to win the 2025 RMAC Women’s Cross Country Championship in a poll of the league’s 15 head coaches released Thursday.
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
2025 Preseason Women's Cross Country
Coaches’ Poll
|
| PL |
Team |
1sts |
2nds |
3rds |
Points |
| 1. |
Adams State |
13 |
1 |
0 |
195 |
| 2. |
Colorado School of Mines |
0 |
9 |
2 |
170 |
| 3. |
CSU Pueblo |
1 |
2 |
7 |
160 |
| 4. |
Western Colorado |
1 |
0 |
3 |
156 |
|
UCCS |
0 |
3 |
1 |
156 |
| 6. |
Fort Lewis |
|
|
|
122 |
| 7. |
Colorado Mesa |
|
|
|
113 |
| 8. |
Colorado Christian |
0 |
0 |
2 |
112 |
| 9. |
MSU Denver |
|
|
|
89 |
| 10. |
Black Hills State |
|
|
|
87 |
| 11. |
South Dakota Mines |
|
|
|
59 |
| 12. |
Chadron State |
|
|
|
55 |
| 13. |
New Mexico Highlands |
|
|
|
45 |
| 14. |
Regis |
|
|
|
40 |
| 15. |
Westminster |
|
|
|
16 |
Notes:
Head coaches were not permitted to vote for their team.
14 points for a 1st-place vote, 13 for 2nd, etc.
196 points maximum in women's cross country |
The Grizzlies received 13 of the possible 14 first-place votes – coaches were not permitted to vote for their team – and finished with 195 of a maximum 196 points. Colorado School of Mines was picked second in the poll with 170 points.
Colorado State University Pueblo nabbed one of the remaining first-place votes and is third in the poll with 160 points. Western Colorado picked up the remaining first-place vote and is tied for fourth place with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs at 156 points.
Fort Lewis College (122 points), Colorado Mesa University (113 points) and Colorado Christian University (112) points are tightly packed at sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively.
Metropolitan State University of Denver (89) and Black Hills State University (87) are picked ninth and tenth, respectively, ahead of South Dakota Mines (59), Chadron State College (55), New Mexico Highlands University (45), Regis University (40), and Westminster (16).
The 2025 Preseason Women’s Cross Country Team is based on returning student-athletes in their order of finish at the 2025 NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country Championship. Fort Lewis’ Hannah Hartwell leads the team after finishing fifth in the national championship last season. Adams State’s Tristian Spence also returns after posting an 11th-place finish at the national championship. Adams State’s Ava O’Connor also returns and seeks to defend her RMAC title. O’Connor, Hartwell, Spence, and Western Colorado’s Lauren Willson were each First Team All-RMAC honorees at last season’s RMAC Championship.
The 2025 cross country season begins the weekend of Sept. 6 with Adams State, Colorado Mesa, and UCCS each hosting meets. The 2025 RMAC Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday, Oct. 25 hosted by UCCS at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs.
The NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships begin with the regionals on Saturday, Nov. 8 and CSU Pueblo hosts the South Central Regional at Pueblo Country Club. The national championship is Saturday, Nov. 22 at the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
2025 Preseason All-RMAC: Women's Cross Country
|
| Player |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Madison Brosig (2, FRotY) |
UCCS |
RSo. |
Greeley, Colo. |
| Imani Fernandez-Gorbea (2) |
Colorado School of Mines |
RSr. |
Boulder, Colo. |
| Hannah Hartwell (1) |
Fort Lewis |
Sr. |
Carlsbad, Calif. |
| Lexi Herr |
Colorado School of Mines |
RSr. |
Huntsville, Ala. |
| Jadyn Herron (2) |
CSU Pueblo |
Sr. |
Queen Creek, Ariz. |
| Megan Hodges |
Colorado Mesa |
RSr. |
Aurora, Colo. |
| Katie Hughes (2) |
Adams State |
Gr. |
Helston, England |
| Emily LaMena |
Colorado School of Mines |
RSo. |
Huntington, N.Y. |
| Ava O'Connor (1, AotY) |
Adams State |
RSr. |
Emo, Ireland |
| Kaya Pillivant (2) |
UCCS |
RJr. |
Cheyenne, Wyo. |
| Camille Renou |
CSU Pueblo |
Sr. |
Chalonnes, France |
| Tristian Spence (1) |
Adams State |
RJr. |
Grand Junction, Colo. |
| Grace Strongman |
Colorado School of Mines |
RSr. |
Prairie Village, Kan. |
| Lauren Willson (1) |
Western Colorado |
Jr. |
Round Rock, Texas |
| Symbols in parentheses are 2024 All-RMAC Recognitions: AotY – was the Athlete of the Year; FRotY – was the Freshman of the Year; 1 -was a First Team All-RMAC selection; 2 - was a Second Team All-RMAC selection. |
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.
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