The cross-country faithful in the Centennial State will be in the Steel City this weekend as CSU Pueblo hosts the NCAA Division II South Central Regionals at Walking Stick Golf Course, which will qualify teams and individuals for the national championships on November 22 in Kenosha, Wis.

With South Central Regional being one of the deepest in Division II, it features nationally ranked teams from the Rocky Mountain Athletic and Lone Star Conferences.  The women’s 6-kilometer events start at 10 a.m., followed by the 8-kilometer men’s race.

Adams State (2nd nationally and RMAC champions), Colorado Mines (3rd), Colorado Christian (6th), Western Colorado (8th), and West Texas A&M (12th and Lone Star champions) are rated as the top men’s teams for the 8-kilometer (4.97 miles) event.

In the women’s competition, Colorado Mines (1st nationally), UC-Colorado Springs (3rd), West Texas State A&M (4th), Adams State (6th), and Western Colorado (8th) are predicted as the top schools for the 6-kilometer (3.7 miles) race.

Individually, the Centennial State’s top Division II runners are Paul Knight of Mines and  Kidus Begashaw of Adams State in the men’s race, and the Orediggers’ Grace Strongman and  Tristian Spence of Adams State in the women’s event.

In NCAA Division III, Colorado College is prepping for the West Regionals on November 15 in Claremont, Calif., with an intrasquad ‘5K Under The Lights’ on Thursday in Colorado Springs. The Tiger women were second at the regionals last season, and the men placed fifth.

Highlighted by a “perfect” score by its women’s teams, Colorado College swept the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference titles in Texas last weekend, as the Tigers’ Alison Mueller-Hickler and Will Shuflit captured the individual titles.

CC has topped the cross-country podiums for both men and women for five straight years, as the 20th-ranked women’s team won its fifth consecutive crown and the 25th-ranked men’s squad captured its seventh straight title.

Colorado’s men’s team (6th nationally) and women’s squad (17th) are the Centennial State’s top Division I teams, as the schools prepare for the NCAA Mountain Regionals on November 14 in Salt Lake City. Additionally, the Air Force men’s team (28th) is also in the mix.

At the Big XII championships on October 31 in Lawrence, Kan., Dominic Serem was ninth in the men’s race to lead the Buffs to a third-place finish.  The CU women were fifth, with Jessie Secor as the Buffs’ top placer at 22nd.

At the Mountain West Conference finale in Fresno, Calif., Air Force was third in both races with Colorado State fifth in the women’s and sixth in the men’s.

• India Jones and Ella Johnson were sixth and seventh, respectively, for the Air Force women.
• On the men’s side, Jayden Nats and Zach Ayers were 10th and 14th, respectively, for Air Force.
• Kenya Dennee and Tatum Berg crossed the line within a tenth of a second of each other to place 23rd and 24th, respectively, for CSU.
• For the men’s side, Parker Westermann led the Rams with a 40th-place finish.

For Northern Colorado, Regina Mpigachai placed fifth in the Big Sky Conference’s women’s competition, and Logan Gullet was 22nd in the men’s race at Bozeman, Mont., on November 1, earning spots in the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships.

Here are the conference results and NCAA championship schedules.

NCAA Division I

• Big Sky Championships (Northern Colorado, Men 9th, Women 7th) – November 1 at Bozeman, Mont.
• Big XII Championships (Colorado, Men 3rd, Women 5th) – October 31 at Lawrence, Kan.
• Mountain West Championships (Air Force, Men 3rd & Women, 3rd & Colorado State, Men 6th & Women 5th) – October 31 at Fresno, Calif.
• November 14 – Mountain Regional at Salt Lake City
• November 22 – Championships at Columbia, Mo.

NCAA Division II

• October 25 – Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships (Adams State (Men, 1st / Women, 3rd); Colorado Christian (Men, 8th / Women, 10th); Colorado Mines (Men, 2nd / Women, 1st); Colorado Mesa (Men, 11th / Women, 6th); CSU-Pueblo (Men, 7th / Women, 7th); Fort Lewis (Men, 5th / Women, 5th); MSU Denver (Men, 6th / Women, 8th); Regis (Men, 14th / Women, 13th); UC Colorado Springs (Men, 4th / Women, 2nd); and Western Colorado (Men, 3rd / Women, 4th) at Colorado Springs)
• November 8 – South Central Regional at Pueblo
• November 22 – Championships at Kenosha, Wisc.

NCAA Division III

• November 1 – Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships (Colorado College wins both the men’s and women’s titles) at Houston, Texas
• November 15 – West Regional at Claremont, Calif.
• November 22 – Championships at Spartanburg, S.C.