FORT COLLINS -- The University of Colorado cross country teams stepped up their game Saturday.
The CU men placed first and the women were fourth in the Mountain Region Championship at the Collindale Golf Course.
Led by junior transfer Jordan Kyle's sixth-place finish, the men's squad automatically advanced to NCAA nationals. The women's team must wait for today's at-large bids to be announced to know if it made the cut.
Nationals are scheduled for Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, Ind.
With the men already guaranteed a spot, Colorado will send a team to nationals for the 17th time in a row.
Another streak that stays intact is the Buffs' regional dominance. This is the sixth straight year the men have won the championship.
Kyle, who has been setting the pace for the Buffs since transferring from Indiana, said the goal was to "gradually work through the pack."The men did just that and were still hanging together in the top 30 after the first kilometer and only moving up to the top 25 at about the 6K mark of the 10K race.
"We wanted to expend the least amount of energy in the first half of the race," Kyle said of the team's strategy. "It felt easy ... I coasted in."
Kyle finished in 29 minutes, 52.8 seconds. Northern Arizona's David McNeill won the race in 29:18.3.
Coming in eighth, just three-tenths of a second behind seventh-place Stephen Shay of BYU, was CU sophomore Richard Medina.
"I feel pretty good," he said. "I've been getting in shape throughout the season."
The extra effort showed, as Medina crushed his old 10K personal record of 30:44.47 with a 29:57.7 run.
"He gets better every race," coach Mark Wetmore said. "He's coming around."
On the women's side, ninth-ranked Texas Tech won with star runners Sally Kipyego and Lillian Badaru leading the pack the entire race. Kipyego finished in 19:31.9 and Badaru crossed the line in 20:12.3.
No. 21 New Mexico came in second and Northern Arizona was third.
Members of the CU women's team, which came into regionals unranked in the national polls for the first time since 1995, knew they would have to put forth their best effort of the season to hold on to the hope of a place at nationals.
"We wanted to show that we could beat everybody's expectations," said Laura Thweatt, who paced the Buffs with a 14th-place finish in the 6K race in 20:59.7.
Thweatt helped the women edge No. 26 BYU 133 to 152, exceeding all expectations but their own.
"Honestly, the best hope is the team behind them, BYU, has accumulated enough points ... to push them through," Wetmore said of the women's chances of advancing to nationals. "If it was anyone else in fifth, we might not advance."
No matter the outcome, junior Emily Hanenburg was able to put the season in perspective.
"I gave everything I had," she said. "It's just such a blessing to be on this team."
Seven Buffs earned all-region honors: Kyle, Hanenburg, Medina, Thweatt, senior Chris Pannone, junior Kenyon Neuman and senior Seth DeMoor.
NCAA Mountain
Region Championship
At Colandale Golf Course
Fort Collins
MEN'S 10K
Team scores -- 1. Colorado 42, 2. Northern Arizona 65, 3. Brigham Young 70, 4. New Mexico 93, 5. Air Force 173, 6. Wyoming 182, 7. Colorado State 211, 8. Weber State 226, 9. Southern Utah 229, 10. Utah State 278, 11. Montana 295, 12. Montana State 313, 13. Texas Tech 356, 14. New Mexico State 424, 15. Idaho State 451.
Top 5 individuals -- 1. David McNeill, Northern Arizona, 29:18; 2. Kyle Perry, Brigham Young, 29:29; 3. Mark Korir, Wyoming, 29:33; 4. Japheth Ng'ojoy, UTEP, 29:35; 5. Patrick Mutai, UTEP, 29:47
CU individuals -- 6. Jordan Kyle 29:52, 8. Richard Medina 29:57, 9. Chris Pannone 29:58, 13. Kenyon Neuman 30:04, 18. Seth DeMoor 30:11, 26. Matthew Tebo 30:25, 34. Christian Thompson 30:42.
WOMEN'S 6K
Team scores -- 1. Texas Tech 42, 2. New Mexico 70, 3. Northern Arizona 92, 4. Colorado 133, 5. Brigham Young 152, 6. Utah 188, 7. Colorado State 212, 8. Utah State 218, 9. Wyoming 234, 10. Nevada 264, 11. Weber State 269, 12. UTEP 340, 13. Air Force 347, 14. Southern Utah 374, 15. Montana 408, 16. New Mexico State 426, 17. Idaho State 439, 18. Montana State 448.
Top 5 individuals -- 1. Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech, 19:31; 2. Lillian Badaru, Texas Tech, 20:12; 3. Veronica Pohl, Northern Arizona, 20:25; 4. Angela Wagner, Brigham Young, 20:43; 5. Michelle Corrigan, New Mexico, 20:44.
CU individuals -- 14. Laura Thweatt 20:59, 22. Emily Hanenburg 21:12, 30. Emma Coburn 21:25, 31. Kaylen Slack 21:25, 36. Morgan Ekemo 21:33, 58. Katie Cumming 21:57, 74. Allison Sawyer 22:18.
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