PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's and women's cross country teams will compete for a national championship this Saturday as they compete at the 2023 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships held in Joplin, Mo., at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.

Saturday's national championship races will begin with the women's 6K race at 10 a.m. CST (9 a.m. Mountain), followed by the men's 10K race at 11:15 a.m. CST (10:15 a.m. Mountain). It will mark the fifth time that Missouri Southern has hosted the Division II Cross Country National Championships with the most recent being in 2015. The Lions also hosted the championship meet in 1999, 2007 and 2012.

Both the men's and women's national championship races will feature 34 teams as the top three, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regional championships on Nov. 4, for a total of 24 teams. In addition, 10 more teams from each gender were selected as at-large teams, of which, the CSU Pueblo men and women's teams were selected. A minimum of 24 additional individuals were selected to participate in the national championships through an automatic qualifier and an at-large selection process.

The Pack men will be one of eight schools (Adams State, UCCS, Colorado Christian, Fort Lewis, New Mexico Highlands, Mines and Western Colorado) from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference competing for a team national title, while the league also had a total of three individuals qualify as Black Hills State has one and MSU Denver has two individuals competing. Meanwhile, the Pack women will be one of seven schools (Adams State, UCCS, Colorado Christian, Fort Lewis, Mines and Western Colorado from the RMAC competing for a team national title, while the league also had a total of two individuals qualify from Colorado Mesa and Black Hills State.

Entering Saturday's NCAA National Championship meet, both of CSU Pueblo's cross country teams are ranked nationally in the latest USTFCCCA Division II rankings as the Pack women are ranked 12th and the Pack men are ranked 29th.

The RMAC continues to dominate the national rankings heading into national championships as six of the Top 15 teams on the women's side hail from the league with Adams State being the highest ranked team at No. 2, while Mines is No. 3, Western Colorado is No. 4, UCCS is No. 9 and Colorado Christian is No. 15. On the men's side, four of the Top 10 teams and six teams overall are ranked as Mines is No. 1, Adams State is No. 4, Western Colorado is No. 7 and Colorado Christian is No. 10 and UCCS is No. 23.

At the South Central Regional Championships nearly two weeks ago in Lubbock, Texas, the Pack women finished sixth out of 26 schools as they scored 115 points, while the Pack men took home an eighth place finish out of 25 schools with 163 points.

On the women's side at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships, junior Helen Braybrook (Frieston, United Kingdom/Oakham School) was the top finisher for the Pack as she recorded a 6K time of 20:57.94 to finish in 12th place and earn All-Region honors for the second consecutive season. In addition to Braybrook, sophomore Jadyn Herron (Queen Creek, Ariz./Casteel) was the next highest finisher as she placed 34th with a time of 21:45.93, while senior Margot Thomas-Gatel (Chapet, Ile-de-France, France/Notre Dame Les Oiseaux) placed 38th overall with a time of 21:54.17 and freshman Sophie Kretschmer (Aschersleben, Germany) was 39th with a time of 21:56.92.

The other finishers for the Pack at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships were junior Sarah Renberg (Fresno, Calif./Edison) as she was 43rd with a time of 22:04.53, while freshman Crystal Armijo (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo East) was 53rd with a time of 22:17.69 and sophomore Elodie Hebert (Sherbrooke, Quebec/Cegep de Sherbrooke) was 63rd with a time of 22:45.42.

Meanwhile, on the men's side at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships, junior Reece Sharman-Newell (Hampshire, England) placed 18th overall to earn repeat All-Region honors as he recorded a 10K time of 30:40.10. In addition to Sharman-Newell, junior Kaleb Beloy (Anchorage, Alaska/South Anchorage) was the next Pack runner to cross the finish line as he posted a 45th place finish with a time of 31:36.58, while graduate student Matisse Virey (Meyzieu, France/Lycee Charlie Chaplin) placed 51st with a time of 31:52.33 and junior Daniel Beam (Rio Rancho, N.M./Rio Rancho) was 54th with a time of 31:54.69.

The other finishers for the Pack men at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships were senior Richie Roberds (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mesa Ridge), who was 70th with a 10K time of 32.25.33, while junior Kaleb Tipton (Lawton, Okla./Eisenhower) was 74th with a time of 32:34.59 and sophomore Joseph Harker (Rehoboth, N.M./Rehoboth Christian) was 88th with a time of 32:50.39.

At last year's NCAA National Championships, the Pack women, who are making its third straight appearance in the national championships, recorded a program-best sixth place finish as they tallied 240 points at the meet held as part of the NCAA Division II festival in Seattle, Wash. At the National Championships, Braybrook recorded a 23rd place finish with a 6K time of 21:09.0 and Yasmine Hernandez was 27th with a 6K time of 21:10.09. With their finishes, Braybrook and Hernandez earned All-American status in women's cross country.

The Pack men last qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships in 2018 and recorded a top finish of seventh at the 2017 championships.

At the NCAA Cross Country National Championships, the USTFCCCA will give All-American honors to runners that inside the Top 40.