CLEVELAND, Ohio – Colorado State University Pueblo Athletics closes the winter sports season sitting at No. 12 in the final Learfield Directors' Cup winter standings as announced Thursday morning by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

The ThunderWolves scored a total of 129 points in the winter sports season and has now totaled 342.50 points on the 2022-23 school year after scoring 213.50 points during the fall sports season. The No. 12 ranking is the highest-ever ranking for the CSU Pueblo athletics program following the winter sports season.

CSU Pueblo scored in just two sports during the winter season as the men's indoor track team scored the Pack 65.25 points thanks to its 10th place finish at the 2023 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships, while the women's indoor track team scored 63.75 points after their 12th place at the NCAA D-II Indoor Championships.

At the 2023 Indoor Track and Field Championships, all six of the Pack student-athletes that qualified earned All-America status as the men's team scored in all four of the events they had qualifiers in, while the women's team scored in both of the events that had qualifiers in.

The Pack recorded two national runner-up finishes at this year's Indoor Track and Field Championships as sophomore Helen Braybrook (Frieston, United Kingdom/Oakham School) took home the silver medal in the 800 meters and sophomore Katherine Higgins (Mead, Colo./Ponderosa) took home a silver medal in the shot put.

In the fall season, the Pack had four teams advance to NCAA Championship play as the men's soccer team earned 90 points for their national runner-up finish, while the women's cross country team scored 73.5 points after its sixth place finish at the 2022 NCAA Fall Festival. The volleyball team and football teams each qualified for NCAA postseason play in their respective sports as the football team finished 17th overall and the volleyball team ended the season 33rd overall.

Colorado School of Mines is the top team in the Division II standings after the winter sports season as the Orediggers amassed 315.25 points in the winter to push its total to 763.25. Johns Hopkins (D-III – 500.50 total points) and Indiana Wesleyan (NAIA – 689.50 total points) sit in first in their respective divisions. The Division I standings will be released on April 6 following completion of the basketball championships this weekend, while updated standings for Division I, II and III will be released on April 20.

In Division II, Wingate remains in second place with 676.25 points, while Grand Valley State is third with 661.50 points. West Texas A&M is fourth with 547 points and Minnesota State is fifth with 457.50 points.

Along with Mines and CSU Pueblo, three others Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools are ranked in the Top 25 after the winter sports season as Adams State, who claimed the women's indoor track and field national championship and was national runner-up in men's indoor track and field, is at No. 9 with 365 points, while Western Colorado, who was fourth in wrestling, is at No. 18 with 310 points and Colorado Mesa is 19th with 306.50 points after a fourth and fifth place finish respectively in women's and men's swimming and diving.

The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships.

Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the spring season. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's website at www.directorscup.org. In addition, please visit www.thedirectorscup.com and follow us on Twitter @ldirectorscup.