ORLANDO, Fla. – Colorado State University Pueblo finished 16th in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings for the 2022-23 school year, marking the ThunderWolves' highest-ever finish in the ranking of athletic department performance at the NCAA Division II level.
CSU Pueblo scored a program-best 550.25 total points to finish in the Top 20 in the final standings for the first time in school history. The previous best finish in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings came in 2021-22 when the Pack finished 24th with a then program-best 478.80 points.
"We have worked hard to elevate our position in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings and I'm proud of our school-high 16th place finish in 2022-23," said CSU Pueblo Vice President for Athletics and Strategic Partnerships
Dr. Paul Plinske. "Back in 2018, we set out to get in the Top 25 of the LEARFIELD standings and now we have moved to heights never seen before. It was a fantastic fall sports season and several of our spring sports did not disappoint. I'm very grateful for the support of our university and the Pueblo community. We've made big improvements, but we aren't done yet. Our next goal is top 10!"
During the recently completed spring sports season, the Pack totaled 207.75 points after totaling 213.50 points during the fall and 129.00 points during the winter. After the winter standings were released, CSU Pueblo was 12th after being eighth at the conclusion of the fall season.
In the spring, the Pack scored in four sports as the men's outdoor track & field team scored 63.5 points thanks to its 13th place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, while the women's track & field team scored 56 points thanks to its 18th place finish at the NCAA Championships. The Pack also scored in both women's and men's golf as both teams qualified for NCAA Regional competition, while the men had an individual, senior Liam Duncan advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships. On the women's side, the Pack scored 44 points after finishing eighth at the NCAA West Regionals, while the men's team scored 46 points after tying for seventh at the NCAA West/South Central Super Regional.
In this year's final LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings, 238 NCAA Division II schools scored points based on their qualifications and performances in NCAA postseason competition. During the 2022-23 school year, the Pack recorded a national runner-up finish in men's soccer and the women's cross country team recorded a program-best sixth place finish at the NCAA Championships. In addition to the golf teams and men's soccer, the football and women's volleyball teams also qualified for NCAA postseason play, while the men's and women's indoor track & field teams recorded 10th and 12th place finishes at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Along with the national runner-up finish in men's soccer, CSU Pueblo also had four student-athletes record national runner-up finishes in track and field as sophomore Helen Braybrook (Frieston, United Kingdom/Oakham School) was the national runner-up in both the indoor and outdoor women's 800-meter run, while sophomore Katherine Higgins (Mead, Colo./Ponderosa) was both the indoor and outdoor national runner-up in the women's shot. On the men's side, senior Nate Miller (Colorado Springs, Colo./Widefield) was the national runner-up in the men's outdoor shot put and sophomore Reece Sharman-Newell (Hampshire, England) was the national runner-up in the men's outdoor 800-meter run.
CSU Pueblo was the second highest-finishing team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and one of five league schools to finish in the Top 30 of the final 2022-23 standings. Colorado School of Mines was the highest finishing team in the RMAC as they finished third overall with a program-best total of 855 total points. The Orediggers won the national title in men's cross country and was the national runner-up in football. In addition to Mines and CSU Pueblo, the other RMAC schools in the Top 30 were Adams State in 19th (523.50), Colorado Mesa was 27th (466 points) and Western Colorado was 30th (435.50).
Grand Valley State finished the 2022-23 school year in first place in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings as the Lakers scored 936.75 total points in 17 total sports as they were national runners-up in women's cross country and softball and had third-place finishes in men's indoor track and field and women's lacrosse. It was the 15th time that Grand Valley has finished as the top school in the Division II standings.
West Texas A&M finished second with 904.75 points as they won the national title in women's volleyball and was the national runner-up in men's outdoor track & field. Behind Mines in fourth was the University of Indianapolis, who tallied 839.25 points as they captured a national title in men's swimming & diving and were the national runners-up in women's swimming and diving, while Wingate recorded a program-best fifth-place finish with 794.25 points after recording a national runner-up finish in men's cross country.
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 national finish in up to 14 sports in NCAA Division II championships.
