Both the men's and women's cross country teams took to the course today at the UCCS XC Open in the final tune up race before competing in the RMAC Championships in a couple of weeks. Nico Ramirez was the top finisher on the men's side, and Elisa Hernandez finished at the top of the women's side. It was a tough course with tough conditions, but both teams ran well and got good experience running at altitude which is good preparation for the Championships on November 5^th.
 
Women's Highlights:     Elisa Hernandez crossed the finish line first for the women as she finished with a time of 25:10.5. Head coach Jon Poag spoke about her performance afterwards and said, "Elisa demonstrated a lot of strength today. That was a very tough course that took mental strength to get through, she was tough mentally and physically today."
 
Alayna Wallace finished next for the Cougars as she notched an impressive time of 25:25.9. Sarah Hamlin and Benisa Ellis were next on the team as they finished right behind one another as Hamlin had a time of 26:50.0, and Ellis had a time of 26:50.1. Rounding out the top five on the women's team was Anna McLaughlin who finished with a time of 27:50.0.
 
Men's Highlights:     Nico Ramirez was the top finisher on the men's team as he finished with a time of 27:00.4 to finish in 27^th place overall. Head Coach Jon Poag spoke after about Nico's performance and said, "Nico ran a great race today, he showed a lot of patience and poise on a really tough course. "
 
Ethan Wampler was next for the Cougars as he finished just behind Ramirez with a time of 27:06.7. Tate Fletcher and Brendan Oury both also finished with times under 28 minutes as Fletcher had a time of 27:35.0, and Oury had a time of 27:57.1.
 
After the race today, both teams will now set their sights onto the RMAC Championships which will be hosted on November 5^th in Durango, CO. Stay tuned to CCUCougars.com for all of the updates regarding the Championships as the Cougars look to make a great showing.