COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University cross country teams have both been picked in the middle of the pack of the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference preseason coaches' polls that were released by conference officials on Wednesday.
The Maverick men were picked seventh out of 15 teams with 115 points while the CMU women were picked eighth with 96 points.
The polls were topped by the defending NCAA Division II National Champion Colorado School of Mines men and Adams State women, who also won their respective RMAC titles in 2022.
The Mines men received 12 first place votes to top the poll with 193 points while Adams State received the other three first place votes to finish second in the poll with 181 points. Colorado Christian (170), Western Colorado (155) and UCCS (146) rounded out the top five of the men's poll while CSU Pueblo was just ahead of the Mavs with 130 points.
In the women's poll, Adams State received 13 first place votes to claim the poll victory with 195 points. Mines received the other two first place votes to finish second with 183 points. UCCS (164), Western Colorado (160) and Colorado Christian (136) were third through fifth, respectively.
Both CMU squads qualified individual runners for last year's NCAA Division II National Championships after fifth (men's) and eighth place (women's) team finishes at the 2022 RMAC Championships.
The Mavericks will open their season on Sept. 16 at the Mountaineer/Cowboy Invite in Gunnison and will run at home for the lone time this season on Sept. 29 when they host the Gig Leadbetter Maverick Stampede, their second meet of the season. The RMAC Championships will be contested on Oct. 21 in Denver.
2023 RMAC Preseason Men's Cross Country Poll
| Institution (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Colorado School of Mines (12) |
193 |
| 2. Adams State (3) |
181 |
| 3. Colorado Christian |
170 |
| 4. Western Colorado |
155 |
| 5. UCCS |
146 |
| 6. CSU Pueblo |
130 |
| 7. Colorado Mesa |
115 |
| 8. Fort Lewis |
93 |
| T9. MSU Denver |
87 |
| T9. Black Hills State |
87 |
| 11. New Mexico Highlands |
66 |
| 12. Chadron State |
56 |
| 13. South Dakota Mines |
46 |
| 14. Westminster |
28 |
| 15. Regis |
22 |
2023 RMAC Preseason Women's Cross Country Poll
| Institution (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Adams State (13) |
195 |
| 2. Colorado School of Mines (2) |
183 |
| 3. UCCS |
164 |
| 4. Western Colorado |
160 |
| 5. Colorado Christian |
136 |
| 6. CSU Pueblo |
132 |
| 7. Fort Lewis |
106 |
| 8. Colorado Mesa |
96 |
| 9. MSU Denver |
89 |
| 10. Westminster |
88 |
| 11. Black Hills State |
80 |
| 12. New Mexico Highlands |
44 |
| 13. Chadron State |
41 |
| 14. South Dakota Mines |
35 |
| 15. Regis |
26 |
