COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— Megan Hodges finished 13^th while Jordan Staniszewski took 28^th as they earned all-conference honors while leading the Colorado Mesa University women's cross country team to their best Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship finish in 11 years on Saturday morning here at Monument Valley Park.
 
The Maverick women, ranked 14^th nationally according to the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's NCAA Division II Coaches Poll, finished sixth with 179 points as the Mavericks put seven runners in the top half of the elite and deep field, the first three of whom set career-best times.
 
The sixth place finish was CMU's best since taking fourth in 2014.  The Mavs also had multiple All-RMAC performers for the first time since 2014.
 
Hodges led the Mavericks for the fourth consecutive time this season, finishing the 6,000-meter course in a career-best 21 minutes, 31.7 seconds and earned First Team All-RMAC accolades as one of the top 14 finishers. 
 
Staniszewski also set a personal-best time of 21:58.0 and claimed the last second team all-conference honor, which go to the 15^th-28^th place runners.  She scored 27 team points as the nation's top-ranked Colorado School of Mines Orediggers had eight runners grab all-conference accolades while winning their first conference title with an impressive score of just 28 points.
 
UCCS, ranked eighth in the national poll, hosted the meet and finished second with 68 points while fourth-ranked Adams State, the defending RMAC and NCAA Division II Championships, finished third with 84. 
 
The Grizzlies had won four straight and 12 of the last 13 RMAC Championships. 
 
No. 7 Western Colorado, the only other previous RMAC Team Champions, finished fourth with 92 while 26th-ranked Fort Lewis rounded out the top five teams with 161 points.
 
CMU finished ahead of 19th-ranked and seventh place CSU Pueblo (186 points) and the other eight unranked teams in the 15-team field.
 
Redshirt sophomore Wehazit Kelati stepped up to be CMU's No. 3 runner and took 49^th overall while scoring 43 team points with a time of 22:44.8, which was also a massive personal best 6K time..
 
Quin Gregg was just ten seconds behind with a 54^th place finish and scored 47 team points while Autumn McQuitty rounded out the Mavs' team score with 49 points and a 57^th place time of 23:00.7.
 
Kate Linstedt, who was 60^th in 23:04.2, and Shirley Weaver, who finished 62^nd in 23:08.6 also finished in the top half of the 125-woman field.
 
Kira MacGill ran for the first time in three seasons and placed 67^th in 23:24.0 while Brooke Miller rounded out the Mavs' contingent with an 84^th place time of 23:56.6.
 
Mines' Grace Strongman won the individual title in 20:06.7 as one of five Orediggers in the top nine.  Adams State's Tristian Spence was second in 20:14.9.
 
The Maverick men finished 11^th as they had four freshman in their top five, including Dominick Muller, who led the team with a 55^th place finish.
 
The Mavericks will continue the season in two weeks (Nov. 8) when they compete in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championships in Pueblo.

Monument Valley Park Open Race | RESULTS
 
Prior to the championship race, an open race was held on the same course.
 
CMU Assistant Coach Greta Van Calcar won the women's division in 21:10.9 while Lauren Hodges, Megan's twin sister, led four Maverick team members with a 21^st place time of 22:40.4.  Caitlyn Boyle finished 45^th in 23:54.0 while Elizabeth Boice was 49^th in 23:57.  Ruthie Richardson rounded out the contingent in 27:03.5 to finish 68^th.