PUEBLO, Colo.— Megan Hodges turned in an all-region level performance and led the Colorado Mesa University women's cross country team to their best regional championship finish since 2014 on Saturday morning here at Walking Stick Golf Course.
 
Hodges finished 11^th individually in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional field with a 6-kilometer personal-best time of 21 minutes, 12.7 seconds and paced the Mavericks to a seventh place team finish with 209 points, an effort that could prove to be enough for an at-large selection to the Nov. 22 national championships in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
 
If the team is not selected for what would be the second straight year, Hodges has an even better chance of being selected as an individual. 
 
The announcement will be made on NCAA.com on Monday afternoon no later than 3 p.m. MST.
 
National poll No. 6 Adams State, which finished third at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships two weeks ago, had the top two individual finishers and three runners in the top 10 to win regional title with 42 points.  The Grizzlies earned automatic qualification to the NCAA meet alongside No. 3 UCCS (74 points) and RMAC-winning and top-ranked Colorado School of Mines (82 points).
 
The remaining teams will be considered in finishing order for the ten available at-large team spots from around the country.
 
The South Central Region is the deepest is the nation according to the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Poll with eight teams, including the 15^th-ranked Mavericks inside the top 30 of the poll.
 
With their seventh place finish, their best since taking sixth in 2014, the Mavericks will hope that No. 8 ranked Western Colorado, No. 4 West Texas A&M and No. 26 CSU Pueblo, which hosted Saturday's regional, will be selected early in the comparison process, outlined in the meet preview and explained in detail here.
 
The Mavericks were the last of nine qualifying teams from the region last year and racked up 28 out-of-region wins and just three losses at last month's Lewis Crossover Invite.  Two of those losses came to Chico State and Lewis, who earned automatic qualification through their respective regionals on Saturday, which also aids the Mavs' hopes.  Biola, the only other team to beat the Mavs in  Illinois finished fourth at the NCAA West Regional and is likely to gain one of the first at-large spots.
 
Two individuals from non-qualifying teams will also receive automatic qualification spots while eight other individual spots will also be awarded in a similar comparison process.
 
If the Mavericks are not selected as a team, Hodges is currently fifth in the pecking order but would move into the top two if Western Colorado and West Texas A&M are both selected, a very likely scenario considering the Mountaineers and Lady Buffs national rankings coming in to Saturday's regional competitions.
 
Fort Lewis' Hannah Hartwell is guaranteed of an individual selection after taking third in 20:23.7., even if her 23^rd ranked Skyhawk squad is not chose as a team after taking eighth with 273 points.
 
Adams States' Tristian Spence won the individual title in 20:06.2, 8.5 seconds ahead of teammate Ava O'Connor (20:14.7).
 
With her top-25 effort, Hodges will also earn USTFCCCA All-Region honor, which will officially be announced by the coaching organization on Monday as well.
 
Behind Hodges, the rest of the Mavs' scoring five finished within six positions and 12.3 seconds of one another between 47^th and 52^nd place.
 
Jordan Staniszewski led the pack with a 47^th place time of 22:19.9 while Quin Gregg was just two spots behind in 22:26.3.
 
Autumn McQuitty was the next runner to cross, cracking the top-50 in 22:31.1 while Lauren Hodges, Megan's twin sister, rounded out the Mavs' team score with a 52^nd place time of 22:32.2.
 
Wehazit Kelati finished 62^nd as the Mavs' sixth runner in 22:43.6 while freshman Daisy Lalonde faded to a 163^rd place finish in 27:10.6.  Lalonde, who did not run at the RMAC Championships, was in 24^th place as the Mavs' second runner through the 1K and 3K splits.
 
Megan Hodges shaved 19 seconds off her former personal-best 6K time 21:31.7, when she took 13^th at the RMAC Championships.  Her 11^th place individual finish is the best for a CMU woman at a regional since Alexia Chapman finished in the same spot in 2016.
 
Lauren Hodges also lowered her personal-best by four seconds in Saturday's race.
 
Meanwhile, Gregg also shaved more than 20 seconds off her season-best while McQuitty finished 4.4 seconds quicker than she had in any other 6K race this season.
 
The Maverick men also turned in a solid ninth place performance after coming in to the day outside of the USTFCCCA's top ten regional rankings and have an outside chance for at-large selection as seven of the eight teams above them were amongst the top 24 in the USTFCCCA's national poll.. 
 
The Maverick women were sixth in the USTFCCCA's pre-meet regional rankings.