NEW ORLEANS— After qualifying for the NCAA Division II National Championships for the first time since 2014 last year, the Colorado Mesa University women's cross country team was tabbed 20^th in the preseason edition of the NCAA Division II National Coaches' Poll as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday.

The Mavericks received 84 points in the polling of eight member coaches after taking 23^rd at last year's national championships in Sacramento, California.

The No. 20 ranking is the program's highest since debuting in the No. 11 spot of the 2015 poll, largely thanks to their 22^nd place finish at the 2014 national meet.

The Mavs are one of seven Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and eight South Central Regional teams in the top 20 spots of the 30-team poll and were also ranked eighth in the USTFCCCA's Preseason Regional Rankings, which were released by the coaching organization on Tuesday.

The Maverick men were ranked tenth in the regional rankings.

Travis Floeck, entering his second year as the Mavs' Director of Cross Country/Track & Field, returns five of the seven runners from last year's national meet team, including Megan Hodges, who finished 85^th overall as the Mavs' No. 2 runner.

The redshirt senior from Aurora, Colorado was also named to the Preseason All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Team and has also been tabbed 34^th in the FloTrack Preseason Rankings, which were also released on Wednesday.

Five RMAC teams are in the top 10 of the USTFCCCA women's poll, a list highlighted by No. 1 Adams State, which received all eight possible first place votes after winning the national title last year.  The Colorado School of Mines is ranked fourth ahead of No. 6 CSU Pueblo, No. 7 UCCS and No. 10 Western Colorado, who the Mavs will run against on Friday night in their season-opening meet, the Gig Leadbetter Maverick Stampede.

That meet will begin at 6 p.m. with the men's 6K race at Lincoln Park Golf Course.  The women's 4K race will then get underway at 6:45 p.m.

Western Colorado's men are ranked fifth in the USTFCCCA poll.

The University of Colorado, ranked 13^th (men's) and 24^th (women's) in the USTFCCCA Division I polls is also slated to compete in Friday's small, but loaded meet.

A full preview of that meet will be posted on www.cmumavericks.com on Thursday.