GOLDEN, Colo.—The Adams State University women's cross country team and sophomore
Brianna Robles sat at the top of the podium on Saturday after the 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships at Applewood Golf Course in Golden, Colorado.
On the women's side, Adams State had a pack time of 1:22 as all five scorers finished in the top 13 to capture the team crown with 40 points. No. 4 Colorado School of Mines finished in second place, 31 points back, with a team score of 71, while No. 6 ranked UCCS finished in third with 90 points.
The win for the ASU women was their 32nd RMAC title in school history.
"I had a goal going into this race and it was to win. I knew how much that could help the team title," Robles said. "I stayed focus and once I made my move. I kept telling myself I had to just hold on. Now that we have another conference team title, I'm excited for the future and it feels great to be a part of a team victory."
No. 1 Colorado School of Mines won the men's title with 28 points while No. 3 Adams State finished in second place with 47 points.
Sophomore
Brianna Robles dominated the race late as she crossed the finish line 14 seconds before the second-place finisher, Layla Almasri of UCCS. Robles posted a time of 21:18.4 while Almasri finished in 21:36.4.
"The course was nice and flat with a couple of sharp turns," explained Robles after the race. "It wasn't difficult but towards the end the turns became a bit tiring."
Franziska Althaus finished in sixth place with a time of 22:02.3;
Precious Robinson finished in 22:19.9 to finish in ninth place, while
Nicole Lawrence finished in 11th place with a time of 22:28.9 and
Ava O'Connor rounded out the scorers with a time of 22:40.4 in 13th place.
Fiona Hawkins, who finished in 21st place, posted a time of 22:54.8, and
Morgan Hykes finished in 31st place in 23.21.6
All seven Grizzly runners earned All-RMAC honors, with the five scorers earning First-Team honors and Hawkins and Hykes earning Second Team honors. In addition, Robles earned the RMAC Runner of the Year award.
Ava O'Connor was named the RMAC Freshman of the Year for being the first freshman across the finishline while Head Coach Domon Martin was named the Women's Coach of the Year.
On the men's side, the Grizzlies placed all their scorers in the top 14 as
Isaiah Rodarte paced the Grizzlies with a sixth-place finish in 25:02.3 while
Ahmed Sado finished in seventh in 25:06.5 and Yanas Haile finished in eighth in 25:09.8.
Carson Bix finished in 12th place in 25:23.6 and Mikah Paiz finished in 14th place in 25:26.1 to round out the scorers.
Mitchell Dervin (25:58.3) and
Andrew O'Keefe (26:11.9) rounded out the Grizzly runners in 23rd and 27th places, respectively.
Like the women, all the Grizzlies earned All-RMAC honors with all five scorers being placed on the First Team and Dervin and O'Keefe earning Second Team.
Next up, the Grizzlies will turn around in two weeks to compete in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championships on Nov. 6 in Lubbock, Texas.
That meet will determine if the Grizzlies can qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships in Saint Leo, Florida, on Nov. 20.
