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DENVER — The Fort Lewis College men's cross country team finished sixth at today's NCAA Division II South Central Regionals at Willis Case Golf Course to qualify for the NCAA-II National Championships for just the second time ever — and first since 1995.

"That's pretty sweet," said first-year FLC head coach Mark Dutro. "They've been ready and focused. They knew what they needed to do and just ran well."
 
Senior Kip Mutai ran the 10k course in 32:53, good for 15th place overall, to lead the Skyhawks to their Nov. 17 date with destiny in Joplin, Mo. He earned All-South Central Region honors for his Top 15 finish.

"He just went for it," said Dutro.
 
Garrett Sapakoff (33rd, 152), Christian Gering (36th, 33:58), Jimmy Mohrbacher (43rd, 34:31), Joey Brenner (52nd, 34:47) also scored team points for the Skyhawks. Derek Laue (71st, 35:31) and Alex Kilman (110th, 36:45) also competed.

"Garrett really stepped up," said Dutro of his top freshman, who competed at nearby Littleton High School. "He was definitely running for the home crowd."
 
Adams State claimed the South Central men's team title, finishing with five of the top 10 runners and 26 team points. The Grizzlies were chased by Western State Colorado (second, 58), Colorado Mines (third, 75), UC-Colorado Springs (fourth, 118), Eastern New Mexico (fifth, 174) and Fort Lewis (sixth, 178) as six teams — five from the powerful Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference — earned trips to Missouri.
 
Sixteen other men's teams from the RMAC, Lone Star and Heartland conferences also competed in the men's race.
 
Adams State's Kevin Batt edged Eastern New Mexico's Isaiah Samoei by just one second to claim the men's individual title at 32:09.
 
The Fort Lewis women's squad turned in a strong performance, too, placing ninth out of 24 teams with 288 points.

"It dropped just short of their goal," said Dutro. "We were ranked tenth in the region coming in and improved one place. We beat a couple of RMAC teams. Considering where we started from (this fall), it was incredible for them. The women ran really well. I told them to be proud of what you accomplished this year."
 
Maddie Kruger paced the Skyhawk women with a time of 23:30 in the women's 6k. Other Skyhawks to factor into the team scoring were Alexis Work (36th, 23:44), Katarina Medici (66th, 24:42), Helen Smith (77th, 25:00) and Tara Dillon (79th, 25:01). Kate Judge (97th, 25:37) and Alyssa Carman (98th, 25:38) also competed for FLC.
 
Adams State claimed the women's team title with 28 points, including individual champ Alicia Nelson (21:44). The Grizzlies were trailed by Western State Colorado (second, 49), UC-Colorado Springs (third, 108), Colorado Mines (fourth, 132) and West Texas A&M (fifth, 140). All five of the top women's teams qualified for the NCAA-II National Championships.
 
Today's race marked the final collegiate competition for Smith, the lone Skyhawk women's senior to race in the South Central Regional Championships. During her four-year career, she earned RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll accolades once.