NEW ORLEANS, La.  After strong performances this past weekend at the Mountaineer/Cowboy Invite, the Western Colorado women's cross country team is ranked sixth in NCAA Division II according to the U.S Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association. The men's team secures the No. 13 spot in this week's rankings.  

The Mountaineers' women's team secured a first-place team finish last weekend after Allison Beasley, who placed first, led a group of four Mountaineers into the top-10. In addition, the Mountaineer women rank fourth in the South Central region.  

Western Colorado is joined by five other Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference programs including Adams State who claims the No. 1 spot in the national rankings, No. 3 Colorado School of Mines. No. 5 University of Colorado Colorado Springs, No. 7 and No. 9 Colorado Christian.  

On the men's side, the Mountaineers rank 13th nationally and fifth in their region after registering a team score of 18 last weekend. Simon Kelati paced the Mountaineers with a first-place finish and led five Western Colorado runners in the top-six.   

Six other RMAC teams join Western Colorado in the national rankings including No. 1 Colorado School of Mines and No. 2 Adams State. Colorado Christian also cracks the top five at the No. 5 spot, while UCCS checks in at No. 18. New Mexico Highlands and CSU Pueblo are the final two RMAC teams to enter the national rankings at No. 24 and No. 25, respectively.