DENVER – After racing through brutal conditions, the Metropolitan State University of Denver women's cross country team emerged from the ice and wind, and expects to soon be basking in the glow of being invited to compete in the NCAA Division II National Championships.
 
The Roadrunners raced to fifth place at the South Central Regional on Saturday at Washington Park, and they figure that will be enough for them to earn one of 10 at-large berths into the 34-team national field. Confirmation of MSU Denver's first team trip to nationals since 2014 comes Monday.
 
"Once we finally see that, I'll be a little bit more at ease," MSU Denver coach Trent Mack said.

"But I think it will establish a foundation of who we want to be as a team. And in this region and in this (Rocky Mountain Athletic) conference, if you're not going to be a team that's trying to get to the national meet, you're going to have a tough time competing in the conference. That's where we're going to need to be if we want to feel like we're having success."
 
Led by Sabrina Rautter's (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) ninth-place finish, MSU Denver registered 184 points, 13 better than sixth-place Black Hills State. If the Roadrunners somehow don't qualify as a team, Rautter would advance to nationals individually.
 
Rautter covered the 6-kilometer course in a personal-record 21 minutes, 59.76 seconds.
 
"Coach was saying we were in fourth place (through four kilometers) and every spot counted," Rautter said. "I was passing as many as I could. And then the feeling of making it as a team, I was trying to smile (after the race) but my face was so cold that I couldn't.
 
"We're not done yet. We're moving on."
 
The top three teams from each of eight regions around the country earn automatic invitations to the national meet in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Dec. 1. Beyond those 24 teams, 10 more teams qualify based on a complicated formula involving regional finishes and season-long results. After the 34 teams are decided upon, the top two individuals in each region from non-qualifying teams earn automatic bids, and then 10 others from around the country are awarded individual at-large berths.
 
Defending national champion Adams State won the women's team race Saturday with 30 points, just ahead of Western State Colorado's 31. Colorado School of Mines was third with 105, while the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs finished strong over the final 2K and place fourth with 154. Alijca Konieczek of Western State was the women's individual winner in 21:25.4.
 
Rautter moved up at the end of the women's race, passing two runners just before the finish line.
 
"I was really nervous, but really excited for this race," she said. "I really wanted to help my team get that fifth spot. And I went out and put it all out there. That feeling of being out there in front with all those strong runners … 
 
"My body got frozen towards the end of the race and I really couldn't go faster. But there was a blue jersey who passed me and I knew that was a spot that I couldn't let go. So I switched a gear and I passed her and an Adams girl at the end. That was an amazing feeling."
 
The Roadrunners' women were strong behind Rautter, with Erica Ruiz (Rohnert Park, Calif./Rancho Cotate) finishing 29^thin a PR of 22:42.4, Alden Gruidel (Louisville, Colo./Monarch) 35^thin a PR of 22:56.6, Mali Smith (Tucson, Ariz./Pusch Ridge Christian Academy) 53^rdin 23:37.9 and Vanessa Kort (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield) 58^thin a PR of 23:44.1.
 
"When you race second you have an advantage," Mack said. "And watching the guys race, I told the women they had to put themselves in the race early. Because with these conditions, windy and cold, you can't move up as well in the second half. When you ask yourself to move up, it's hard.
 
"And they put themselves in the race early. Sabrina was leading the race multiple times. Alden was aggressive and confident and running with that second front pack. I wasn't concerned with Erica, because she tends to move up well in the second half. Then Mali, Brit (Brittney Kocman (Denver, Colo./Legacy)) and Makenna (Kemp) all put themselves in the front half of the race and you need to be ahead of that front half. I could talk about every one of them, and the great job they did.
 
"I was really yelling at them and a freshman like Vanessa who is a quiet girl who goes about her work and does her business, she had three or four girls ahead of her, and I yelled at her to take a shot at them and she closed down on them. Mali had a pack of five or six girls in front of her and she split them up. Those points, ultimately, are the difference."
 
The MSU Denver women made a 10-spot improvement from 15^that last year's regional.
 
"I'm happy with five," Mack said. "On a good day, we're seventh. On a great day, we're fifth or sixth. So to get fifth, I feel like we ran about as well as we can run."