PITTSBURGH – Sabrina Rautter (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) finished strong. Not just in the women's 6K championship race at the 2018 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on Saturday, but in her career as an MSU Denver harrier.

Battling cold, wet and extremely muddy conditions on a very difficult course, the senior placed 14^th in the national field of 266 runners with a time of 23 minutes, 3.5 seconds, leading the Roadrunners to a 22^nd-place team finish in the field of 34 teams. The individual and team finishes counted as the best for MSU Denver in the women's race at the national meet since 2013, when Breanna Hemming placed seventh overall as the Roadrunners took eighth as a team. Rautter is MSU Denver's first All-American on the women's side since Hemming.

"It was the conditions, the terrain of the course, the hills – all that put together made probably one of the most difficult races I've seen these cross country athletes take on in my years," MSU Denver head coach Trent Mack said following Saturday's race at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh. "I told these ladies (before the race) that we have to look at what we did as a team. We got there together and let's finish together. I thought they did exactly that.

"If you're going to be successful and continue to improve as a program overall you have to be consistent as well," Mack added. "I was happy with how they went out and showed that they can keep doing the same thing that got them there."

In 2017, the idea of being an NCAA Division II All-American in cross country was just about foreign to Rautter. She placed 57^th at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships, leading the team as the Roadrunners took 15^th place out of 27 teams in the talent-loaded field.

But 2018 has been much, much different. Rautter has added a new gear to her repertoire, one that has taken her to new heights. Under Mack's guidance, Rautter finished in the top 15 at all six of her 2018 races coming into the national meet, including a ninth-place effort in brutal conditions when the Roadrunners hosted the 2018 NCAA South Central Regional.

If you're keeping score at home, you can change that six to a seven.

"(Rautter) ran one heck of a race," Mack said. "She put herself in the mix early and battled the whole way. She's been racing like that all year, so it was cool to see her go out at the national meet and get an All-American honor. There was a giant hill on the final stretch and she was feeling it. She kept her composure and got her legs back under her."

Rautter knew a breakout season was within reach for herself and the rest of the team, and believing in Mack's training was a big reason why.

"Everything has clicked and come together," she said Saturday. "The team has come together. The coaches' training has come together. You look good, you feel good and you do good. That's what I've been saying all year. Just go out there and have fun with it. Know the training that we've been doing. Believe in the training and that we're ready and can go out there and crush it."

The training and hard work was obviously the most important piece of the Roadrunners' success, but Saturday's brutal weather may have actually contributed, too.

The race was cold and icy, to say the least, two weekends ago when Rautter earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors for her ninth-place finish and led MSU Denver to a 10-place improvement over its 2017 regional standing. The experience in those conditions proved not only helpful but necessary for Saturday's race at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh as the Roadrunners completed their incredible one-year transformation from the 15^th-best team in the region to the 22^nd-best team in the nation.

"We've changed tremendously these past two years," Rautter said. "Last year during this time we said 'we're going to nationals next year,' and here we are. It's a dream come true. All the training and the hard work these last few years, and it's happened."

Senior Erica Ruiz (Rohnert Park, Calif./Rancho Cotate) was MSU Denver's second finisher on Saturday, taking 87^th place overall with a time of 24:19.4. Sophomore Alden Gruidel (Louisville, Colo./Monarch) was the third to cross the finish line in Red & Blue, clocking in at 25:09.7 for 158^th place. Senior Mali Smith (Tucson, Ariz./Pusch Ridge Christian Academy) was next in 191^st, checking in at 25:35.8. Freshman Vanessa Kort (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield) rounded out MSU Denver's top five, taking 228^th place overall at 26:18.3 in the 6-kilometer race.

Individual champion Sarah Berger helped Grand Valley State (Mich.) to the team title, finishing in 22:07.7. Adams State's Eilish Flanagan was the runner-up, while Emily Roberts from the University of Mary (N.D.) took third individually to help her squad to a second-place team finish. Western State Colorado's Alicja Konieczek finished fourth and GVSU's Allie Ludge was fifth.

In the team standings, Adams State (third), Western State Colorado (fourth) and Colorado School of Mines rounded out the top five, giving the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference three of the top five women's teams in the nation.

Though the 2018 cross country season is over for MSU Denver, track & field is right around the corner. Follow @MSUDenverXCTF and @MSUDenverSports on Twitter to keep up with the Roadrunners entering the indoor track & field season.