LUBBOCK, Texas – And now we wait.
 
The MSU Denver men finished 10^th and the women placed 11^th Saturday at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Cross Country Championships.
 
While both would be long shots to earn a team qualification for the NCAA Championships, there is perhaps an outside chance that the men will be called.
 
Individually, Noel Lopez is in decent position to qualify for the men's national field, but he too will have to wait until Monday afternoon to find out. Longer shots for individual invitations are JJ Ramey for the men and Mia Salas for the women.
 
"This was a step in the right direction for us," said Amanda Rego, MSU Denver's associate head coach. "Both teams improved several places from last year (both finished 13^th), and we essentially finished about where we were predicted."

MSU Denver's men are ranked 10^th in the best region in Division II, and the Roadrunners finished in that place with a total of 350 points.
 
The top three teams from each of eight regionals around the country earn automatic trips to the National Championships, with a total of 10 other teams, regardless of region, earning at-large berths.
 
The South Central figures to take at least five of those at-large bids and perhaps another one (ninth-place New Mexico Highlands) or two (MSU Denver).
 
As long as eighth-place CSU Pueblo qualifies as a team, then Lopez will qualify automatically as one of the top two individuals not on a qualifying team after his 22^nd-place finish. He would also potentially be in line for an at-large berth even if CSU-Pueblo and Highlands aren't included in the field, but runners from CSU Pueblo and Highlands would take the automatic individual places.
 
Lopez ran a 10,000-meter cross country school-record time of 30 minutes, 46.96 seconds, surpassing the 30:48 run by Kirk Harvey on Nov. 9, 2013.
 
"I'm really proud of the way he ran," Rego said. "He got out smart and moved up really well through the field. He kept passing more and more guys and looked strong. I still don't think it was a perfect race for him, and he's a little disappointed because he wants more. But that's what I love about our team. They're always hungry for more."
 
Ramey was 30^th in 30:56.61. If nine teams qualify, he would be the third individual option from the region, but it seems more likely that he will be one position short of qualifying for a second consecutive year. He was 19^th at last year's regional.
 
"Noel and JJ gave everything that they had," Rego said. "You could see it in their faces. They knew they had a chance to qualify, and they put it all out there. Unfortunately it may be déjà vu from last year for JJ. But he's not a senior, and as much as it's a disappointment, I know he'll respond and use this momentum (for the indoor track & field season)."
 
Brenden Sands finished 89^th in 32:51.15, Ty Schauer was 103^rd in 33:14.32, and Jonathan Duran was 106^th in 33:18.75.
 
For the women, who had a total of 318 points, Mia Salas led the way, running 6K in 21:32.68 for 27^th place.
 
"The same teams that were ahead of us at the RMAC Championships were ahead of us today," Rego said. "I would've liked to have gotten a couple of them. We're capable of finishing higher, but we're celebrating the small steps we've made and recognize that we're gaining momentum. We have a lot of returners back next year to help us keep climbing."
 
If the region sends seven women's teams to nationals, then Salas would be the fifth potential qualifier. If eight teams qualify she would be fourth. And if nine teams qualify, she would rank third.
 
"Mia continued to lead us and ran strong," Rego said. "We'll have to wait and see what happens with the other teams."
 
Abi Read was 49^th in 22:14.77, Caitlin Cornell was 66^th in 22:53.92, Taylor Engram was 87^th in 23:28.41, and Marisssa Bruno finished 91^st in 23:36.92.
 
"Caitlin had one of the best races she's run in an MSU Denver singlet," Rego said. "She ran very gutsy and was engaged the whole race. She had that look in her eye that she wanted go out with a bang."