ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – No. 10 Northern Arizona men's cross country punched their ticket to another NCAA National Championship today with their runner-up finish at the Mountain Regional in Albuquerque, N.M. hosted by the University of New Mexico.

Futsum Zienasellassie led the way for the Lumberjacks, jumping out to an early lead before settling into the pack for the middle of the race. He pulled back out over the final stretch and finished second overall to UTEP's Anthony Rotich with a 10K time of 29:48.62.

Matt McElroy also has another All-Mountain Region honor to add to his resume, finishing fifth overall with a 10K time of 29:56.00.

Caleb Hoover was a pace-setter throughout the race, sticking in the lead pack throughout the middle of the 10K. He finished 14th overall - good for an all-region honor – with a time of 30:05.52. Also finishing with All-Mountain Region honors was Tyler Byrne in 17th with 30:14.59. Alejandro Montano was the fifth 'Jack in with a top 30 finish and time of 30:42.62.

As a team, the men earned an automatic bid to the NCAA National Championships next Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind. with their second-place finish and score of 68. Returning National Champion No. 1 Colorado put five in the top 13 to win the regional title with a score of 45.

"The goal of regionals is to qualify," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "I thought the race played perfectly for us. It wasn't too fast, and we were able to find a good rhythm. The guys are primed and focused for go for another podium finish."

On the women's side, Melanie Townsend earned a trip to Terre Haute with her eighth-place finish and 6K time of 21:21.62. As a team, the women continue to show improvement from previous years with a fourth-place finish and score of 149.

Kayla Freeman finished right outside of all-region honors with a 26th-place finish and 6K time of 21:57.41. Lauren Justus was 35th with a time of 22:12.40, Kylee Kieser was 39th with 22:16.45 and Heather LePlante was 41st with 22:19.62. The women's team continues to show their depth by finishing their entire roster in the top 75 of 130 competitors and the entire team finished within one minute of each other.

"Across the board, the women have improved a lot this season," said Assistant Cross Country Coach Leah Rosenfeld. "Last year, they were second in the conference and sixth in the region. This year they won conference and were fourth here. We also went from 22nd last year to 11th this year at Pre-Nationals. I'm really proud of them. They came into this season with right mindset. They have a great positive energy and the ability to foster healthy competition in training and races. They have either met or exceeded all the goals we set for this season. We come away from today happy but not content. This is a great motivator to come out next year and make it to what we like to call the "big dance."

The NCAA National Championships are hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. next Saturday, Sept. 22.