The women’s cross-country team qualified for the NCAA championship with a strong first place performance this weekend at Lake Breeze Golf Course near Winneconne, Wis. Saturday. Out of 264 runners, five runners placed among the top 25 for a total of 66 points, 15 less than runner-up University of Wisconsin—La Crosse. Meanwhile, the Washington University men’s team finished in fourth, racking up 138 points.

Leading the charge for the women were juniors Aly Wayne and Alison Lindsay, who placed second and third, respectively. Wayne finished the race in 21:44, just over five seconds off from the personal record she set in the regional championships last year. She missed out on first place by less then two seconds to junior Khia Kurtenbach from the University of Chicago.

“The race started off slow with a strong kick at the end. For me, who is able to go at a faster pace for a longer period of time, it was not the best type of race for me,” Wayne said. “For the last kilometer, I was trying to hold [Kurtenbach] off while being smart. In the last 50 meters, she passed me.”

In the end, however, it was still the Bears who finished on top. The women’s team placed solidly ahead of No. 7 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, despite the fact that junior Anna Maurer, who owns the fifth best career 6K time on the team, was forced out of the race when a runner from another school ran into her, spraining her ankle.

Head coach Jeff Stiles pointed to another runner who stepped up to help lift the team.

“Annie Marggraff really stepped up,” Stiles said. “She probably had the best race of her life.”

The senior placed 24th in the meet, becoming the fifth runner who contributed to the Bears’ first-place finish.

Junior David O’Gara led the men’s team with a 10th-place 25:14 finish, while four other runners placed among the top 35. The performance was enough to earn the men an at-large bid to the national championships.

Last year, the men’s team placed 16th in the national championship. The women’s team finished just outside of the top 3 at fifth. Despite a significant number of seniors who graduated from last years’ squads, both teams look primed to improve their standings from last year with a strong regional showing.

“Both team’s goal is to get a shot at top 4,” Stiles said. “In our region, we have the first, fourth and fifth ranked teams in the nation. We definitely have our eyes on the podium.”

Next weekend, the team will travel to Louisville, Ky. for the national championship.