Terre Haute, Ind. - The Toledo women's cross country team took ninth place at the NCAA Regional meet in Terre Haute, Ind. on Friday.

Wisconsin's Alicia Monson won the individual title (20:13.4) while Michigan won the team title with 46 points.

Junior Athena Welsh paced the Rockets, stopping the clock at 20:55.2 to take 17th overall. Welsh's top-20 finish helped secure the team's ninth-place finish with 297 points. Head coach Linh Nguyen said Welsh's finish should be good enough to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships.

"She's gotten better and better each year and this season's been awesome for her," said Nguyen. "Getting to to the NCAA Championships has been a big goal of hers, and while we don't officially know yet we're pretty sure she will qualify. It's just nice to see her hard work pay off." 

Next to cross the finish for the Midnight Blue & Gold was sophomore Michelle Hostettler (21:54.1, 59th place), with senior Jennifer Lichter taking 68th (22:01.9) and junior Stephanie Sherman taking 72nd (22:07.0). Freshman Claire Steigerwald finished with a time of 22:11.7 to take 80th place,  while seniors Olivia Chinn and Petronela Simiuc finished 98th (22:25.3) and 123rd (22:47.5), respectively. 

"We really had nothing to lose coming in this meet so we were just trying to be aggressive and set an aggressive mindset," said Nguyen. "For the women, they're pretty young, so our goal was to just get their bodies and minds used to going out aggressively in these types of races and trying to run toward the front of them." 

Welsh will have to wait on the final results and calculations from other NCAA Regional before she finds out if she will qualify for the NCAA Championship meet  in Madison, Wisc. on Nov. 17. 

Women's Cross Country
NCAA Regional Meet
Team Standings
1. Michigan - 46 points
2. Wisconsin - 82 points
3. Michigan State - 89 points
4. Notre Dame - 100 points
5. Indiana - 137 points
6. Eastern Michigan - 231 points
7. Ohio State - 265 points
8. Purdue - 280 points
9. Toledo - 297 points
10. Butler - 316 points
11. Miami - 351 points
12. Dayton - 396 points
13. Xavier - 412 points
14. Western Michigan - 450 points
15. Bowling Green - 461 points
16. Central Michigan - 467 points
17. Akron - 485 points
18. Wright State - 486 points
19. Indiana State - 516 points
20. Wisconsin Milwaukee - 517 points
21. IUPUI - 528 points
22. Oakland - 578 points
23. Marquette - 637 points
24. Ohio - 652 points
25. Cincinnati - 687 points
26. Purdue Fort Wayne - 728 points
27. Youngstown State - 758 points
28. Cleveland State - 802 points
29. Detroit Mercy - 838 points
30. Evansville - 886 points
31. Valparaiso - 942 points
32. Wisconsin Green Bay - 1017 points

Top 5 Individuals 
1. Alicia Monson - Wisconsin - 20:13.4
2. Anna Rohrer - Notre Dame - 20:20.1
3. Anne Forsyth - Michigan - 20:32.5
4. Avery Evenson - Michigan - 20:36.1
5. Annie Fuller - Michigan State - 20:41.1

Toledo Individuals
17. Athena Welsh - 20:55.2
59. Michelle Hostettler - 21:54.1
68. Jennifer Lichter - 22:01.9
72. Stephanie Sherman - 22:07.0
80. Claire Steigerwald - 22:11.7
98. Olivia Chinn - 22:25.3
123. Petronela Simiuc - 22:47.5