AURORA, Ill. (Nov. 12, 2022) – The 22^nd-ranked Loras College women's cross country team may have punched its ticket to the NCAA Division III National Championship meet on Saturday morning as another race win for Kassie Parker led the Duhawks to a fourth place finish at the Midwest Region Championships.

Parker, who is the defending Division III National Champion, paced the field with a 21:41.0 time on Saturday morning to set a new course record at the Northwestern Medicine Cross Country Course and finish close to 37 seconds ahead of the runner-up in Wartburg College's Aubrie Fisher. The victory for Parker sends her on to defend her title at next weekend's national championship race in Lansing, Mich.

Loras finished fourth to three programs who are ranked highly by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in No. 2 (tied) Wartburg, No. 1 University of Chicago, and No. 6 Washington University (Mo.).

Senior Brianna Renner had a strong performance of her own to help Parker in the team scoring as she placed 21^st with a time of 22:46.5. Renner was followed closely by the twins in Kaylee Osterberger and Ellie Osterberger. Kaylee ran a 23:06.9 while Ellie finished the race in 23:09.6 as the duo finished 28^th and 29^th, respectively.

Each of those top four finishers for Loras earned All-Region honors by way of placing inside the top 30.

Senior Marianne Gleason rounded out the top five scorers for Loras as she placed 39^th overall with a 23:28.2 final time. Senior Alexis Reisberg (50^th – 23:52.5) and sophomore Frankie Chaidez (53^rd – 23:54.8) were close behind and each finished in the top quarter of the field of 204 runners.

The Duhawks now must wait for tomorrow's official selection to see if they have earned at at-large bid to the NCAA Division III National Championship meet for the first time in 25 years. The selections are set to be released on NCAA.com at 2 P.M. central time on Sunday, Nov. 13.