STILLWATER, Okla. -- Senior Kellyn Johnson raced her way to a berth in the NCAA Championships with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Stillwater, Okla., on Saturday.

Johnson led the Shocker women to an 11th place finish as a team, while Scott Reed paced the Shocker men, who finished 17th overall.

Johnson, a senior, placed fifth for the Shocker women, covering the six-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 50.80 seconds. The fifth-place finish was Johnson's best career finish at the Midwest Regional. She will make her first career appearance at the national meet.

"Kellyn ran a very smart and strong race today," Johnson said. "She looked in control the whole way and finished a strong fifth.  It is important to get through the regional with as little effort as possible so you can let it loose at the NCAA meet."

She was followed by teammates Kimber Lemon in 46th (21:17.85) and Irene Kosgei in 70th (22:45.00). Rachel York placed 90th with a time of 22:56.50 and Hali Mobley placed 102nd (23:12.30) to round out the top five for the Shocker women.

"We had some really nice individual performances today but we were not able to put together a great team race," Burns said. "Kimber Lemon closed out her cross country career here at WSU with her best ever finish at the regional meet in 49th and I was impressed with the strong racing from Rachel York and Hali Mobley.  This team will need to find new leaders next year as we will lose our two captains from this years squad in Kellyn and Kimber.  They have done a great job leading this team throughout the year.  We are fortunate because we have some really talented Shockers returning next year so we are excited about working hard throughout the track season and next summer to be ready for another great year next fall."

Reed, a senior, was the top finisher for the men, placing 29th. Reed covered the 10-kilometer course in 32:10.20. Freshmen Trace Kendrick and Scott Ufford gave the Shockers reason to look forward to next season finishing in the next two spots for the Shockers. Kendrick placed 78th (33:17.50), while Ufford came in 114th with a time of 34:23.75.

"It was a thrill to see Scott Reed cap off his cross country career with a 30th place finish today," Burns said. "He has shown the younger guys on our team what it takes to improve and be a great racer at this level.  He does all the little things correctly and I hope our guys have taken notes this year so they can follow in his footsteps."

Senior Bryce Forward placed 121st (34:42.05) and sophomore Jake Stecklein was 125th (34:50.00) to round out the top five for the WSU men.

Johnson will be the lone competitor at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 24.

--Wichita State--