ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women's cross country team finished in second place out of 38 teams at the 2011 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional at Saukie Golf Course today to automatically qualify for nationals, which will take place next weekend in Oshkosh.

Washington University (Mo.) won the event with 24 points while the Blugolds, who won regionals each of the previous three seasons, came in second with 115. The University of Chicago came in third place with 146. The top two teams automatically qualify for nationals.

UW-Oshkosh's Christy Cazzola won the 6,000-meter race with a time of 21:31.1. She led a field of 264 runners.

Leading the Blugolds was Ashlyn Mauer (Jr.-Sheboygan Falls, Wis.), who finished in 13^th place with a time of 22:29.2.

Madi Sawyer (So.-Champlin, Minn./Park) came in next in 17^th place with a time of 22:35.3 while Steph Sjostrom (Jr.-Champlin, Minn./Park) was next to cross the line for Eau Claire with a time of 22:42.8 in 22^nd place.

Rounding out the top five for Eau Claire were Alyssa Sybilrud (Sr.-Savage, Minn./Burnsville) and Lucy Ramquist (Fr.-River Falls, Wis.), who came in 31^st and 32^nd place, respectively.

The Blugolds now turn their attention to nationals, where they have finished in eighth place or better each of the last four seasons. They took fourth last year while winning the national title the year before.

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