HOPKINTON, N.H. – The Brandeis University women's cross country team put their top five runners among the top 32 in the race at the NCAA Division III East Regional Championship today, finishing in third place out of 30 teams and making the Judges hopeful of selection to the NCAA Division III Championships, which will be announced tomorrow at 3 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• As they have all season, the Judges were paced by graduate student Shae Regan (Littleton, Mass./Littleton). Regan finished in seventh place overall, covering the six-kilometer course in a personal best 21:41.3.
• Regan was remarkably consistent, running 7:11 over her first two-kilometer split, 7:18 over the second split and 7:10 over the third. She moved up from 23^rd after the first into the top 10 in the second and into seventh in the final circuit of the course.
• Graduate student Kayla DiBenedetto (Andover, Mass./Andover), who rejoined the team later in the season, continued her terrific comeback, finishing as the Judges' second runner in 22^nd place with a time of 22:23.4. She shaved three seconds of her previous career best.
• First-year Mikaela Beeler (Livermore, Calif./Livermore) had another p.r. for the Judges, running 22:30.8 to finish in 28^th place. She lowered her collegiate best by 10 seconds and was the team's third runner for the second time this season. Beeler was consistent, running in 27^th or 28^th place at all three checkpoints.
• Senior Katriona Briggs (Menlo Park, Calif./Menlo-Atherton) had one of her best races of the season, placing in the top four for the second time. She ran 22:34.3, breaking 23 minutes for the second time in her career and lowering her p.r. by 24 seconds.
• Junior Sadie Harrow (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) rounded out the top five, placing 33^rd overall with a time of 22:37.9 to break 23 minutes for the second time this season as well. She lowered her previous best 15 seconds.
• Harrow and Briggs were key in Brandeis moving from sixth to fourth to third in the team standings, as they both improved by seven places from their first split to their third.
• Senior Ella Warkentine (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) and first-year Melissa Keenan (E. Brunswick, N.J./E. Brunswick) were sixth and seventh runners for the Judges, placing 46^th and 63^rd, respectively, with times of 23:05.3 and 23:42.4.
• Each of the Judges' top five runners earned All-East Region honors for finishing in the top 35. Regan also added Division III Association All-New England honors for the Judges.
• Ranked fourth in the region headed into the meet, the Judges finished with 117 points, behind Tufts (51 points) and MIT (61 points), who were ranked second and first, respectively, and ahead of fifth-ranked Suffolk (153 points) and third-ranked Bowdoin (158 points).

UP NEXT

• The Judges will learn if they made the NCAA Championships for the seventh time in program history and first since 2021 tomorrow around 3 p.m. when the NCAA announces the field via press release.