WACO, Texas – The Nicholls State University women’s cross country team capped off its most successful campaign in school history Saturday by placing 12th out of 24 teams in the 2009 NCAA South Central Regional Cross Country Championship Meet.The Colonels broke into the top 15 of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s regional rankings at the beginning of the season and climbed as high as No. 11.

However, a sixth place finish at the 2009 Southland Conference Championships dropped the Colonels from the top 15, despite the fact it was Nicholls’ best ever finish at the league meet.

Saturday, the Colonels bounced back by totaling 328 points, just 28 away from a top-10 finish. Junior Lauren Jones was the Colonels’ low stick with a 37th place time of 22:35.4 over the 6K course.

Freshman Brea Goodman placed in the top 50 in the first postseason meet of her career. Goodman clocked in at 22:59.4 to place 49th.

Junior Kadi Whisnant (62nd place, 23:09.6), freshman Dakota Goodman (74th place, 23:25.7), junior Jessica McLeod (110th place, 24:42.8) and junior Imma Kosgei (123rd place, 25:14.1) rounded out the field for the Colonels.

“I think the girls bounced back really well today,” cross country coach Matthew Esche said. “They fought hard and got right after it early on. They executed the race plan very well. We ran well as a pack; there was less than a minute separating our one through four runners, which is great in a meet this size. We were right in the mix for the top 10, which makes for a great finish to the year for us.”

The Southland Conference maintained its reputations as one of the most competitive women’s cross country leagues in the country, placing eight teams in the top 20. The Colonels were fifth among Southland schools, finishing just 17 points behind 11th-place Texas-San Antonio and 28 points behind 10th-place McNeese State.

Southern Methodist claimed the top spot with host Baylor taking second place, giving the Mustangs and Bears the region’s two automatic bids to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. later this month.