NEWPORT NEWS, VA. — The UT Tyler women’s cross country team finished in 16th-place at the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Regional on Saturday.

Junior Carly Kitts became the first Patriots’ female runner in program history to qualify for the NCAA National Championship meet.

Kitts has been stellar all season, and proved her worth in the tough race against top regional perfomers. Kitts ran the course in 22 minutes 49.21 seconds to finish in 10th-place overall.

Sophomore Britanny Brunson finished in 81st-place overall with a time of 24:59.36 while teammate Paige Maly was 104th with a time of 25:41.69.

Missy Hebert (25:59.23) and Holly Nohavitza (26:12.92) were 118th and 124th, respectively.

Kitts will head to Hanover, Ind., to race in the 2013 NCAA Division III Championship meet on Saturday, Nov. 23.

Men

The UT Tyler men’s cross country team finished out its season with a fifth-place finish in the NCAA South/Southeast Regional on Saturday morning.

Sophomore Matthew Markert led the way for the men, finishing in 21st-place overall.

Markert ran the course in 25 minutes and 58.50 seconds, finishing six seconds ahead of Nick Huff who ran 26:04.24 to place 26th-place overall.

Sophomore Conner Benson placed 32nd with a time of 26:15.92, while senior Derek Blain finished the course in 26:52.76.

Ford Noack closed out his UT Tyler cross country career by finishing in 61st place with a time of 26:58.64.

The fifth-place regional finish was the highest since 2008, when the Patriots finished third.