It was a celebratory time full of hugs, tears and simply put, good vibes for the Shawnee State women's cross country program.

That was for good reason -- as the Bears, after nearly five full years of being away from the NAIA National Championship scene as a team, officially made it back to what will be the 46th Annual NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship Meet in a selection show that was held by national officials Tuesday evening.

Shawnee State, who finished the regular season and conference meet portion of the schedule in the receiving votes category, claimed 44 points as a team. The Bears were the third-to-last team to make it into the field, but used another terrific day from Olivia Cisco and career-best runs from Jessica Elick, Beth Middleton and Payton McQuirt to fight their way up the ladder from the eight points it received in the previous poll to the 44 it claimed in Tuesday's release.

By doing that, the Bears leapfrogged Indiana-East and Morningside (Iowa) as well as fellow NAIA national at-large bid recipients Governor's State (Ill.) and Missouri Baptist, and by just 24 points, edged both schools out for a bid into the national meet, which will commence Friday, Nov. 21 at 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. CT at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.

Shawnee State's list of cross country team members are as follows:

• Whitney Adams, Fr., Wheelersburg, Ohio
• Juniper Allen, Jr., Minford, Ohio -- Third-Team All-RSC
• Natalie Brammer, Sr., Wheelersburg, Ohio
• Hadlee Cisco, Fr., Waverly, Ohio
• Olivia Cisco, Sr., Waverly, Ohio -- RSC Runner-Up two seasons in a row, First-Team All-RSC three seasons in a row (at SSU), 2024 NAIA XC National Qualifier
• Riley Colestock, Soph., London, Ohio
• Maddison Dietrich, Fr., Minford, Ohio
• Jessica Elick, Jr., Frankfort, Ohio -- First-Team All-RSC
• Kirsten Evans, Sr., Jackson, Ohio
• Emma Hurst, Fr., Manchester, Ohio
• Payton McQuirt, Fr., Chillicothe, Ohio
• Beth Middleton, Sr., Olive Hill, Ky. -- Second-Team All-RSC
• Allana Pemberton, Fr., Ironton, Ohio
• Sydney Reed, Sr., Huntington, W. Va.
• Amanda Salmons, Jr., Wheelersburg, Ohio
• Allison Taylor, Fr., Thornville, Ohio
• Maggie Taylor, Fr., Thornville, Ohio

For more information on the Shawnee State women's cross country program, follow the Bears on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/shawnee_state_xctf/.