RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- The women's cross country program at Shawnee State enjoyed another strong performance Saturday, likely sealing its berth at the NAIA National Championship Meet for the first time since 2019 as the Bears put Olivia Cisco and Jessica Elick among its top-five finishers and finished as the River States Conference Runner-Ups as a team at the River States Conference Women's Cross Country Championship Meet, which was held in Rio Grande, Ohio Saturday morning.

Shawnee State, who finished just six points back of RSC meet winner Rio Grande, scored 47 points to finish as the meet runner-up by placing four individuals inside the top-12 overall in the River States Conference finishing order out of the 90 individuals that participated in Saturday's meet.

Cisco and Elick -- as the duo have done all season long -- led the way once again en route to earning First-Team All-RSC honors.

Cisco, who posted a 22:41.85, finished second in the River States Conference rundown for the second season in a row -- capping a regular season and conference meet stretch where the senior finished inside the top-20 individually in every single Shawnee State meet (16th or better) from the start of the season on Aug. 29 to now.

Elick, meanwhile, ran a brilliant race, posting a time underneath 23 minutes in the 6K event for the first time in her career. Her time of 22:49.89 was over 35 seconds faster than her previous personal best of 23:25.8. As a result, Elick joined Cisco as two of the six runners in the race who ran a time underneath 23 minutes in the race itself.

Following the lead duo, Beth Middleton and Payton McQuirt each clicked off significant personal bests of their own en route to Second-Team All-RSC accolades. Middleton, who posted a 23:34.4, ran under 24 minutes in the 6K for the first time in her college career, posting a near 42-second personal best to finish ninth in the race, while McQuirt ran over 38 seconds faster to post a new personal best of her own, running a 23:47.1 in the 6K in her first River States Conference meet as a true freshman.

Juniper Allen, who continues to be a consistent scorer for Shawnee State, grabbed the final spot on the Third-Team All-RSC list and helped SSU put each of its primary scoring runners in the top-five, as Allen ran a 24:27.99 to place 21st overall.

Sydney Reed (25:32.25, 29th), Kirsten Evans (25:47.79, 31st) and Hadlee Cisco (26:07.98, 38th) all finished well inside the top half of the River States Conference field, while Riley Colestock, who finished 44th with a 26:25.65, also finished inside the top-half of the field. Evans and Hadlee Cisco posted PBs that were four and two seconds above their previous best runs, respectively.

"I am very happy for the women and the day that they put together," Shawnee State Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Conner Flynn said. "They were able to defeat a good Indiana-East team ranked ahead of them and make it a close race for the title. Placing 2-3 and then having four athletes in the top 12 is a special day. Jessica Elick, Beth Middleton, and Payton McQuirt all ran the race of their career thus far, and it was great to see it all come together. This is a great group of athletes, and I am proud of the way that they battled today."

Emma Hurst (60th), Whitney Adams (62nd), Allana Pemberton (71st) and Natalie Brammer (74th) rounded out the field for Shawnee State in the event.

The 2025 NAIA Women's and Men's Cross Country Selection Show will take place Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT.