While many of the other Brandeis sports teams have recently been making a name for themselves, the No. 22 women's cross-country team has quietly become one of the best Division III programs in the country this year.

After a fifth-place finish at the New England Division III Regional Championships, held at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham, the team qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships to be held next week at Hanover College in Indiana.

Led by Amelia Lundkvist '14, who covered the six-kilometer course in 21 minutes, 28.85 seconds and was one of three Brandeis runners named All-New England, the team scored 168 points. Williams College won the meet, earning 44 points.

"It feels like a great accomplishment," added Victoria Sanford '14, who earned All-New England honors by virtue of her top-35 finish. "This is a goal that we've had in mind since we got to Brandeis, so it was really exciting to finally achieve it. We worked extremely hard this summer and this season so far, so it's nice to see all our hard work pay off."

Lundkvist echoed her teammate's excitement about the news.

"It feels amazing, better than amazing, it's hard to put into words," she said. "It still feels surreal. I am so proud of this team."

Additionally, the men's squad tied for 17th place with Westfield State University, scoring 480 points.

Though Lundkvist has been the team's leading runner for the entire season, she has certainly had some fast teammates to complement her individual efforts.

Maddie Dolins '17, the University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year, covered the course in 21 minutes, 53.20 seconds, resulting in a 20th place finish and All-New England honors.

Sanford placed right behind Dolins, who also earned All-New England designation with her 31st place finish, running in 22:11.10. Kelsey Whitaker '16 finished just outside the top 35, placing 38th in 22:19.68. Brandeis' top four runners each individually recorded less than six minutes per mile for their average pace-an impressive feat.

Ashley Picarillo '17 was the team's final scorer, running 22:56.19, which resulted in a 73rd place finish.

Additionally, Kate Farrell '17 placed in 129th with a time of 24:11.39 while Maggie Hensel '16 rounded out the field with a 132nd place finish, crossing the line at 24:13.61.

While the men's squad didn't qualify for the national championships, the Judges still had a number of impressive performances.

Jarret Harrigan '16 was the top finisher for the Judges, crossing the line 50th overall. Harrigan completed the eight-kilometer course in 25:54.55, a 22 place improvement from his performance at the same meet last year.

Quinton Hoey '17 capped his impressive first-year campaign, taking 76th in 26:20.71. Grady Ward '16 was not far behind, taking 85th in 26:27.85. Michael Rosenbach '16 barely cracked the 27-minute barrier, placing 111th in 26:58.00.

Matt Doran '17 completed the scoring for the Judges, running the course in 27:47.39 for 161st place.

Given that the majority of the season's training has already been done, the women are looking to simply fine tune their fitness.

"For this next week we're all really just working on making sure we're as fresh and well rested as we can be," explained Sanford. "At this point, all the training is already done, we just need to fine tune it to be at our best for this weekend."

The Division III Championships begin on Saturday at 11 a.m.