NEW ORLEANS, La. - Four members of the UW-Stevens Point women's cross country team were named USTFCCCA All-Region honorees following the weekend's NCAA regional championships meets.

Full USTFCCCA Release

Ana Breit (Stevens Point, WI/Pacelli), Julia Colling (Maplewood, MN/North), Haley Steig (Osseo, WI/Osseo-Fairchild) and Kelsey Laska (Roscoe, IL/Hononegah) were all among a total of 560 student-athletes who received the distinction by finishing in the top 35 individual finishers at the eight regional sites.Breit, Colling, Steig, and Laska helped lead the Pointers to a fourth-place finish at the D3 Midwest Regional in Rock Island, Ill.

On Sunday, UWSP received an at-large bid into the 2013 NCAA Division III Championship held in Hanover on Saturday. The bid was the first since 2010 for the Pointers program and the 16th in its history.

Breit led UW-Stevens Point at the regional by finishing 11th of 282 runners in 22:13. Colling was 18th in 22:23.

"Julia and Ana have been our top two runners all season," said head coach Megan Woloszyn. "They have been very consistent, which is vital for a successful team. They are great leaders and help drive the team to a successful finish."

Steig and Laska each broke their personal-best times by 20 seconds, finishing four seconds apart in 31st and 34th. Paige Haberkorn (Oconomowoc, WI/Oconomowoc) and Lauren Dilley (Middleton, WI/Middleton) just missed out on all-region status, finishing 38th and 41st, respectively.

"Kelsey has been a great leader this year," Woloszyn said. "Always letting them know what expectations our team has, encouraging them, and pushing them to do their best. When one has an off-day, another picks up the slack and makes up the difference. That is one of the reasons we have such a strong team this year."

The Pointers head to Hanover for the NCAA Championships this weekend at Hanover College.

"We have high expectations and hope to finish in the top half of the 32-team field," Woloszyn said of the national meet.