They didn't have Jodi Jakubek for the second straight race. As a result, they didn't run very well at the Great Lakes Regional. But the Marquette women's cross country runners are going to the NCAA Championships for the sixth straight year.

"We did not have a successful race at regionals, but having a successful season helped us to get an at large bid," said head coach David Uhrich.

Marquette was led by junior Michaela Courtney, who finished 26th at 22:04.

Following her by 11 seconds was fellow junior Heidi Lindeman, who filled the shoes of Jodi Jakubek and stepped up once again for the Golden Eagles finishing at 36th.

"Heidi had a great race, she really helped out the team and stepped up this weekend," said Courtney of Lindeman.

Sophomore Cassie Peller finished 39th at 22:24, and senior Susie Emond was 45th at 22:32. Another senior contributing to the team effort at the regional meet was Tara Hinke, who finished 62nd at 22:54.

"It was a pretty mediocre race for us, but we ran well enough to get to the next level," said Peller. "Susie had a really good race, she was right by me and that helped push me at the end."

The hilly paths at the Indiana University Golf Course may have affected Marquette's final results.

"It was a tough course for us," Lindeman said. "Our team's strength revolves around starting out conservatively and moving up throughout the race. But it was very difficult to do this because of the rolling terrain."

Marquette finished with 208 team points. Michigan won the meet with 52 team points, and was one of five Big Ten teams to finish in the top 10. The Big East was represented by three teams, with Notre Dame finishing second and Cincinnati finishing 23rd.

The NCAA Championships will be next Monday, Nov. 21st in Terre Haute, Ind., where Marquette finished 11th in October at the Pre-National meet. The team awaited the news in Uhrich's office on Sunday night, and the seniors hoped to finish their careers in the NCAA Championship, a meet they had been a part of each of their previous years.

"It was quite an emotional moment, especially with several seniors on the team that have gone to the NCAA every year and didn't want it to end this year," said Uhrich.

Marquette's highest ever finish at the NCAA Championships is 15th, in 2001, and Uhrich believes strongly that the team will challenge that record.

Marquette fell out of the rankings on Monday, and enters the race as a possible cinderella story.