CLINTON, Miss. - Berry's Anna Rose and Anna Ayers have unofficially earned berths to the NCAA Division III National Championships in Indiana due to their stunning performances at the NCAA South Region Championship on Saturday morning in Clinton, Mississippi.

Rose and Ayers placed 10th and 11th, respectively, leading the Berry women's cross country team to fourth, one of the highest regional finishes since entering the DIII era of the program. Initially ranked sixth in the southern region, Berry's top placement defied expectations given their regional ranking. The Vikings totaled a team score of 122, falling behind Washington and Lee, Emory, and Lynchburg who are all ranked in the top 20 teams in the country.

If Emory and Lynchburg receive at-large berths to nationals on Sunday morning, Both Annas will represent Berry at the national level.

Rose's race was nothing short of incredible. The senior, determined to keep her final cross country season alive, posted her career- best time of 22:16.30. The most critical moment in the California native's career came at the 3K mark when she had a decision to make. Sitting in 18th place, the Viking was out of national contention, but she could choose to be complacent or wear the Berry B one more time next weekend. In the last half of the race, Rose's strides grew longer, stronger, and faster. She climbed the leaderboard by eight places, securing her individual bid to nationals and All-Region recognition.

Ayers, in 11th, followed Rose's pace, clocking in less than four tenths of a second after Rose. With a time of 22:16.66, the junior has secured her opportunity to represent Berry College at Nationals and compete for a chance to achieve an All-American medal to add to her stack of accolades sitting on her trophy shelf from three remarkable years as a Viking. Until then, Ayers is traveling back to Mount Berry with an All-Region medal.

Aiding in Berry's fourth place finish was Ellis who placed in 22nd with a career-best time of 22:47.85. The junior was the quintessence of consistency throughout the race, sitting at 24th until the final lap of the race when her presence was too much for the Lynchburg and Shenandoah foes to handle. The 24th place finish earned Ellis All-Region team recognition.

Olivia Lambert touched the finishing mat in 35th place with a personal best time of 23:37.09. Only a sophomore, the Viking will look to earn a national qualifying placement. In 35th, Lambert just made the cutoff as Berry's fourth All-Region runner this season.

In the last cross country race of Sophia Denney's career, the senior ran a personal best of 24:01.70 for a 48th individual finish.

Ayers and Rose will wait for Sunday morning to determine their placement as they hope to travel to Terra Haute, Ind. for the NCAA DIII National Championship on November 24th. The gun will go off at 11:00 a.m. EST.