Senior Ethan Jeffries continued his standout season for the Webster University men's cross country squad by finishing 24th out of 275 runners at the NCAA Division III regional championships. By finishing in the top 35, he becomes the first Gorlok ever to earn all-region honors from the cross country coaches association.

Jeffries awaits word whether he will be one of the region's seven individual runners to qualify for the NCAA national meet next Saturday (Nov. 23) in Hanover, Ind.

UPDATE: Six teams were selected from the region for the national meet. After those runners were eliminated from consideration, Jeffries was 10th fastest among runners from non-qualifying teams. But only the top seven individuals qualified for nationals, along with runners from the six selected teams.
 
Webster, which had a shorthanded roster of four runners, rather than the usual six or seven, did not have a team score.
 
Jeffries (Peoria, IL / Delavan) completed the 8,000-meter course with a career best time of 25 minutes and four seconds. This is the third time this season he has broken the school record at that distance, which he set last season.
 
This is the highest finish ever by a Webster runner at the NCAA regional meet, again breaking his own record of 121st place set at last year. Last season, Jeffries was timed in 27:01 at the NCAA regionals, a time that he lowered by almost two minutes in today's race.
 
This season, Jeffries has compiled a win-loss record of 844-69, besting 92.4 percent of runners with whom he has competed. That includes one race where he intentionally stayed back in the pack to pace his teammates.
 
For the national meet, the NCAA championship committee selects anywhere from two to 18 teams from the region. The committee then selects the regional meet's seven fastest individuals from schools that were not chosen for the team competition.
 
Junior Jason Hickson (Hillsboro, MO / Hillsboro) was the No. 2 finisher for Webster in 115th place with a time of 27:01. That is his highest finish and fastest time in three NCAA regional meets. As a freshman, he was 172nd at 28:24.
 
Sophomore Charles Whitehead (Carthage, MO / Carthage) was 178th at 28:02, almost three minutes faster than his time last year in this meet, and almost four minutes faster than his first race this season at this distance.
 
Freshman Cody Newlon (Springfield, MO / Parkview) started but did not finish the race.
 
Come graduation time, the Gorloks will bid farewell to Jeffries, but look forward to the return of every other runner, including junior Greg Fletcher (St. Charles, MO / Francis Howell).