Lauren Saylor punches her ticket to Edinburgh

University of Washington freshman Lauren Saylor (left, /photo by Paul Merca) finished sixth in this afternoon's USA Junior Cross Country Championships at San Diego's Mission Beach Park to earn the sixth and final position on Team USA.

Competing on a six-kilometer course, Saylor ran 21:36 in a pack with Notre Dame's Marissa Treece, and Duke's Emily Schwitzer, as they garnered the last three spots for the IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Treece was fourth in 21:33, with Schwitzer fifth in 21:34.

After the race, Saylor, a former California prep standout at Buchanan HS in Clovis, said, "I went out exactly the way I talked about with my coaches. On the first lap, I tried to put myself in a good position with the leaders. On the second lap, I wanted to make sure that I was in contact with the leaders, and on the last loop, just go for it. The last part of the course was a little more difficult than I thought, but it’s still a deceiving course".

"I'm glad to be making the trip to Scotland for world championships!"

Fellow Huskies Kenna Patrick finished 15th in 22:20, and Dayna Anderson, who competed in this meet last year, finished 25th in 22:44.

Jordan Hasay, the defending champion and high school phenom, successfully retained the title, running 20:32 to defeat Stanford's Alex Gits (20:45). Georgia prep standout Emily Reese finished third in 21:26.

To see my photo gallery from the USA Cross Country Championships, click here...