For a team making its first appearance in the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship for the first time since 1997, 19th place in the nation sounds pretty sweet.

The Bates women’s cross country team is going to the NCAA Division III Championships for the third time in program history, and the first since 1997, as announced on Sunday by the NCAA Selection Committee.

The No. 25 nationally ranked Bates women’s cross country team may have punched its ticket for its first team appearance at the NCAA Division III Championships since 1997, thanks to the Bobcats’ fourth-place finish out of 51 teams at Saturday’s NCAA New England Regionals at Westfield State.

First-year Isabelle Unger led the way for the No. 24 nationally ranked Bates women’s cross country team, as the team’s second string earned eighth place among 41 teams at the ECAC Division III Championships on Saturday at Mt. Greylock High school.