Springfield, Mo ? Freshman Gabe Gonzalez earned All-Region honors and led the Kansas University men’s cross country team to sixth place on Friday at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships.

The KU women placed 13th.

Gonzalez took 24th place with a 10K time of 30:58.76. Senior Donny Wasinger (35th, 31:13.58), sophomore Reid Buchanan (40th, 31:16.43), sophomore James Wilson (44th, 31:28.10) and senior Josh Baden (51st, 31:35.26) combined for KU’s 194 points, just 21 points shy of former conference rival Missouri. Oklahoma State and Oklahoma tied for first place with 45 points apiece.

The sixth place finish was the Jayhawks’ best since 2006 and could earn them an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 17. That announcement will be made at noon today.

Senior Kathleen Thompson (47th place, 21:55.73) led the KU women in the 6K.