BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Jeff See ran a first-place time of 31:03.16 to lead the Ohio State men's cross country team to a third-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships Saturday.

With the win, the Scarlet and Gray clinched an automatic berth in the NCAA championships Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind., their first trip to the national championships since 2007.

See's victory was the first for a Buckeye runner at the 10k regional championship since 2005, when current Ohio State assistant Brian Olinger won the event in a time of 30:51. See used a 5:01 pace to edge a pair of Wisconsin runners for the title.

"Jeff obviously led the way for us today and is finishing up his cross country career at OSU in a fantastic way," head coach Robert Gary said after the race. "He has been strong for us all year and just seems to be getting better as the season goes on."

Taylor Williams enjoyed a successful second trip to the regional finals. The sophomore from Cincinnati took 13th in 31:25.94, a 12-spot improvement from 2008, when he led Ohio State to an eighth-place team finish. Fellow sophomore Adam Green was next up for the Buckeyes, finishing 28th in 31:53.70.

A freshman and senior locked up the Buckeyes' third-place finish - Julian Meyer placed 44th in 32:19.57, while Christopher Olinger took 58th with a time of 32:38.73. Rounding out the Ohio State contingent were freshmen Cory Leslie (79th, 33:03.99) and Donny Roys (149, 34:42.73).

"We got a great run from Taylor at No. 2 and Julian rebounded well to place in our top four," Gary said. "Adam ran strong as well. Overall, we had a good day."

No. 10 Wisconsin won its eighth-consecutive regional championship with a dominating team performance, placing five runners within the top 25. The Badgers 62 points easily outdistanced second-place Michigan State at 128 - Ohio State's 144 points were just enough to hold off fourth-place Indiana State (151). Rounding out the Top 5 was No. 26 Butler with 160 points.