MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Williams held off Middlebury by four points to win its seventh consecutive NESCAC Women’s Cross Country Championship at Middlebury College. Middlebury senior Audrey MacLean won her third straight individual title. It was the 23rd team title for Williams, which has won every championship since 2021 (the 2020 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic).
The Ephs beat the Panthers 36-40, avenging a loss to Middlebury at the Connecticut College Invitational earlier this season. Williams put five runners in the top 11, placing 3-5-8-9-11, and its scoring five finished within 22 seconds of one another. The four-point margin was the closest for an outright winner in the championship since Williams also beat Middlebury by four in 1996.
Tufts was third with 94 points, led by sophomore Zui Chinchalkar, who was 10th. Bates took fourth with 131 points for its best finish since placing third in 2022 and Connecticut College scored 156 points to round out the top five teams.
MacLean won in 20:54.4 seconds, 19.7 seconds ahead of teammate and sophomore Annelise Jensen. MacLean is the 14th Panther to win an individual title and is the fourth woman to win three NESCAC titles after also claiming the title in 2024 and 2025. Caroline Cretti of Williams was the most recen three-time winner (2002, 2004, 2005) and MacLean is the first runner to win three straight women’s titles (2024, 2025, 2026) since former Middlebury standout Dorcas Denhartog took three in a row from 1984 to 1986.
Up next for the NESCAC teams is the NCAA Regional races on November 14. The NCAA Division III National Championship will be held Saturday, November 21 in Northfield, Minnesota and hosted by Carleton College.
TEAM RESULTS
| Pl. |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
Williams |
36 |
| 2 |
Middlebury |
40 |
| 3 |
Tufts |
94 |
| 4 |
Bates |
131 |
| 5 |
Connecticut College |
156 |
| 6 |
Wesleyan |
164 |
| 7 |
Colby |
180 |
| 8 |
Bowdoin |
194 |
| 9 |
Amherst |
220 |
| 10 |
Trinity |
281 |
| 11 |
Hamilton |
316 |
TOP 14 INDIVIDUALS (ALL-NESCAC - 1-7 First Team | 8-14 Second Team)
| Pl. |
Name, School |
Yr. |
Time |
| 1 |
Audrey MacLean, Middlebury |
SR |
20:54.4 |
| 2 |
Annelise Jensen, Middlebury |
SO |
21:14.1 |
| 3 |
Kate Tuttle, Williams |
JR |
21:19.5 |
| 4 |
Claire Palmer, Middlebury |
SO |
21:21.1 |
| 5 |
Tamar Byl, Williams |
SR |
21:23.6 |
| 6 |
April Schilling, Connecticut College |
SR |
21:29.7 |
| 7 |
Kiera Tallas, Connecticut College |
SR |
21:30.2 |
| 8 |
Jordan Liss-Riordan, Williams |
SR |
21:34.6 |
| 9 |
Morgan Eigel, Williams |
SR |
21:39.9 |
| 10 |
Zui Chinchalkar, Tufts |
SO |
21:40.7 |
| 11 |
Sophie Capozzi, Williams |
FR |
21:41.5 |
| 12 |
Charlotte Crum, Bates |
FR |
21:50.4 |
| 13 |
Annecy Vlieks, Middlebury |
FR |
21:50.8 |
| 14 |
Katya Henisz, Tufts |
SR |
21:51.9 |
