LA CROSSE, Wis. - NESCAC track & field athletes combined for 20 podium appearances at 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The highlight of three days of competition came on the final day in the women's 800-meter race. Williams' Annika Paluska captured the NCAA Division III national title in dominant fashion. The sophomore claimed victory in a school-record time of 2:06.87, securing her first individual national championship and earning First Team All-America honors.
Paluska is the first NESCAC athlete to win the NCAA title in the 800 meters in conference history. Her win also marks the third NCAA women's individual title in 2025-26, the 40th all-time outdoor track & field crown in the conference, and the 331st individual title in league history.
Other podium appearances included:
Women: 15 top-8 performances across 5 schools:
- Williams — 5 (Paluska 1st/800m, Tuttle 3rd/1500m, Swann 6th/10,000m, Fitzgerald 6th/pole vault, Peng 6th/steeplechase)
- Colby — 4 (4x400 3rd, Waheed 4th/100m, Waheed 4th/200m, 4x100 6th)
- Tufts — 3 (Cumberland 2nd/long jump, Chechile 4th/400mH, Cumberland 4th/triple jump)
- Connecticut — 2 (Estes 4th/800m, McDonough 8th/1500m)
- Hamilton — 1 (Schwartz 8th/javelin)
Men: 5 top-8 performances across 4 schools:
- Amherst — 2 (Abbey 6th/triple jump, 4x100 8th)
- Colby — 1 (Biery 3rd/400mH)
- Tufts — 1 (Hampson 5th/1500m)
- Middlebury — 1 (Caspar 7th/400mH)
All-America Distinctions
Individuals: 1st through 8th are First Team, 9th through 16th are Second Team
Relays: 1st through 8th are First Team, 9th through 12th are Second Team
Women's Results (Finals Qualifiers Only)
| Event |
Name |
School |
Place |
Time / Mark |
| 100 Meter Dash |
Simone Waheed |
Colby College |
4 |
11.74 |
| 200 Meter Dash |
Simone Waheed |
Colby College |
4 |
23.94 |
| 200 Meter Dash |
Blessing Kieh |
Connecticut College |
9 |
24.45 |
| 800 Meter Run |
Annika Paluska |
Williams College |
1 |
2:06.87 |
| 800 Meter Run |
Alexa Estes |
Connecticut College |
4 |
2:08.57 |
| 1500 Meter Run |
Kate Tuttle |
Williams College |
3 |
4:19.77 |
| 1500 Meter Run |
Grace McDonough |
Connecticut College |
8 |
4:22.26 |
| 5000 Meter Run |
Morgan Eigel |
Williams College |
9 |
16:43.81 |
| 5000 Meter Run |
Claire Palmer |
Middlebury College |
11 |
16:47.88 |
| 5000 Meter Run |
Kate Tuttle |
Williams College |
14 |
16:53.76 |
| 5000 Meter Run |
Grace McDonough |
Connecticut College |
17 |
17:02.46 |
| 5000 Meter Run |
Jordan Liss-Riordan |
Williams College |
18 |
17:10.66 |
| 10000 Meter Run |
Kate Swann |
Williams College |
6 |
34:48.20 |
| 10000 Meter Run |
Tamar Byl |
Williams College |
17 |
35:39.06 |
| 400 Meter Hurdles |
Arielle Chechile |
Tufts University |
4 |
59.37 |
| 3000 Meter Steeplechase |
Charlene Peng |
Williams College |
6 |
10:29.25 |
| 4x100 Meter Relay |
Colby (Zeller / Brake-Hoffman / Ewald / Waheed) |
Colby College |
6 |
46.46 |
| 4x100 Meter Relay |
Tufts (Stanton / Moriarty / Chechile / Cumberland) |
Tufts University |
11 |
47.07 |
| 4x400 Meter Relay |
Colby (Hermsdorf / Brake-Hoffman / Doherty / Ewald) |
Colby College |
3 |
3:44.27 |
| 4x400 Meter Relay |
Williams (Donaldson / Sukup / Jensen / King-Harvey) |
Williams College |
DQ |
DQ |
| High Jump |
Lily Haskins-Vaughan |
Middlebury College |
17 |
1.59m |
| Pole Vault |
Ellie Fitzgerald |
Williams College |
6 |
3.95m |
| Pole Vault |
Emma Gall |
Tufts University |
11 |
3.85m |
| Long Jump |
Elysse Cumberland |
Tufts University |
2 |
6.21m |
| Long Jump |
Heloise Hughes |
Amherst College |
14 |
5.61m |
| Long Jump |
Kennedy Kirkland |
Bowdoin College |
15 |
5.60m |
| Long Jump |
Eliza Ayres |
Williams College |
16 |
5.56m |
| Triple Jump |
Elysse Cumberland |
Tufts University |
4 |
12.33m |
| Triple Jump |
Alisandra Lindos |
Bates College |
15 |
11.60m |
| Discus Throw |
Lillian Wurtz |
Middlebury College |
13 |
43.08m |
| Javelin Throw |
Dana Schwartz |
Hamilton College |
8 |
43.06m |
| Javelin Throw |
Mardy Novak |
Bowdoin College |
9 |
42.49m |
| Javelin Throw |
Jackie Wells |
Tufts University |
15 |
40.95m |
| Heptathlon |
Lauren Zipoli |
Tufts University |
16 |
4655 pts |
Men's Results (Finals Qualifiers Only)
| Event |
Name |
School |
Place |
Time / Mark |
| 800 Meter Run |
Zachary Liu-Walter |
Williams College |
9 |
1:50.12 |
| 1500 Meter Run |
Quinn Hampson |
Tufts University |
5 |
3:46.48 |
| 1500 Meter Run |
Benjamin Hughes |
Middlebury College |
10 |
3:49.73 |
| 1500 Meter Run |
Keiyu Mamiya |
Williams College |
11 |
3:52.45 |
| 5000 Meter Run |
Stan Craig |
Amherst College |
12 |
14:34.84 |
| 10000 Meter Run |
Harris Gulbransen |
Tufts University |
13 |
30:04.88 |
| 400 Meter Hurdles |
Levi Biery |
Colby College |
3 |
51.81 |
| 400 Meter Hurdles |
Joseph Caspar |
Middlebury College |
7 |
52.86 |
| 400 Meter Hurdles |
Josh Wilkie |
Tufts University |
9 |
2:20.07 |
| 3000 Meter Steeplechase |
Owen Johnson |
Middlebury College |
10 |
9:13.23 |
| 4x100 Meter Relay |
Amherst (Irwin / Pierce / Nichols / Harrison) |
Amherst College |
8 |
40.95 |
| 4x400 Meter Relay |
Middlebury (Lawton / Kington / Gardner / Caspar) |
Middlebury College |
9 |
3:16.61 |
| Pole Vault |
Lexington Lehnert |
Colby College |
12 |
4.90m |
| Pole Vault |
Vincent VanMaaren |
Williams College |
21 |
4.75m |
| Long Jump |
Uly Junker |
Williams College |
19 |
6.93m |
| Triple Jump |
Michael Abbey |
Amherst College |
6 |
15.08m |
| Discus Throw |
Charlie Aucoin |
Bowdoin College |
16 |
48.15m |
| Javelin Throw |
Randy Hamilton |
Tufts University |
17 |
56.92m |
