NESCAC women indoor 2025-26

Winter grind continues, although temps are least getting over the freezing point now. The track world's eyes turn to Boston for the BU Valentine this weekend. A spotlight race is the women's mile, where Jane Hedengren (FR BYU) is racing against Olympian Elle St. Pierre.

NESCACs will be out in force at BU Valentine, the legendarily fast track. And several teams are also running the paired meet, Tufts Cupid for those not at BU.

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BU Valentine (Feb 14)
banked track

Every NESCAC except Hamilton is running at BU. Some highlights include: Last year's NCAA mile runner-up Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) going up against some tough D1 competition in the mile. Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) contests the 3000. Alexa Estes (SR Conn College) toes the line in the 800.

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Tufts Cupid (Feb 13-14)
flat track

Multiple teams that make the trip to Boston for BU Valentine also have athletes at Tufts Cupid: Amherst, Conn College, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams. Friday's event for the women is the DMR. The rest of the events are Saturday.

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Lynn Ruddy (Feb 14)
Bowdoin
flat track

Two Maine teams have Lynn Ruddy on their schedules: Bates and Bowdoin.

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Pioneer Fast Trax (Feb 14)
Utica University
flat track

Hamilton heads to its home away from home, Utica University, for this meet.

Big-time meets delivered big-time performances this past weekend, the athletes showed a lot of heart out there.

Before getting to the results, one note on how we track performances over the season. There's a Google sheet with runners' times by event per meet. It's not everyone's results, so where is the cutoff on what is included? We use the provisional cutoff times for the New England Indoor D3 Championships. Those provide a good benchmark that covers a lot of the runners for the NESCAC.

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800

Piper Lentz (SR Amherst), who ran the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800 last spring, came through with a tremendous time of 2:11.46 at BU. That's an indoor PR for her.

Zoe Marcus (JR Amherst) got herself on the board for the 800 this season, dropping a speedy 2:13.13 at BU.

Ginger Long (FR Williams), running at Tufts Cupid, set down her marker in the 800, going 2:14.24 (actual 2:15.79). That's a lifetime PR for Ginger, who had a best of 2:18.3 in high school.

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1000

Julia Dolce (SR Tufts) continues her remarkable senior season, joining the sub-3 club with her 2:56.03 at BU. She is ranked #5 in the NESCAC.

Lily Yampolsky (SO Williams), the speedster, did her first 1000 of the season, and went sub 3 with her 2:57.50 (actual 2:59.44) at Tufts.

Kaya West (JR Tufts) did it again, achieving a new benchmark sub-3 with her 2:57.79 at BU. She is having a great season.

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MILE

How about them freshmen?!!

Laura White (FR Bowdoin), the remarkable Polar Bears rookie, ran the mile for the first time, and went sub-5 with her 4:58.03 at BU. That's a lifetime PR, her high school best was 5:06.68.

Zui Chinchalkar (FR Tufts), another remarkable rookie, also got her sub-5, running 4:58.65 at BU. Similar to Laura, that's a lifetime PR for Zui. Her best 1600 in high school was 5:00.50.

Claire Palmer (FR Middlebury) keeps the first parade going, dropping a 5:01.74 at BU. She's close to her lifetime PR, 4:58.09.

Flora Biro (SO Amherst) continues to be a top runner in the conference, running 5:02.88 at BU. She's very close to her PR from last year, 5:02.35 at NESCI.

Lily "The Kicker" Simmonds (FR Tufts) brings thing back to the freshmen, running 5:03.18 at BU. Last week, she ran a remarkable final lap in her 1000 at 33.3 seconds. Knowing that, I had to check her final lap this week. She did it again! After a string of 37-39 sec laps, she hammered a 33.90 on her final lap. Want some interesting comparisons? Elle St Pierre (Pro) ran 33.39 her final lap. Jane Hedengren (FR BYU) went 34.07.

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3000

Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) ran her second 3000 of the season, and improved to 9:43.39 at BU. She's #2 in the conference now, behind Kate Tuttle (SO Williams).

Jordan Liss-Riordan (JR Williams) joins the sub-10 club! She absolutely cranked her 3000 at BU, going 9:46.88.

Elizabeth Donahue (SR Tufts) gets her sub-10 for the season, with her 9:57.23 at BU. Eight athletes in the conference have achieved the sub-10 milestone this season.

Deirdre Flanagan (JR Tufts) got a new PR with her 10:05.91 at BU.

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5000

🚨 NEW LEADER ALERT

Ephs varsity XC squad made waves at BU.

Charlene Peng (SR Williams) from the top rope! She went out there at BU and hammered a 16:44.22, a huge PR for her. She takes over the top spot in the NESCAC from her teammate Kate Tuttle.

Tamar Byl (JR Williams) was right there with Charlene, dropping her own PR of 16:49.13. This was her first sub 17 result.

Morgan Eigel (JR Williams) joined the sub-17 party with her 16:56.45. That's a new PR and her first time under 17.

Abby Williams (JR Conn College) keeps the "Williams" train rolling with her 17:22.02 at BU. This is close to the 17:19.21 she did at BU the end of January.

Kate Swann (SR Williams) didn't get her PR, but did have the 5th fastest result from the weekend with her 17:23.10.

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DMR

A couple outstanding performances which put these teams into the top 3 nationally.

Conn College (LK Tucker, Alina Newman, April Schilling, Grace McDonough) ran the DMR at Tufts, going 11:46.33 (actual 11:53.90). The Camels are currently #2 in the country.

Tufts (Lily Simmonds, Anne-Sophie Janssen, Kayleigh Forde, Elizabeth Donahue) also ran the DMR, finishing close behind the camels with their 11:51.67 (actual 11:59.29). The Jumbos are #3 nationally.

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MVP

We've got two MVPs this week.

Let's hear it for the senior running her best times yet! Charlene Peng (SR Williams) earns MVP status with her incredible 16:44.22 5000. That's faster than any 5000 run indoors last year. Charlene has patiently, thoroughly improved year over year. Her initial 5000 times were in the mid-18's back in 2023-2024. She improved to the 17's 2025-2025. And now she runs this magnificent 16:44. She's ranked #5 in D3 with that time.

Piper Lentz (JR Amherst) roared loudly with her 2:11.46 800 at BU. Last spring she showed what she's capable of with her 2:08.21 PR, which got her to nationals. After doing the mile and 1000 previously this season, the speedster ran her first 800 of the season. Piper is now ranked #5 in D3.

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BIG TIME PERFORMANCES

Zoe Marcus (JR Amherst), after a couple mile races this season, went to her speed strength with a 2:13.13 at BU. She's #19 ranked in D3.

Julia Dolce (SR Tufts), after hovering near the 3:00 line in the 1000 this season, had her breakthrough race, with her 2:56.03 at BU. She's5th ranked in the conference.

Laura White (FR Bowdoin) is having a terrific rookie year (going back to XC). Her 4:58.03 mile at BU vaulted her to #4 in the conference.

Zui Chinchalkar (FR Tufts) is killing it this season, with her 4:58.65 at BU representing a 9 1/2 sec pickup vs. her BU Terrier mile. Zui other races have been 3000's, so she seems to approach the mile from an aerobic strength foundation.

Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) delivered once again with her 9:43.39 in the 3000, putting her #2 in the conference, 17th in D3. She represents the NESCAC so well.

Jordan Liss-Riordan (JR Williams) powered to a 9:46.88 3000, a roughly 18 second PR! That is crazy work. She is now #6 in the conference.

Tamar Byl (JR Williams) brought the heat with her 16:49.13 5000 at BU. She leaped to #2 in the conference, and #10 in D3.

Morgan Eigel (JR Williams) gets the shout-out for her sub 17 5000, running a new PR of 16:56.45.

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SURPRISE OF THE WEEK

Janie Morganroth (SR Middlebury) made a big move this weekend with her 5:15.97 (actual 5:19.10) at the Tufts Cupid meet. That's a 5 second pickup from her PR set just 4 weeks ago. To put this fast time in perspective, understand where Janie was previously. She was a low 5:40's runner in 2025, and mid 5:30's in 2024. Now she's running 5:15! Once again, shout out for the senior doing her best work yet.

With the New England DIII Indoor Championships happening NEXT weekend, this may be a relatively quiet weekend for those with the fastest times. But for those seeking a NED3 qualifier, this weekend will be the last chance. However, we do have some elite DMR action Sunday, so perhaps several of the fastest runners will be competing.

Middlebury is off this weekend.

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Triangle Classic (Feb 21)
Springfield College (Springfield, MA)
flat track

Amherst, Conn College, Trinity, Wesleyan are entered in this meet. One entry that caught my eye: Kiera Tallas (JR Conn College) is seeded 5:02 in the mile, much faster than anyone else in the race. She hasn't raced since XC, and didn't do indoor last year. Maggie Furer (SR Trinity) is also entered, seeded at 5:15.

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Mule Tune-up (Feb 21)
Colby
flat track

Bates, Bowdoin, Colby are running in Waterville, ME. No entries posted at the time of this writing.

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Saucony Battle for Boston (Feb 22)
BU
banked track

Many D1 and professional athletes are slated to run this meet, which has a cap on entries and qualifying times. And three NESCACs have teams entered for the DMR: Amherst, Conn College, Williams. Given the caliber of this meet and its inconvenient time (6:30 pm on a Sunday night), I'd expect the three teams to run their fastest athletes to make the trip worth it.

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Wheaton Post-Season Qualifier (Feb 21)
Wheaton College (Norton, MA)
flat track

Tufts makes the 50 minute drive to Wheaton College for this meet. Julia Dolce (SR) and Kaya West (JR) are seeded in the 800 at 2:17.

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Marc Deneault Memorial Invitational (Feb 21)
Cornell University
flat track

Hamilton makes the 1 hour, 50 min trip to Ithaca, NY for this one. Taylor Harris (SR), who has a 10:06 3000 this season, runs the mile. Emma Chrismer (SO) and Emily Pogozelski (SR) are in the 1000.

In what was an off-cycle weekend, we got some terrific performances. And thankfully, the snowpocalypse waited until Monday to hit. After this weekend's performance, the list of automatic and provisional qualifiers for the New England D3 Indoor Championships are set. Now athletes await determination of who makes it into the NED3 events.

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800

Olivia Doherty (SR Colby) unleashed a can of whoop ass at the Colby Mule Tune-up, running a 2:15.02 (actual 2:16.58) to win by 6 seconds. She was the fastest standalone 800 meter runner for the conference this weekend.

Kaya West (JR Tufts) ran a similar 800 time of 2:15.36 (actual 2:16.92) to PR and to win her race at the Wheaton Post-Season Qualifier.

Julia Dolce (SR Tufts) was next at Wheaton after Kaya, going 2:16.66 (actual 2:18.24). This was her first 800 of the season, and it was a great one.

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1000

Emma Chrismer (SO Hamilton) got herself a big benchmark with her PR of 2:57.94 (actual 2:59.88) at Cornell. She won her race, besting 11 other runners.

Kylie Musante (SR Bates) is now a sub-3:00 runner, going 2:59.46 (actual 3:01.42) at Colby. She handily won her race. Kylie is another top NESCAC runner who plays soccer as well (instead of XC).

Francine Miller (JR Bowdoin) was next at Colby, running 3:04.46 (actual 3:06.47). This was her second ever 1000, and it was a huge PR.

Ava Del Vescovo (JR Trinity) continues her remarkable season, getting a new PR of 3:04.46 (actual 3:06.47). She cut 7 seconds off her previous best!

Emily Pogozelski (SR Hamilton) dropped a 3:04.61 (actual 3:06.63) at Cornell.

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MILE

Taylor Harris (SR Hamilton) have yourself a day! She throttled her previous mile best with her 5:06.74 (actual 5:09.78) at Cornell. Go senior!

Sonia Olson (JR Tufts) ran a 5:15.82 (actual 5:18.94) at Wheaton, her best time out of five mile races this season.

Taylor Neldner (JR Tufts) came through the finish close behind her teammate Sonia, going 5:16.55 (actual 5:19.68).

Eleanor Whitehouse (SO Tufts) finished on the heels of Taylor, running 5:16.93 (actual 5:20.07) in her first mile race of the season.

Mikayla Ferguson (SO Bates) won her mile race at Colby, dropping a new PR of 5:20.01 (actual 5:23.18).

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3000

Kiera Tallas (JR Conn College) was mentioned as one to watch for her first indoor race of the season, and she didn't disappoint. Kiera threw down an incredible 9:49.05 (actual 9:54.10) at the Triangle Classic - Springfield College. She is now 7th ranked in the conference.

Ada Grant (SO Colby) went out and won her 3000 race at Colby, going 10:26.99 (actual 10:32.37). That's a new PR in her second-ever 3000.

Andrea Becker (SR Bowdoin) was next at Colby, running a monster PR of 10:31.07 (actual 10:36.48). That's over 23 seconds faster than her previous best. Andrea is running PRs across multiple events this season. Go senior!

Nadia Lim (SR Wesleyan) ran her PR at Springfield College, with her 10:35.93 (actual 10:41.38). Go senior!

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5000

Daphne Theiler (SR Amherst) is our lone entry for the 5000 this week, with her 18:27.19 (actual 18:35.67) win at the Triangle Classic - Springfield College.

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DMR

Saucony put on a terrific event Sunday night at BU. Many D1 athletes there, running some great times. And three NESCACs ran teams in the DMR.

Williams (Ginger Long, Cate Donaldson, Annika Paluska, Kate Tuttle) put on an absolute show! They won the event with Kate Tuttle's anchor 1600 in 11:33.97. They now rank #1 in D3.

Amherst (Piper Lentz, Myeh Medina, Zoe Marcus, Flora Biro) was next with a very fast 11:42.42. That ranks the Mammoths #8 in D3.

Conn College (Alexa Estes, Alina Newman, LK Tucker, Grace McDonough) came through with a sub-12 result, going 11:51.51.

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MVP

Three MVP awards this week.

Williams DMR gets the top MVP spot with their historic 11:33.97. Before they raced, WashU had the #1 time in D3 with their 11:38.81. Well the Ephs weren't gonna have that! It was a close race with Amherst through the first three legs, which included Annika Paluska (SO) blazing a 2:11.48 for the 800. With Williams just 0.32 of a second ahead after three legs, Kate Tuttle (SO) got the handoff. She went out and ran 4:53.26 for the 1600 to blow the race open. Not only was this a Williams school record, it was the #3 best time ever in D3.

Olivia Doherty (SR Colby) gets an MVP for her speedy 800 at the Mule Tune-up. Her 2:15.02 moved her to 7th in the NESCAC. She won the race by a big 6 seconds. That's a PR, and was 5 seconds faster than she ran just two weeks ago at Maine States.

Kiera Tallas (JR Conn College) is an MVP for her 9:49.05 3000. This was her first ever 3000, although she does the 3000 steeple in outdoor track (she ran the NCAAs last year). She did that on a solo effort, as she won by 36 seconds. This was also her first indoor race in two years. After she had great outdoor and XC season, it's great to see her in action again.

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BIG TIME PERFORMANCES

Amherst DMR showed out in Boston at the Saucony meet. Amherst's 11:42.42 included a 2:11.14 by Zoe Marcus (JR). For context, Zoe's season best thus far is 2:13.13. The Mammoths make three NESCACs in the top 10 for D3 (Conn College the other team).

Emma Chrismer (SO Hamilton) delivered big time with her 2:57.94 in the 1000. She moved to #8 in the conference with that effort. The sophomore has set PRs across multiple distances this season.

Kaya West (JR Tufts) cranked out a great PR of 2:15.36. This is faster than her outdoor best from last spring. She also, not un-coincidentally, had her strongest XC season this year as well.

Taylor Harris (SR Hamilton) ran that huge 5:06.74 in the mile. That's over 9 seconds faster than she's ever run the mile. She competed on an equal footing with D1 runners from Syracuse and Cornell in achieving that time.

Kylie Musante (SR Bates) did her first ever 1000 at Colby, and went right to achieving the sub-3:00 benchmark with her 2:59.46. She joins LK Tucker (JR Conn College) as soccer-playing top runners in the conference.

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SURPRISE OF THE WEEK

Three athletes earn surprise recognition this week.

Ada Grant (SO Colby) surprised with her 3000 this weekend, running that 10:26.99. That was almost 14 seconds faster than her 3000 at Maine States two weeks ago. Which alone is huge. But her sophomore campaign has been a big jump over her freshman year. For context, she ran 5:37.84 for the mile last year; this 3000 is equivalent to a 5:15.38. That is a crazy improvement! Looking forward to seeing what she does come outdoor.

Mikayla Ferguson (SO Bates) unveiled a shiny new PR with her 5:20.01 at Colby. That is a huge pickup in time versus her rookie year, where she raced the mile three times with a best of 5:37.89. Even with this current season, this performance was a major advancement forward. Her mile is the equivalent of a 10:36.20 3000, which compares to the 10:49.02 she ran BU Terrier.

Juliet Provost (FR Conn College) looks to be on an improvement with her 3:10.76 1000. That's over 4 seconds faster in just one week. That 1000 time is equivalent to a 2:26.65 800; she ran 2:31.84 at the Middlebury NESCI previously this season. And her best 800 in high school was 2:41.0. Great effort for the rookie.

NESCAC attention focuses on the New England Indoor Championships this weekend. 10 of the 11 teams will have athletes running Sunday Mar 1 at The Track @ New Balance in Boston. Hamilton, not a member of the New England Cross Country/Track & Field Association, is off this weekend.

In a way, this is essentially the NESCAC championship. However, some notable other teams will be contesting things. NCAA XC Championship qualifiers MIT and Suffolk will be there, along with strong programs like Smith, Wellesley, and Coast Guard.

It's possible to rank the difficulty of being accepted into each distance event, looking at the time of the final qualifier for each one. Below the events are ranked from hardest to easiest to get into, for this year:

1. Mile
2. 1000
3. 3000
4. 5000
5. 800

The 800 being relatively easier than the other events is surprising, especially vs. its sibling the 1000. The 800 is contested in the NCAA Indoor Championships, the 1000 isn't. The mile being toughest isn't surprising; it occupies a large place in running lore.

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800

Annika Paluska (SO Williams) comes into this event as the top seed at 2:10.90. She's got wheels, with a 2:07.85 last spring in outdoor, qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Her NESCAC rival Alexa Estes (SR Conn College), also an NCAA Outdoor qualifier, will contest for the win with her season best of 2:12.03.

Krystal Montgomery (SR MIT) is also in the mix as a top seed at 2:11.64. Krystal comes at the 800 from a sprinters foundation.

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1000

Grace McDonough (SR Conn College), the NCAA Outdoor 5000 silver medalist, shows her impressive range, this time as the top seed in the 1000. She comes in with a season best of 2:54.59. She set her PR of 2:52.88 at last year's New England Indoor Championship.

Speedster Piper Lentz (SR Amherst) will challenge for the title, coming into this race with a time of 2:55.41. Piper was an NCAA Outdoor Championship qualifier for the 800, with a PR of 2:08.21. At last year's New England Championships, she won the 600, and finished 3rd in the 800.

Lily "The Kicker" Simmonds (FR Tufts) is also a top seed with her 2:55.69. If Lily hangs close to the front through the first four laps, it will be exciting to see if she can unleash one of her wicked fast finishes to take it.

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MILE

In the top three seeds for this marquee event, two are Ephs.

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) has the third fastest seed for the mile at 4:55.94. But as the NCAA Indoor mile silver medalist from last year, she's the one to beat in this race. Her PR of 4:46.24 (actual 4:48.89) came in the NCAA Indoor Championship last year.

Morgan Eigel (JR Williams) is seeded number 2 in the mile at 4:55.53. Morgan has been on tear this season, with PRs set in the mile, 3000, and 5000, all in the past two months. Her trend line is quite strong, can she ride that momentum to win the mile?

Lyda Martin (SR Smith) is the fastest seed for the mile, with her 4:54.28. This senior is have her best season yet. She ran the 1500 in 4:30.37 last spring, which converts to a 4:52.69 mile. She will be tough competition for the title.

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3000

Rujuta Sane (SR MIT) enters this race as the clear favorite. Her 9:36.65 ranks #6 in D3 this season. She also has the #1 time in the 5000 with her 16:26.77.

Rujuta's teammate Lexi Fernandez (JR MIT) has the next fastest season best at 9:45.22. Lexi has some good speed, she finished 5th in the NCAA Indoor Championship mile last year.

Claire Palmer (FR Middlebury) is the top NESCAC entry with her 9:46.61. Since cross country, this rookie has been a stellar performer.

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5000

Elizabeth Donahue (SR Tufts) is the top speed with her 16:54.83. The senior has been riding a hot hand this season. And compare her 16:54.83 to her best indoor 5000 last year, which was 17:36.31. She's got momentum.

Kate Swann (SR Williams) is close to Elizabeth, with her 16:59.38 in December following the Ephs terrific cross country season. Two years ago, she ran the 5000 at the New England Indoor Championship, going 18:37.50. She's come a long way. You can see her and Elizabeth working together at the front in this race.

Abby Williams (JR Conn College) enters with the third fastest seed, 17:19.21. She's had a banner season this season, with PRs in the mile, 3000, and 5000.

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DMR

Williams is the top seed, with the #3 all-time best set last Sunday night. Will we see all four of those same runners for this one?

Amherst and Conn College are the next two fastest seeds.

New England D3's are a wrap, with some outstanding performances at the Track @ New Balance. The championship was held on Sunday, as the D1 ACC Indoor Championship were held there Saturday.

One stat to check out: What was the rate of season bests per individual event? Here they are, ranked based on highest to lowest ratio of season bests.

1. 800: 71% (10/14)
2. 3000: 62% (8/13)
3. 1000: 42% (5/12)
4. MILE: 40% (6/15)
5. 5000: 33% (4/12)

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800

The top three favorites going into this event were indeed the top three finishers.

Annika Paluska (SO Williams) and Alex Estes (SR Conn College) continued their mid-distance rivalry. They finished 2nd (2:10.55) and 3rd (2:11.22) respectively. In a very close finish, Krystal Montgomery (SR MIT) won the 800 by 0.02 second over Annika, with the fastest final lap of the field.

Zoe Marcus (JR Amherst) finished 4th with another sub-2:12 performance of 2:11.96. That ties her season best from outdoor last spring.

Naomi Atwood (SO Middlebury) was next, running a new PR of 2:14.28. That bests her previous fastest of 2:15.17 set at last year's NED3.

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1000

Of the top seeds going in, only one made the podium in the 1000.

Piper Lentz (SR Amherst) won it with her PR of 2:54.25. Piper played it cool for the first 4 laps, running 4th at the 600 and and 3rd at the 800 marks. She then unleashed a VICIOUS kick, dropping a 32.67 for the final 200. The field wasn't ready for that! She won by 1½ seconds.

All hail Kaylee Hale (SO Bowdoin) who took silver with her new PR of 2:55.74. She went out strong and ran with the leaders throughout.

Annelise Jensen (FR Middlebury), part of the Panthers' dynamic freshmen duo, took third with her outstanding 2:55.81, a tremendous PR. She ran with Kaylee throughout the race.

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MILE

The top seed Lyda Martin (SR Smith) was a DNF, dropping out after three laps. The podium was an all-NESCAC affair.

Queen Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) did it again, taking the race out strong and emerging as the clear leader by the 5th lap. She ran a 4:52.71, winning by 4½ seconds.

The Ephs NCAA Cross Country team joined Kate in showing out in this race. Jordan Liss-Riordan (JR) was 2nd, running 4:57.23. Morgan Eigel (JR) took bronze with her 4:58.18. And Charlene Peng (SR) became a new member of the sub-5 club with her 4:59.83.

Laura White (FR Bowdoin) again got a sub-5 this season, finishing 4th with her 4:58.21.

Lily "The Kicker" Simmonds (FR Tufts) got a new PR with her 5:00.14, finishing 7th. And of course, she did it in classic Lily fashion. With one lap to go, she was in 12th place. She then brought the thunder, going 32.84 on the final lap to move up 5 places. As her aerobic capacity expands, she'll find herself closer to the front of races. With that kick, she'll be hard to beat.

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3000

The clear favorite in this race, Rujuta Sane (SR MIT), ended up with a DNF, after leading the race through 2000 meters. That opened up the race, and the podium was an all-NESCAC affair.

Tamar Byl (JR Williams), another member of that great Ephs NCAA XC squad, won it with a new PR of 9:40.69. At the 1600 mark, she was 7th, running at the back of the lead group. As others slowed slightly in the subsequent laps, Tamar picked up the pace. With one lap to go, she was in 2nd place. She got her turnover going, and won it with her 35.93 second final lap.

Claire Palmer (FR Middlebury) was the 2nd place runner that Tamar passed on the final lap. The rookie, the other part of the Panthers freshmen dynamic duo, ran a tremendous PR of 9:40.88. She shadowed the pre-race prohibitive favorite Sane of MIT. Once Sane dropped out, she held a 2 second lead on the field until the final lap.

Kiera Tallas (JR Conn College), in only her second race this season, got the bronze with her 9:44.19. She was a metronome of consistent pacing. Laps 8-13 were all between 38.92 and 39.32.

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5000

The top three seeds were the top three finishers on the all-NESCAC podium.

Elizabeth Donahue (SR Tufts), the pre-race top seed, took gold with her 17:16.35. She moved up from her 5th place finish last in the NED3 5000. The senior has had a great season, and is currently ranked 15th in D3. Fingers crossed she'll be at the NCAAs.

Kate Swann (SR Williams) took silver with her 17:31.98. Kate ran with Elizabeth through 4000 meters. This member of the Ephs NCAA XC squad is currently ranked 20th in D3, hoping she'll be at the NCAAs.

Abby Williams (JR Conn College) got the bronze with her 17:32.82. She closed strongly to finish less than a second behind Kate.

Ava Thomas (SO Amherst) finished a very close 4th with her 17:33.18. That's a PR for Ava, who has really had a great season this year.

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DMR

No new top-D3 sort of times (i.e. 11:50 or faster) this weekend.

Middlebury (Lily Bulczynski, Mary Cestaro, Caroline VanSchaick, Shea Fajen) took the NED3 title with their 12:05.47.

Wesleyan (Kaitlyn Connors, Amelia Goettsch, Elanora Smith, Virginia Lessner) finished second in 12:07.16.

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4 x 800

Some fast times were run in this non-NCAA relay.

Williams (Kate Tuttle, Ginger Long, Lily Yampolsky, Clara Gahm) was fastest, going 9:14.26. That's 2:18.6 per leg. We don't usually see Kate in the 800, but her split was 2:16.63.

Conn College (Alexa Estes, LK Tucker, April Schilling, Grace McDonough) came through next with their 9:16.02, 2:19.0 per leg. Alexa opened with a 2:15.79 leg, while Grace ran a 2:15.98 split.

Middlebury(Naomi Atwood, Shea Fajen, Annelise Jensen, Caroline VanSchaick) took bronze with their 9:16.72, right behind the Camels.

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MVP

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) leads off the MVP list with her mile win 4:52.71. She won her race comfortably by over 4 seconds. She is well-positioned to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, currently ranked 16th in D3. Of course there's one more weekend of qualifying competition coming up.

Piper Lentz (SR Amherst) has been running her fastest indoor times this season, with her 2:54.25 in the 1000 the latest PR. Piper looks for the the NCAAs, currently ranked 8th in D3 for the 800.

Tamar Byl (JR Williams) absolutely crushed her 3000. She had previously PR's this season with breakthrough 9:51.49 at the BU Terrier in January. Well, she went out there Sunday and the ripped almost 11 seconds off that time with her 9:40.69. She loks strong for making the NCAAs with that result, which puts her 14th in D3.

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BIG TIME PERFORMANCES

Annika Paluska (SO Williams) was big-time for her gutty performance in the 800. She went to the front from the start and pushed the pace throughout. Her 2:10.55 ranks her #5 in D3. On the NCAAs for her.

Alexa Estes (SR Conn College) went big with her 2:11.22 in the 800. Her seed time was 2:12.03, so a nice pickup. Alexa is #7 in D3, on to NCAAs for her.

Zoe Marcus (JR Amherst) completes our 800 triumvirate, with her quick 2:11.96. That compares to her seed time of 2:13.13. Zoe is #10 in D3, we'll see her at NCAAs.

Kaylee Hale (SO Bowdoin) gets a shout-out for her 2:55.74 in the 1000. That's over 4½ seconds faster than her best this season. Her time is equivalent to a 2:15.10 800; her best this season was 2:18.50.

Annelise Jensen (FR Middlebury) had a tremendous performance in the 1000 with her 2:55.81. Her previous best was 3:02.35, so that's a huge 6½ second pickup.

The Ephs mile sub-5ers all get big-time shout-outs. Jordan Liss-Riordan (JR), Morgan Eigel (JR), and Charlene Peng (SR) continue their amazing year that started in cross country.

Laura White (FR Bowdoin), the stellar Polar Bear freshman, also achieved the sub-5 milestone in her NED3 mile. What a rookie season.

Elizabeth Donahue (SR Tufts) gets the nod for win in the 5000, running 17:16.35. While not her season PR, 17:16 is fast for anyone. Outstanding W for her.

Claire Palmer (FR Middlebury) just keeps advancing upward in the conference. The rookie blasted a terrific 3000 in 9:40.88. That's almost 6 seconds faster than her previous best this season. She currently sits #16 in D3, so there's a good chance she makes the NCAAs.

Kiera Tallas (JR Conn College) has been a top runner for a while now, but to only run twice this season and take the bronze in the 3000. Her 9:44.19 ranks #24 in D3, so there's a chance she could make the NCAAs.

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SURPRISE OF THE WEEK

Admittedly, when only the top performers in New England are running, surprises are harder to come by. But we've got a good one here.

Grace Kaelber (FR Middlebury) had a terrific 5000, running 17:51.53 for 10th place. That's almost 27 seconds better than her time on the same track one month prior. While Middlebury's top two freshmen - Claire Palmer, Annelise Jensen - have been at the top of the conference this year in XC and indoors, Grace has quietly put together a great set of results herself. She is trending stronger, and will hit outdoor track with some real momentum.

It's the final countdown this weekend, as athletes across the country try to secure NCAA qualifying times. Or at least go for a new PR to finish off the season. There are three meets for this: Wartburg Final Qualifier, the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference (AARTFC) Championships, and the Tufts Final Qualifier.

Several of our NESCACs are running at Tufts, except Hamilton who will be at the AARTFCs. Here are some athletes in the D3 top 50 who are running at Tufts. For context, I'm including the current NCAA final qualifying time, and the athlete's current D3 rank and season best.

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800

Current #20 time: 2:12.66.

Alexa Estes (SR Conn College): #7, 2:11.22.

Hannah Pawlowski (FR Bates): #30, 2:14.01

Naomi Atwood (SO Middlebury): #33, 2:14.28

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MILE

Current #20 time: 4:53.07

Grace McDonough (SR Conn College): #5, 4:50.32

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams): #16, 4:52.71

Kiera Tallas (JR Conn College): no mile time this season, seeded 4:56.00

Laura White (FR Bowdoin): #45, 4:58.03

Zui Chinchalkar (FR Tufts): #48, 4:58.65

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3000

Current #20 time: 9:41.89

Grace McDonough (SR Conn College): #23, 9:43.39

Kiera Tallas (JR Conn College): #24, 9:44.19

Morgan Eigel (JR Williams): #25, 9:44.86

Jordan Liss-Riordan (JR Williams): #33, 9:46.88

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DMR

Current #12 time: 11:43.52

Amherst: #11, 11:42.42

Conn College: #18, 11:51.51

Tufts: #19, 11:51.67

Middlebury: #31, 12:05.47

With results from the three meets across the country in, we know who is in the mix for NCAA Indoor Championship selections. There are those who have a top 20 individual event time, and those who are close to top 20 and could receive an invite depending on the plans of those ahead of them. Below we detail these athletes. We also include the change in the 20th fastest time after the final weekend of qualifiers.

Selections are released tonight at 7 pm ET.

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800

20th best time before this weekend: 2:12.66.
20th best time after this weekend: 2:12.20.

Top 20:

Annika Paluska (SO Williams) is #6 with her 2:10.55 from NED3.

Alexa Estes (SR Conn College) is #13 with her 2:11.22 from NED3. She started the weekend in the #7 position, to give a sense of how many athletes ended up running new fast times this past weekend.

Piper Lentz (SR Amherst) is #14 with her 2:11.46 from BU Valentine.

Zoe Marcus (JR Amherst) is #16 with her 2:11.96 from NED3.

Outside the top 20:

The next fastest NESCAC runners are fairly distant from the top 20. Hannah Pawlowski (FR Bates) #43 @ 2:14.01; Ginger Long (FR Williams) #44 @ 2:14.25; and Naomi Atwood #45 @ 2:14.28.

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MILE

20th best time before this weekend: 4:53.07
20th best time after this weekend: 4:52.64

Top 20:

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) secured her spot, running 4:49.19 (actual 4:52.05) at Tufts yesterday to move to #3. This was a big-time performance for her. Her season best coming into the weekend would have left her #21 in D3 after yesterday's action.

Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) is #7 with her 4:50.32 from BU Terrier.

Outside the top 20:

Morgan Eigel (JR Williams) is #34 with her 4:55.53 from the Middlebury Winter Classic. But Morgan does have her qualifier in another event, so she's not sweating this.

Jordan Liss-Riordan (JR Williams) is #45 @ 4:57.23; and Laura White (FR Bowdoin) is #46 @ 4:57.26.

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3000

20th best time before this weekend: 9:41.89
20th best time after this weekend: 9:41.02.

Top 20:

Morgan Eigel (JR Williams) nailed her race at Tufts on Saturday, running 9:35.06 (actual 9:39.99) to move up to #8. Coming in to the weekend she was 25th in D3, this was an MVP performance.

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) is #15 with her 9:39.08 from BU Terrier. Given the demands of the mile at NCAAs (prelim, then final), will Kate do the 3000 double? The 3000 is scheduled 90 minutes after the completion of the mile final. But fatigue could be a deciding factor. She's also potentially doing the 1600 in the DMR.

Tamar Byl (JR Williams) is #17 with her 9:40.69 from NED3. She's also qualified in the 5000. Two longer fatiguing races, but they are separated by 25 hours. Does she double?

Claire Palmer (FR Middlebury) is #19 with her 9:40.88 from NED3.

Outside the top 20:

Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) is #26 with her 9:43.39 from BU Valentine. Same question for Grace as for Kate above: given the demands of the mile, will she want to run the 3000 as well? Especially because of who is right behind her in the D3 rankings.

Kiera Tallas (JR Conn College) is right behind her teammate Grace at #27 with her 9:44.19 from NED3.

Jordan Liss-Riordan (JR Williams) is #34 with her 9:46.44 from Tufts yesterday.

Charlene Peng (SR Williams) is #37 with her 9:46.82 from BU Terrier. But Charlene isn't sweating that because she's qualified in another event.

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5000

20th best time before this weekend: 16:59.38
20th best time after this weekend: 16:57.62

Top 20:

Charlene Peng (SR Williams) is #5 with her 16:44.22 from BU Valentine.

Tamar Byl (JR Williams) is #11 with her 16:49.13 from BU Valentine. With her 3000 qualifier, does she run this too?

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) is #15 with her 16:50.78 from BU Colyear-Danville. Given her rank in the mile, and the fact she's the returning silver medalist from that event, it'd be surprising if she runs the 5000. She's also potentially doing the 1600 in the DMR.

Elizabeth Donahue (SR Tufts) is #17 with her 16:54.83 from BU Colyear-Danville. This is fantastic for her, this qualification marks her best season ever. Go senior!

Morgan Eigel (JR Williams) is #18 with her 16:56.45 from BU Valentine. Similar to teammate Tamar Byl, Morgan has a 3000 qualifier, earned yesterday. Does she expend the energy running both of these longer events?

Outside the top 20:

Kate Swann (SR Williams) is #23 with her 16:59.38 from BU Colyear-Danville. Wow, she is really close. I'd expect Kate Tuttle to decline her spot. Odds are decent she gets an invite to NCAAs, which would be her first.

Katya Henisz (JR Tufts) is #37 with her 17:13.13 from BU Colyear-Danville. And Abby Williams (JR Conn College) is #42 with her 17:19.21 from BU Terrier.

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DMR

12th best time before this weekend: 11:48.48
12th best time after this weekend: 11:39.24

Top 12:

Williams is #5 with their 11:33.97. That team: Ginger Long, Cate Donaldson, Annika Paluska, Kate Tuttle.

Conn College is #6 with their 11:35.77 (actual 11:43.22) from Tufts yesterday. That team: Alexa Estes, Alina Newman, LK Tucker, Grace McDonough. Huge performance by the Camels, they were #18 coming into the weekend.

Amherst is #10 with their 11:37.97 (actual 11:45.44) from Tufts yesterday. That team: Piper Lentz, Myeh Medina, Zoe Marcus, Flora Biro. Clutch performance with the Mammoths, their #11 season best coming into the weekend would have fallen to #21 after the weekend.

Middlebury is #11 with their 11:38.61 (actual 11:46.09) from Tufts yesterday. That team: Annelise Jensen, Lily Bulczynski, Naomi Atwood, Claire Palmer. Middlebury was way on the outside looking in with their #31 time coming into the weekend. They blew the doors off that time this weekend.

Outside the top 12:

Tufts is #21 with their 11:42.57 (actual 11:50.09) from Tufts yesterday. That team: Lily "The Kicker" Simmonds, Arielle Chechile, Kayleigh Forde, Zui Chinchalkar. Lily unsurprisingly had the fastest closing 200 (34.311) among the opening 1200 athletes.

Disregard this person, NESCACgirldad, and please keep the writeups coming! They are great and MANY people read them

Agreed these are amazing! You're serving the community. Drop a venmo.

Absolutely!!! Thanks very much and please keep it up!!

Thanks! 😉

The field is set for the D3 NCAA Indoor Championships, which starts this Friday at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Alabama. NESCAC is well-represented, let's break it down. Note: Birmingham, AL is in the central time zone, so the published race times are assumed to be CT.

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800

Prelims 3:45 pm Friday, finals 4:50 pm Saturday.

Top seed: Sierra Doody (SR SUNY Geneseo) 2:08.82

Annika Paluska (SO Williams) is seeded #6 @ 2:10.55
Alexa Estes (SR Conn College) is seeded #13 @ 2:11.22
Piper Lentz (SR Amherst) is seeded #14 @ 2:11.46
Zoe Marcus (JR Amherst) is seeded #16 2:11.96

Top seed Sierra Doody ran NCAA Indoors last year, with a season best of 2:10.99 getting her into the meet. Her best is 2+ seconds faster this year, making her the one to beat. That said, Annika Paluska's PR of 2:07.85 from last spring in outdoor is the fastest in the field. Piper Lentz's PR of 2:08.21 from that same outdoor race in 2025 is also faster than most of the field.

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MILE

Prelims 2:35 pm Friday, finals 4:00 pm Saturday.

Top seed: Amelia Lehman (SR Wis - Oshkosh) 4:41.03

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) is seeded #3 @ 4:49.19
Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) is seeded #6 @ 4:50.3

Amelia Lehman has jumped a level this season in her running. Her 4:41.03 mile was at BU Valentine, where she beat several D1 athletes. That 4:41.03 is equivalent to a 1500 of 4:19.60; her 1500 PR from 2023 was 4:26.63. She's a strong favorite. But #2 seed Haley Schoenegge (JR Vassar) is close with her seed time of 4:43.41.

Kate and Grace finished 2nd and 3rd last indoor season in the mile, so they clearly have that fight to be competitive in this event. A "championship style" race of a slower start in the final would even out the field.

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3000

Finals 5:35 pm Saturday.

Top seed: Amelia Lehman (SR Wis - Oshkosh) 9:23.31

Morgan Eigel (JR Williams) is seeded #8 @ 9:35.06
Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) is seeded #15 @ 9:39.08
Tamar Byl (JR Williams) is seeded #17 @ 9:40.69

Well look at that, Amelia Lehman is the top seed in the 3000, as well as the mile. She's having a terrific season. The one opening for athletes without her PR is that she is running the mile (prelim, final) and the DMR anchor 1600. So there will be some fatigue by the end of the day Saturday when the 3000 starts.

Morgan dropped her previous PR (set at BU Terrier) by 9 seconds at the Tufts Final Qualifier, we'll watch to see if she'll ride that hot hand into the 3000 Saturday.

Note: Claire Palmer (FR Middlebury) is #19 in D3 for the 3000, but is skipping this race. She's entered in the DMR as the 1600 anchor.

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5000

Finals 4:45 pm Friday.

Top seed: Rujuta Sane (SR MIT) 16:26.77

Charlene Peng (SR Williams) is seeded #5 @ 16:44.22
Tamar Byl (JR Williams) is seeded #10 @ 16:49.13
Elizabeth Donahue (SR Tufts) is seeded #15 @ 16:54.83
Kate Swann (SR Williams) is seeded #20 @ 16:59.38

Rujuta Sane finished 12th at XC NCAAs, she's clearly in top form. She's also consistently hit sub-17 times over her college years. She's 7 seconds faster than the #2 seed, Kate Sanderson (SR MIT). She looks tough to beat.

Charlene put herself in the national conversation with her 16:44 at BU Valentine. It was her first sub-17, but it shows she's on a strong upward trend. Let's see if that momentum carries her to the podium Friday. Also, shout-out to senior Kate Swann, who indeed will be contesting the 5000 at nationals.

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DMR

Finals 6:10 pm Friday.

Top seed: Washington University 11:28.79

Williams is seed #5 @ 11:33.97
Conn College is seeded #6 @ 11:35.77
Amherst is seeded #10 @ 11:37.97
Middlebury is seeded #11 @ 11:38.61

Williams ran the #3 DMR of all time, on an absolute basis. Since then, four schools ran faster times on flat tracks, which converted to faster than the Ephs. WashU is the top team, but it's all close amongst the top 5. Here is a look at the recent personal bests of the individual runners of WashU and Williams:

1200
Lauren Raley (SO WashU): mile 5:12.17
Ginger Long (FR Williams): mile 5:01.55

400
Ellie Cain (SO WashU): 60.48
Cate Donaldson (JR Williams): 57.74

800
Kate Delia (FR WashU): 2:09.71
Annika Paluska (SO Williams): 2:10.55

1600
Lucinda Laughlin (SO WashU): 4:51.52
Kate Tuttle (SO Williams): 4:49.19

On paper, advantage Williams. Let's see how this translates to the actual race.

Yes, keep up the great work NESCACgirlDAD! These race reviews make my week- but is there any way you could stop the bias towards Williams? Seems super unfair :(

Thanks WomenInSports. Hopefully you've seen good coverage of all the NESCACs over the course of this season. The latest D3 NCAA Indoors preview has a stronger Ephs vibe because they have 9 of the 17 distance entries in the meet, and the fastest seed times of the conference for each event.

Separately, there were some performances from the AARTFC Indoor Championships (NYC Armory) and the Tufts Final Qualifier this past weekend that I wanted to highlight. This is beyond the earlier coverage of performances as they related to NCAA qualifying.

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800

Kaylee Hale (SO Bowdoin) nearly matched her PR from outdoors, running 2:16.65 (actual 2:18.22) at Tufts. She finished the season ranked #12 in the conference.

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MILE

Laura White (FR Bowdoin) closed her season on a strong note, setting her mile PR of 4:57.26 (actual 5:00.20). The rookie had a great indoor season, and finished ranked #5 in the conference.

Emma Chrismer (SO Hamilton) got a great PR at the AARTFCs, running 5:07.33. That's 5 seconds faster than her previous best set in early February. Her best times in her freshman year were in the 5:20s, so you can see she jumped an orbit in fitness this year.

Emily Pogozelski (SR Hamilton) ran her season best at the AARTFCs with her 5:12.23.

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3000

Taylor Harris (SR Hamilton) with an MVP performance, joining the sub-10 club with her 9:56.13 to win the event at the AARTFCs. That's a huge 10 second pickup on her previous best set in early February. She finishes #9 in the conference. This year was Taylor's best indoor season. As a senior. You love to see it!

Mary Cestaro (SO Middlebury) closed out her season on a high note, getting a new PR of 10:07.79 at the AARTFCs. She also PR'd in the mile this season, showing she's on a strong upward trend.

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5000

Josie Dolan (SR Middlebury) got herself a new PR with her 18:25.79 at the AARTFCs. That's 4+ seconds faster than her previous best, set outdoors last season. She also ran her fastest 3000 this season. Go senior!

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DMR

Hamilton (Emma Chrismer, Ruby Austin, Nora Burroughs, Emily Pogozelski) ran a 12:09.29 in the DMR. That's an improvement of 14 seconds on this team's previous DMR this season.

Day 1 update on the NCAAs. Which includes a very pleasant surprise in the 5000!

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800

From the prelims, one NESCAC runner advances to the finals. Zoe Marcus (JR Amherst), seeded 16 going in, finished second in heat 1 to earn her big Q qualifier. She ran 2:11.80, her season best.

Tough day for Annika Paluska (SO Williams) who ran 2:11.29 for third in heat 3. Her time was behind two faster finishes - 2:10.74, 2:10.99 - from heat 2. She's done in the 800.

Piper Lentz (SR Amherst) and Alexa Estes (SR Conn College) finished fifth in their respective heats (2,3).

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MILE

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) and Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) both advanced to the finals, running 4:50.10 and 4:50.16 respectively. They earned their big Qs by finishing third and fourth in heat 2.

Pre-race favorite Amelia Lehman (SR Wis - Oshkosh) cruised to a big Q with a third place finish in heat 1, running 4:51.71. The other top seed Haley Schoenegge (JR Vassar) got her big Q finishing second in heat with a 4:49.94.

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5000

🚨 BIG TIME PERFORMANCE ALERT

Congratulations to Kate Swann (SR Williams), who took the silver in the 5000. Recall she was just outside the qualifiers at the end of the season, but with some expected attrition by runners ahead of her, it seemed she could be selected, and she was. Still, she was the 20th seed, so no expectation of the podium. But a nice accolade for her to be there her last year of indoor.

WELL!

Early in the race, Kate ran at the back of the field in the 18-20 position. But it was a bunched field, and she was only a couple seconds behind the leader at lap 12. She picked up some places over the next 7 laps, and found herself in 11th place at lap 19. The next three laps, two more places to 9th on lap 22. Still not podium, but she was in a crowd that was less than two seconds behind the leader. So very much in contention.

Laps 23-24 she moved up to 7th. The top places are cranking now, running 38 and 39 second laps. And then the magic happened. On the bell lap, Kate went crazy, throwing down a 34.56 second 200. Just absolutely put her competitors on blast. Nobody ran a lap that fast across the entire race. She took 2nd with her new PR 16:50.37, 0.38 seconds ahead of the third place finisher. What a baller move.

Tamar Byl (JR Williams) finished 7th in 16:52.39. Elizabeth Donahue (SR Tufts) was 11th with her 17:02.40. Charlene Peng (SR Williams) came in 17th with a 17:19.80.

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DMR

Pre-race 1 seed Washington University ran away from everyone in the DMR. They won going away, setting a new D3 record of 11:29.59. The Bears had a 2+ second lead after the third leg, and 1600 anchor leg Lucinda Laughlin (SO) cruised to big victory of 7 seconds.

Amherst was the top NESCAC finisher, placing 7th in 11:44.58. Solid result as the Mammoths were the 10 seed coming in. Zoe Marcus (JR) did double duty yesterday, running the 800 leg in the DMR. As did Piper Lentz (SR), who ran the opening 1200 leg after her 800 race earlier.

Williams finished 8th with their 11:46.35. Of the runners originally entered from their 5th seeded team, only Ginger Long (FR) ran the event yesterday. Annika Paluska (SO) and Kate Tuttle (SO) held off from doing the relay.

Middlebury was 9th at 11:50.96. Claire Palmer (FR) ran a 4:56.99 anchor 1600. That converts to a 4:58.94 mile, better than her PR of 5:01.74 this season.

Conn College placed 12th with their 12:07.57. By the time Grace McDonough (SR) got the baton for the 1600 anchor, the team was in 12th place. Given the low likelihood of podium at that point, she kept things reserved, running 5:04.43 for the 1600. She has the mile final today.

Day 2 of NCAAs are in the book, closing out the indoor season. Great action out there, including Kate Tuttle being part of two different photo finishes. After this post, I expect to have one last one to close out the indoor season.

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800

Freshman Phenom Kate Delia (FR WashU) took the title with her 2:07.69, a 1.3 second win over 2nd place finisher, Sierra Doody (SR SUNY-Geneseo). Doody came into the meet as the #1 seed.

Zoe Marcus (JR Amherst) finished 5th in 800 final, running one of her best times ever in 2:10.92. Only her 2024 outdoor 2:10.45 is faster. She picked up two spots on the last lap with a 33.61 second 200. Zoe looks primed for a great outdoor season.

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MILE

The top two seeds coming into the meet - Amelia Lehman (SR Wis - Oshkosh), Haley Schoenegge (JR Vassar) - ended up taking the gold and silver. Haley won the title, leading early on and holding her position throughout the race. Amelia stayed on Haley's heels throughout the race.

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) started the race conservatively, and was 9th after the opening lap. She then settled into her rhythm, and pressed forward, moving up 3 spots each of the next two laps to lead the chase pack. She held that position, with the gap to the top two staying the same through the halfway point. Kate then slowly tightened the gap over the next three laps, and was just 0.42 seconds behind #2 Amelia at the bell lap. She put on a furious kick to catch Amelia, and almost had her at the finish. Amelia just held on to beat Kate by 0.01 second. But Kate got an amazing PR, running 4:43.81. So fast!

Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) kept a conservative approach to the race, staying at the back end of the chase pack. Given the caliber of this field, just doing that was a terrific effort. Grace ended up finishing 9th in D3 with a great time of 4:50.29.

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3000

Pre-race top seed Amelia Lehman (SR Wis - Oshkosh), after that tremendous mile effort earlier, ended up a DNF after four laps of this race. Haley Schoenegge (JR Vassar) was also in this race after her mile victory. She was at the front midway through the race before she tripped (on her own feet). After that fall, she dropped 15 places and never contended again. Sophie Bull (SR Calvin) won the title in 9:32.19, but just barely. Read on.

We got a tremendous effort from both Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) after her mile effort, and her teammate Morgan Eigel (JR Williams). Early in the race, Kate hung back, not pushing aggressively on pacing early. Morgan positioned herself well, and was in 3rd place after a couple laps. After lap 7, Kate reeled off a fast lap (38.72) to move one place behind Morgan, who was in 5th place.

They stayed roughly in that area, but by lap 10 they'd moved into the 1,2 positions. Morgan was leading, she knew Kate was behind her. She looked back at Kate and urged her on to push the pace. They opened a gap on the field, and on lap 13 Kate moved the front. With 800 to go, Kate opened a gap on Morgan. With her miler speed, this was looking like a Tuttle victory. But Sophie Bull pushed hard on the final lap, passing Morgan fist. She then zeroed in on Kate, who was feeling the earlier mile effort even as she was in the lead with 50 meters left. Sophie put on one last push and nipped Kate at the finish. Kate ran a PR of 9:32.24 for 2nd, Morgan dropped her PR to 9:32.78 to take 3rd.

Tamar Byl (JR Williams) finished 11th, running 9:43.84. She kept things conservative for much of the race, staying out of trouble at the back of the chase pack. At the 1600, she was in 16th place. She then picked up a few spots the next three laps, and was 12th after 11 laps. She stayed in that position until the final lap where she picked one last spot.

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In the women's team scores, WashU wins it with 54 points. Williams comes in 2nd with 44 points, driven by the distance group (31 points scored). Tufts finished tied for 9th with 20 points.

Congrats all who qualified for NCAA Indoors. That's an amazing accomplishment. Make sure you get that on your resumes!

To close out the indoor season, below are a few end-of-season awards: MVP, All-Rookie Team, Most Improved, Top 5 by Event. All race times listed are based on banked times, with conversions applied to flat track results.

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MVP

Awarded for the athlete with the overall strongest performance in the season.

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) earns the season MVP award as the NESCAC's top performer. At the NCAAs, she was on the podium for two different events: mile (3rd) and 3000 (2nd). At the NCAAs, she ran exceptional PRs of 4:43.81 in the mile and 9:32.19 in the 3000, and is top ranked in the conference for both. Her early season 16:50.78 in the 5000 stands as the 3rd fastest in NESCAC for indoor.

After an incredible freshman year, she came right back and was even stronger her sophomore year. Congrats on a terrific season Kate!

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ALL ROOKIE TEAM

Awarded for top performers among the freshmen in the class. Listed below alphabetically by last name. Of note: All five were cross country incoming first years to watch back, listed in August 2025.

Zui Chinchalkar (FR Tufts): Zui finished ranked #7 in the conference in the highly competitive mile event, running 4:58.65 at BU Valentine. She was the 7th fastest freshman in D3. She was #11 in the 3000 with a 10:00.03.

Ginger Long (FR Williams): Ginger finished #6 in the conference for the 800, with her speedy 2:14.25 at Tufts Cupid Challenge. Note that's 4 seconds faster than her PR from high school. She's 12th ranked for the 1000 (2:58.97) and the mile (5:01.55).

Claire Palmer (FR Middlebury): Claire finished #4 in the conference for the 3000, with an incredible 9:40.88 at New England D3 Championships. That ranked her #19 in all of D3. She's 13th ranked in the mile with a 5:01.74.

Lily Simmonds (FR Tufts): Lily finished #4 in the 1000, running 2:55.68 at the Tufts 6-Way Invite. She's #11 in the mile with her 5:00.14. Lily displayed a best-in-class kick this season. In her 1000 PR, she closed with a 33.3 second final lap. In her mile, she closed with a 32.8 final 200.

Laura White (FR Bowdoin): Laura finished #5 in the highly contest mile event, with her 4:57.26 at the Tufts Final Qualifier. She was the 4th fastest freshman in D3 for the mile this season. She was #15 in conference 1000 with a 2:59.56.

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MOST IMPROVED

Awarded for athletes whose results were significantly better than historical performances. Listed alphabetically by last name.

Samara McVey (SO Tufts) had a terrific sophomore campaign. She ran a 5:07.14 mile at the Tufts 6-Way. That was a huge 22 second pickup on her mile time from her freshman year. She cruised to a 10:11.03 in the 3000 at BU Valentine. And ran a fast 18:01.78 in the 5000 in an early season event on the Track @ NB.

Janie Morganroth (SR Middlebury) made the most of her final year of indoor track. She ran a 5:15.97 mile at Tufts Cupid, a pick-up of 19 seconds from her previous best set back in 2024. And 27 seconds from her season best last year! She also added a 10:43.22 3000 to her PRs this season. Go senior!

Audrey Stevens (SO Bowdoin) made a big jump from her first year to second year. She ran a 5:15.51 mile at Maine States at Bates. She didn't run the mile her freshman year, but she did do the 1500 in outdoor, in 5:05.60. That 1500 time converts to a 5:30.82, so she ran 15 seconds faster this season. Audrey also ran a 3:04.46 in the 1000.

Ava Del Vescovo (JR Trinity) showed a big advance in her fitness. Her mile time dropped from 5:34.38 last year to 5:14.01 this year at BU Valentine. Just a terrific improvement. Her 1000 PR also dropped 7 seconds to 3:04.46.

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TOP 5 PER EVENT

A couple observations on the lists below. First, a freshman appears in each event top 5, except the 5000. Perhaps running 25 laps is not something rookies are enthralled with. Although shout out to Grace Kaelber (FR Middlebury) for running a 17:51.53 in the 5000 this season.

We see some athletes that are top 5 across multiple events: Kate Tuttle, Grace McDonough, Morgan Eigel. Impressive range for those three.

800

Annika Paluska (SO Williams) 2:10.55
Zoe Marcus (JR Amherst) 2:10.92
Alexa Estes (SR Conn College) 2:11.22
Piper Lentz (SR Amherst) 2:11.46
Hannah Pawlowski (FR Bates) 2:14.01

1000

Piper Lentz (SR Amherst) 2:54.25
Alexa Estes (SR Conn College) 2:54.58
Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) 2:54.58
Lily Simmonds (FR Tufts) 2:55.68
Kaylee Hale (SO Bowdoin) 2:55.74

MILE

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) 4:43.81
Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) 4:50.16
Morgan Eigel (JR Williams) 4:55.52
Jordan Liss-Riordan (JR Williams) 4:57.23
Laura White (FR Bowdoin) 4:57.26

3000

Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) 9:32.19
Morgan Eigel (JR Williams) 9:32.78
Tamar Byl (JR Williams) 9:40.69
Claire Palmer (FR Middlebury) 9:40.88
Grace McDonough (SR Conn College) 9:43.39

5000

Charlene Peng (SR Williams) 16:44.22
Tamar Byl (JR Williams) 16:49.13
Kate Tuttle (SO Williams) 16:50.78
Elizabeth Donahue (SR Tufts) 16:54.83
Morgan Eigel (JR Williams) 16:56.45

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And that's it, indoor season is a wrap. Shout-out to all the women who persevered through cold, snowy winter training and put themselves on the line in their races.

Now for some warmer temperatures, more sunshine, and weather variability in outdoor track.