La Crosse, Wisc. — MIT’s
Hailey Surace cleared 4.10 meters (13' 5 ¼") to earn national runner-up honors in the pole vault on the opening day of the 2026 NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships on Thursday at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.
Surace's mark was a career-best for the senior and the second-best mark in MIT program history, as she only trailed Madde Habberstad of host Wisconsin – La Crosse in the standings. MIT senior
Katelyn Howard finished 18th in her final NCAA appearance; Howard cleared 3.75 meters (12' 3.5") on her final attempt at the height, but unfortunately could not clear at 3.85 meters (12' 7.50") to continue on.
In the 1500 Meters preliminaries,
Lexi Fernandez finished fifth in the opening heat and tenth overall with a personal-best time of 4:25.95 to earn a place in Saturday's final. Fernandez was 0.52 seconds from earning an automatic qualifying spot but ended up with the second-best time outside of automatic qualifying to advance.
In the 3000-meter steeplechase prelims, Wellesley College senior
Ella Whinney came in sixth place in the first heat and 12th place overall, and has now advanced to the top-12 finals tomorrow night and will compete at 7:00 PM ET. MIT’s
Liv Girand finished eighth in her heat and 15th overall in 10:45.25 but did not earn a spot in Saturday's final. She earned All-America second team honors.
In the 4x400 Meter Relay preliminaries, MIT’s
Madeline Hon,
Nandini Warrier,
Krystal Montgomery, and
Shreya Kalyan got the job done in the opening round to advance to Saturday's final. MIT was fourth in a fast heat that included Wisconsin – La Crosse, Bethel, and Wash U., finishing in 3:44.93 to take fourth in the heat but sixth among the 16 teams in qualifying.
In the last event of the night, MIT’s
Kate Sanderson ran to a finish of 35:18.25 to place 13th overall and earn All-America second team honors in the 10000 meters. Sanderson was running in the top five until the 6,400-meter mark but could not keep pace with the leaders over the final 3,600 meters.
Day Two will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Friday morning.
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.