LA CROSSE, Wis. — Senior Michaina Loriston shattered her own school record to place third in the 100 meters on the final day at the NCAA Division III National Championship at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex in La Crosse, Wis.
Loriston's time of 11.64 obliterated her former school standard of 11.77 set at last year's NEWMAC Championship preliminaries. Loriston finished third in the 100 meters just behind University of Wisconsin-Platteville senior Isabel Peterson's (Lexington, Ky.) time of 11.63. Calvin College graduate student Sydney Radigan (Portland, Ore.) won the gold in the race with a mark of 11.48. Loriston quickly got out of the blocks in lane one and never let up, finishing ahead of the other six entries. Loriston earns First Team All-America status with her placement for the third time in her career.
Wheaton's 4X100-meter relay, consisting of senior
Wendy Wooden, Loriston, junior
Camille Connors and senior
Kate Wickenheisser posted a time of 46.77 to finish eighth for the Lyons. The top-eight finish assures the quartet of First Team All-America laurels. Wheaton's top-eight showing is its second in the last three years for the event, following a fifth-place effort at the 2024 NCAA III Outdoor National Championship.
The Lyons tallied seven points for the meet to place 35th in the championship meet for their highest finish since Wheaton finished sixth with 23 points in 2014.
Paced by five top-ten finishes on the final day of competition, the MIT women's track and field team earned a tenth-place team finish, finishing in the top ten in each of the past four years at outdoor nationals.
In the javelin, Elaine Wang threw a career-best 44.08 meters (144' 7") to earn a fifth-place finish in her final NCAA Championship appearance. Wang's first throw was her best throw as it held up through the remaining rounds of the competition to earn MIT four points.
In the 1500 Meters, MIT's
Lexi Fernandez tallied a 10th-place finish in 4:27.60. Fernandez held the spot through the opening 700 meters and through the finish.
Shreya Kalyan raced to a spot on the podium in 54.89 in the 400–meter final. Kalyan took sixth overall to earn MIT three points in the team standings.
Krystal Montgomery missed the podium by just .29 seconds in her final NCAA appearance for MIT. Montgomery was ninth in 2:09.63 in the 800 meter. She was in the top five through the opening 400 meters but dropped back during the second lap to ultimately finish ninth.
In the 5,000 Meters final, MIT's
Kate Sanderson ran 17:18.40 to take 20th. Sanderson ran near the back of the pack throughout the race, briefly moving up to 18th place around the 3000-meter mark before finishing in 20th.
MIT's 4x400 Relay of
Madeline Hon,
Nandini Warrier, Montgomery, and Kalyan clinched MIT's top ten finish with All-America honors in the 4x400 meter relay to close out the meet. The Engineers were at the back of the pack through the first half of the race, but Montgomery and Kalyan moved MIT up to sixth and secured a spot on the podium in 3:44.86.
Springfield College junior
Katherine DeFosse finished fourth in the country in the 100-meter hurdles. DeFosse put up a school record time of 13.78 seconds, cementing her spot as an All-American. Her time was not only a school record, but it sits just outside the top-10 all-time in Division III women's track and field history.
DeFosse collected five points for Springfield's team score as the Pride finished tied for 48th nationally and was one of only 78 programs from across Division III – of nearly 350 sponsoring institutions - to record points at this weekend's championship.
Wellesley College finished 55th in team standings with four points from Ella Whinney's finish in the 3000m Steeplechase.
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.