NCAA Championships Bring an End to Promising Indoor Track & Field Postseason

On Sunday, March 15, the last day of the NCAA DIII Championships, the Indoor Track & Field season officially came to an end. The National Championships, however, were just the capstone to a very exciting postseason run for both the men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams, including the Centennial Conference Championships and the Tufts National Qualifying meet. 

The postseason began on Saturday, February 28, when both teams traveled to Franklin & Marshall College for the Centennial Conference Indoor Championships. Both teams found success: the men’s team scored 100 points—their highest total since 2019—to place fourth, while the women’s team scored 54 points to finish fifth. Several individual performances stood out in the strong team showing, with some athletes earning the chance to compete on Saturday, March 7, for a spot in the NCAA Championships. In the end, it was Jory Lee ‘26 in the long jump and the men’s Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team, consisting of Micah Lachman ‘26, Thomas Fendig ‘28, Reef Kirchner ‘28, and Simon Lane ‘29, who would represent the school at the National Championships.

Attitudes across both teams were largely positive after the Conference Championships. One standout performer, Simon Lane, won gold in both the DMR and the Men’s 3000 meters. He expressed excitement about the squad’s performance. “Everybody performed really well,” Lane said. Reflecting on his own races, he called the meet “a big confidence boost going into nationals season.”

For sophomore Thomas Fendig, who competed in five sprint events and scored the most points for the men’s team, the conference championships underscored the importance of team scoring. “Everyone wants a medal, but the top eight score,” he said. “If you finish eighth, you’re doing just as much for the team as if you’re winning an event.” Freshman Lorelei Middleton, who earned silver in the women’s 400 meters, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the team atmosphere: “We’re all cheering for each other in every race.”

The last opportunity to qualify for Nationals came on Saturday, March 7, at the Tufts National Qualifying meet. It was there that Lorelei Middleton, Olivia D’Aulerio ‘26, Taniya Denson ‘29, Anastasia Jaycobs ‘27, and Nadine Tang ‘27 attempted to qualify in individual events for the women’s team, while Jory Lee and the DMR team attempted to qualify on the men’s side.

In the end, only Lee and the men’s DMR team secured qualification for nationals. Great performances from the whole DMR team secured qualification and the additional honor of a school record by running 9:53.34, blowing past the previous 15-year-old record of 9:56.01. 

For Lee and the DMR, the next stop was Birmingham, Alabama, to race at the NCAA DIII National Championships. Unfortunately, the long indoor season began to weigh on some athletes. Lee, competing in the triple jump, noted the difficulty of maintaining peak performance through the extended qualifying process. “I spent the month leading up to nationals pressing every meet to do better because I didn’t know if someone was going to bump me out,” he said. “Whereas someone who is more clearly qualified would have been able to relax and spend that time training and preparing.” At nationals, Lee jumped 13.98 meters, finishing 13th out of 17 competitors.

The DMR team also faced challenges on the national stage, ultimately finishing 12th. Several runners emphasized that simply qualifying should not be the program’s goal. Lane reflected this mindset: “Even though qualifying for nationals is a big achievement for us, we shouldn’t take it as a big success because ultimately the goal is to be competitive.” Notably, the team’s qualifying time at Tufts would have placed them eighth at nationals.

Looking ahead, many athletes see great potential in the current team. “We have a really young, promising team,” Fendig said. “I think as a DMR, we’re going to have a shot to get to nationals every year.” The current relay group includes one freshman, two sophomores, and one senior, suggesting continuity moving forward.

Not all athletes got the chance to contest for a spot at the NCAA Championships, though. Freshman Devyn Telleen competed at the conference championships as part of a school-record-breaking 4×800-meter relay team but did not qualify for the NCAA Championships and will now turn her attention to the outdoor season. “I know that I raced as best as I could,” she said. “My times aren’t where I want them to be yet, but I’m really excited to move on and focus on running outdoors.”