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For the first time in the team’s history, Connecticut College’s Varsity Women’s Cross Country competed in the NCAA Division III National Championships. The team, led by co-captains Lauren Hino ‘24 and Emma Pyles ‘24, was able to qualify for nationals on Saturday, November 18, in Newville, PA, following their team’s third place finish at the Mideast Regionals.
Competing in the championship for her second time individually, Hino was very proud of the team’s accomplishment. “It was a lot of fun,” said Hino. “It was really great to finally go as a team, we’ve been working towards that for the past couple of decades and it was a really great weekend with a lot of great performances…I was really happy with how it turned out.”
The Camels placed 28th out of 32 teams in their nationals debut, finishing ahead of Bates, Carnegie Mellon, UC Santa Cruz, and TCNJ. In a tough and hilly course, Carleton placed first in a very close call followed by NYU and the University of Chicago in second and third.
For the Camels, Alsacia Timmerman ‘26 crossed the finish at 22:48.4 at 141st place, followed by Edin Sisson ‘24 and Lauren Hino ‘24, who finished at 22:53.7, and 22:57.1, placing 160th and 171st. Abby Fernald ‘26 and Abigail Williams ‘27 had back-to-back finishes at 213th and 214th, rounding out the scoring for the Camels. Last, but certainly not least, Grace McDonough ‘26 and Alexa Estes ‘26 crossed the finish line at 222nd and 276th. Multiple Camel runners made up countless places in the race, with Timmerman passing 98 runners en route to her strong finish as the team’s top scorer.
All five scoring runners at nationals were also recipients of All-Region honors after having placed in the top 35 of individual runners in the NCAA Mideast Regional on November 11. At regionals, the Camels came in third place, a program best finish. As a result of their phenomenal performance, the team was able to qualify for the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history, whereas only individual athletes such as Hino have qualified in the past. “It was nice being able to feel my toes this year since it wasn’t freezing temperatures,” said Hino about her second appearance. “I was definitely not as nervous as last year but it was nice having the team there and getting around with the other girls.”
The Women of the Desert enjoyed an impressive season from start to finish. The Camels opened their season with impressive results at the Bryant and UMass Dartmouth Invitationals, finishing seventh and third only behind NCAA Division I teams. In large meets against various nationally ranked teams, the team achieved impressive finishes. Despite their team bus breaking down the night before the Paul Short Invitational, the Camels finished nineteenth, behind only five other nationally-ranked DIII programs and in front of many DI and DII schools including the University of New Hampshire, American University, and Holy Cross. At the Connecticut College Invitational, the home team placed sixth in a competitive field of 26 teams, only behind five teams ranked higher than them in the national rankings.
In the postseason, the team posted postseason best finishes of fourth and third respectively, at the NESCAC Championships and Mideast Regionals. At the NESCAC Championships, the team was led to a program high finish by Abby Fernald, who placed fifth and earned All-NESCAC honors despite a fall at the start line wiping out three of the Camels runners. A large part of the success was led by Fernald, who was the team’s top runner in four of the team’s meets, including a 6K time of 21:51, ranking third best all-time in program history at the College’s home meet. Additionally, the Camels enjoyed incredible consistency from Fernald, Sisson, and Williams, who finished in the scoring positions for the team at all seven meets which they competed in.
The women’s cross-country team made a strong effort at nationals, making program history, and setting a higher bar for the team itself. Given the close bonds and competitive nature that the Camels under the tutelage of Head Coach Ned Bishop ‘84 have developed, it may very well be possible that they will be strong contenders in NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country for many more years to come.
