The #2 Middlebury women's cross country team is set to host the 2026 NESCAC Championship. The women's six-kilometer (6K) race opens competition at 11:00 a.m., followed by the men's eight-kilometer (8K) race at 12:00 p.m.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• The Panthers enter the weekend second in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III poll.
• Middlebury has won 14 NESCAC titles, with their most recent crown coming in 2018.
• The navy and white claimed its first team title at the Connecticut College Invitational in eight years, with three Panthers finishing inside the top five.
• The squad also earned a runner-up placement at the season-opening Aldrich Invitational and secured fifth as the lone Division III squad at the Maribel Sanchez Souther Invitational.

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• The talented trio of Audrey MacLean, Claire Palmer and Annelise Jensen has headlined the Middlebury contingent this season. MacLean, the defending NESCAC champion, grabbed her first individual crown of the campaign at Harkness Park. She became the third runner to win the Connecticut College event on three or more occasions, and her clocking of 20:36.6 was the third-fastest time in the meet's history.
• Palmer has continued to hone her craft after placing third at the conference meet as a rookie. Palmer has posted two top-six efforts this fall, headlined by a career-best time of 20:54.9 at the national event hosted by the Camels.
• Jensen earned fifth place at both the Aldrich Invitational (22:50.8) and the Connecticut College meet (21:02.5). The latter effort was the best of her career, rewriting the personal best of 21:52.3 she set at Dartmouth's invite.
• Annecy Vlieks and MK Cestaro have bolstered the Panther core with solid efforts throughout the season. Vlieks has showcased a late burst in her debut season, overtaking nine runners in the final split of the team's home meet and surpassing five competitors late at Harkness Park for a season-best time of 21:35.0.
• Cestaro trailed Vlieks by one-tenth of a second to finish 15th at the Aldrich Invitational (23:17.5). She went on to log her premier effort of 21:44.5 in the Constitution State, climbing 29 spots after the first split to finish 35th.
• Shea Fajen recorded a time of 21:57.3 at the Connecticut College Invitational, becoming the sixth Panther to record a sub-22-minute time this fall. Caroline VanSchaick was another Middlebury runner to log a career time in Connecticut, stopping the clock at 22:13.1.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS

• Williams earned its sixth consecutive NESCAC Championship in 2025. The Panthers boast the second-most titles (14) behind the Ephs, who have 22.
• Alongside MacLean and Palmer, Williams' Kate Tuttle (fourth) and Morgan Eigel (fifth) return from last year's top-five finishers.
• Other top-10 NESCAC finishers from the Connecticut College Invitational included Tuttle (sixth - 21:04.2) and Tamar Byl (seventh - 21:04.4), along with senior Camels Kiera Tallas (eighth - 21:04.4) and April Schilling (ninth - 21:06.9).
• Four other NESCAC squads are ranked in the top 25 of the latest USTFCCCA Coaches Poll: #4 Williams, #7 Tufts, #22 Connecticut College and #24 Bates.

Information about the championship can be found on the central landing page on the NESCAC website.