The Middlebury women's track and field team sits in third place with 24 points after the opening day of competition at the 2026 NESCAC Championships hosted by Williams. Tufts leads the way with 37 points, while Amherst is second with 27.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Lilly Wurtz grabbed the top spot in the shot put, heaving the implement a program record 12.74 meters on her initial attempt. Joining Wurtz in the top three was Julia Tulimieri, securing bronze with 12.01m during her final chance. Olive Lawrence also gained a point for the Panthers in eighth (11.61m).
• Tulimieri and Wurtz secured points for Middlebury in the hammer throw. Tulimieri logged a toss of 47.44m on her initial attempt for fifth, while Wurtz was less than a meter behind (46.50m) to secure sixth.
• Lawrence clocked a time of 12.23 seconds during the 100-meter dash preliminary round to grab a slot in Sunday's championship final. Katie Bruno was just four-hundredths of a second out of the final qualifying spot at 12.51 seconds.
• In the 100 hurdles, Emma Mills clocked a time of 14.79 seconds in the second heat. Her effort was the fourth-fastest, securing a position in Sunday's final.
• All three of the Panther entries in the 400 posted strong times. Ella Pate crossed the finish line at 57.21 seconds, slotting her fourth in the standings. Alison Rayment and Mary Elliot battled for the last spot in the championship final. Rayment logged a time of 57.96 seconds to secure eighth, while Elliot was 0.44 back in ninth.
• Two Panthers earned spots in the 800 championship race, as Naomi Atwood (2:12.75) and Lily Bulczynski (2:12.83) were sixth and seventh, respectively. Annelise Jensen finished ninth in the preliminary round, spotting the clock at 2:14.83.
• Anna Mazur clocked a time of 1:04.68 to grab the last spot in the final heat of the 400 hurdles. Her clocking was .09 seconds faster than Olivia LaBelle of Williams.

NOTES

• Wurtz becomes the second athlete in program history to win the shot put after Tulmieri claimed the event in 2024. Her toss of 12.74m bests the team mark of 12.58m set by Tulimieri last season.
• This marks the first time since 2002 that the track and field championships have expanded to a two-day invitational.

The program returns for the final day of competition on Sunday. Action is set to begin at 11:00 a.m.