Lily Haskins-Vaughan, Grace Kaelber, Claire Palmer and Lilly Wurtz of the Middlebury women's track and field squad have qualified for the 2026 NCAA Championship. The top 22 selections in each event punched their ticket to the national event beginning on Thursday, May 21 from the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

HASKINS-VAUGHAN'S HIGHLIGHTS

• Haskins-Vaughan has had a fantastic debut season in the navy and white, finishing 10th or better in all six of her high jump appearances. 
• The Panther bested her league peers at the NESCAC Championships, clearing 1.71 meters. She became the first Middlebury athlete to earn the individual crown since Grace Doering in 2012 and was named the conference's most outstanding rookie.
• Her performance at the NESCAC meet ties for seventh nationally with four other competitors.
• Haskins-Vaughan won the event at the Amherst Spring Fling and Middlebury Invitational with matching heights of 1.62m.
• She opened the spring slate with top-five performances at two meets in California featuring competitors from all three NCAA Divisions. The rookie claimed third at the University of California-Riverside Classic (1.62m) and fourth at the Mangrum Invitational (1.60m).
• Haskins-Vaughan is the second consecutive Panther to compete in the discipline on the national stage.

KAELBER'S HIGHLIGHTS

• Kaelber makes her initial track and field appearance and second national invite in a Panther uniform. She competed at the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
• The rookie claimed the final qualifying spot in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after her time of 10:44.34 at the UMass Commonwealth Invitational. 
• She earned her initial All-NESCAC nod in the event at the conference meet, finishing third with a clocking of 10:49.00.
• The Panther opened the spring campaign with a third-place finish during the Mangrum Invitational (11:09.20). Since then, Kaelber has shaved nearly 25 seconds off that time.

PALMER'S HIGHLIGHTS

• Palmer looks to build off a stellar first-year campaign. In the fall, she earned All-American honors with her 23rd-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
• The Panther comes off a program-record clocking of 16:36.62 in the 5,000 at the Farley Inter Regional Extravaganza, hosted by Williams. That time slots 17th in Division III. Her mark undercut the previous program mark of 16:36.94 set last season by teammate Audrey MacLean.
• Palmer has run the event two other times during the outdoor season. She grabbed top honors at the UMass Commonwealth Invitational (16:51.87) and a second-place showing at the NESCAC Championship (16:47.80).
• The rookie is a three-time United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region selection after earning the nod during the cross country season, alongside honors in both the 3,000 and distance medley relay (DMR) in the winter.

WURTZ'S HIGHLIGHTS

• Wurtz makes her initial appearance on the national stage.
• The senior enters with the 15th-furthest discus toss of 45.55m. That performance helped Wurtz take home the individual conference title at the NESCAC Championships and reset her own program mark by nearly a meter.
• She has claimed the event four times during the spring.
• Over her career, Wurtz has logged five all-region selections and two all-conference nods.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

• Three of the top performers return in the discus field. Augustana's Charlotte Frere enters the championship as the top seed at 56.59m and looks to defend her championship performance of 48.35m. Amblessed Okemgbo (Whitworth) and Kayla Behnke (Wisconsin Eau-Claire), who finished second and fourth last season, seek to take down Frere for the title. Behnke slots second in the field (51.99m), while Okemgbo is third (50.05m).
• Allie Wildsmith of Coast Guard Academy will attempt to take home the high jump title for the second season in a row. She is seeded second with a clearance of 1.78m. Serena McNeilly (Centre) enters the championship with the top performance (1.80m) and looks to improve on her third-place finish from a campaign ago. 
• There will be a new champion in the 5,000, as SUNY Geneseo's Penelope Greene has graduated. Connecticut College's Grace McDonough finished as the 2025 runner-up and enters with the seventh-quickest time of 16.33.13. Elle Marsyla of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps has the top clocking (16:13.26), followed by Vassar's Haley Schoenegge (16:15.60).
• Six of the finalists in the 3,000 steeplechase return to the field. Calvin's Sophie Bull searches for her second consecutive crown and paces the qualifiers by over 10 seconds with a seeded time of 10:07.18. Peyton Steffen of Central College, who claimed fourth a season ago, slots second at 10:17.90.

CHAMPIONSHIP INFO

• Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin
• Host Site: Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex
• Schedule (Event times are approximate and subject to change)
  • Thursday, May 21
    • 5:30 p.m. - Discus (final)
    • 7:10 p.m. - Steeplechase (preliminary)
  • Friday, May 22
    • 3:00 p.m. - High Jump (final)
    • 7:00 p.m. - Steeplechase (final)
  • Saturday, May 23
    • 5:00 p.m. - 5,000 (final)
• Championship Central
• Live Results

The NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships run from May 21-23 at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex in La Crosse, Wisconsin.