The Middlebury women's track and field team has its sights set on claiming the program's fourth-straight NESCAC Championship this weekend. Wesleyan serves as the host for both genders, with the first event starting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.
 
ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• Middlebury first hoisted the conference trophy in 1998, followed by another title in 2000. The squad is the three-time defending champion, earning the crown in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
• The Panthers have finished in the top-three spots in 11-conseuctive editions of the meet.
• Last year, Middlebury had 11 individuals and two relays place in the top three to garner All-NESCAC honors, highlighted by four individual champions. 
• Head coach Martin Beatty '84 and his staff have been lauded with conference coach of the year laurels three times on the women's side (2016, 2022, 2023).

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• A year ago, Audrey MacLean paced the Panthers with titles in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000 and was named NESCAC's Most Outstanding Rookie Performer. MacLean enters the meet with the second-fastest times in both events, highlighted by her school record of 10:28.51 in the steeple.
• Middlebury has four NESCAC Champion throwers returning to the field this year. Jaxon Palmer claimed the 2022 javelin crown and was the 2024 runner-up, while securing the 2024 hammer throw title. Her mark of 46.84 meters in the hammer ranks third, while ranking sixth in the javelin (36.55m). 
• Julia Tulimieri claimed the shot put title a year ago and is third in the conference with a season-best toss of 12.16m. The Panther also owns the sixth-best mark in the hammer this season (44.86m). Teammate Lilly Wurtz is seeded just ahead of Tulimieri in the shot, securing a school-record launch of 12.40m earlier this season. 
• The 2023 discus champion Madeline Sauders looks to claim the crown again, ranking second in the event with a mark of 40.68m. Wurtz is right behind in the event seedings with a launch of 40.18m. 
• The last returning champion for the Panthers is Elle Thompson who was part of the 2023 4x800 relay squad. She ran a leg of the runner-up relay a year ago with returning teammates Lily Bulczynski and Caroline VanSchaick. Thompson enters the weekend ninth in the 400 with a clocking of 58.04 seconds, while Bulczynski sits ninth in the 800 (2:16.38) and VanSchaick is 12th (2:17.60). Last season, Thompson garnered All-NESCAC honors with a third-place finish in the 800.
• Claiming silver in the long jump a year ago, Macy Daggitt ranks fourth in the conference with a mark of 5.75m. The Panther set the school record in the event in 2024, hitting the sand at 5.87m.
• Finishing in third in the pole vault last season was Zoe Wang. The Panther is 10th with a clearance of 3.52m. She owns the indoor (3.77m) and outdoor (3.70m) school records in the event. 
• Rounding out the group of top-five ranked athletes are Bea Parr in the 5,000 (fourth - 17:19.36) and the 1,500 (fifth - 4:37.03) and Emily Rubio in the high jump (first - 1.67m) and the 400 hurdles (fifth - 1:04.92).
• Middlebury has not raced the 4x800 relay this spring, but is ranked fourth in the 4x400 and fifth in the 4x100. 

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

• Williams paces the league with 26 titles and had claimed six-straight championships before the Panthers' reign.
• Bowdoin's Kennedy Kirkland won the long jump a year ago and is ranked first with a mark of 6.28m. The Polar Bear is tied for third in the 200 with a clocking of 24.91 seconds, as her graduated teammate claimed the crown in both the 200 and 400 a year ago.
• Tufts' Jordan Andrew hit the sand at 11.67m in the triple jump to earn the title last season. The Jumbo is ranked second with a mark of 12.29m, while owning the third-best leap in the long jump (5.80m).
• Emma Ramsingh of Amherst returns as the defending discus champion. The Mammoth owns the fifth-best toss of the spring at 39.69m.
• Defending her title in the 1,500 is Grace McDonough of Connecticut College, owning the fastest time of 4:27.16. The Camel is also ranked first in the 5,000 (16:29.06) and fourth in the 800 (2:13.77). Alexa Estes seeks to defend the title in the 800 and boasts the top time of 2:10.71.
• Williams' Rachel Arthur crossed the line first in the 100 a year ago and was the runner-up in the 200. The Eph enters the weekend ranked first in both events and is a member of the 4x100 relay with the second-quickest clocking. 
• Colby's Fiona Mejico ranks in the top-five spots in five events. The Mule claimed the crown in the 400 hurdles and was a member of the winning 4x100 relay a year ago. The team is ranked first in the relay, while Mejico owns the fastest time in the hurdles (59.79 seconds). 

CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION

• Hosted by Wesleyan
• Championship Central

The Panthers have four meets following the conference championships before the NCAA field is announced on May 16.