BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Rujuta Sane captured the national championship in the 5,000m to lead the MIT women's track and field team on Friday at the 2026 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Sane's stellar performance in the 5,000m was one of four All-America first team performances for the Engineers, as Kate Sanderson added a fifth-place finish in the 5,000m and Katelyn Howard and Hailey Surace finished seventh and eighth in the pole vault, respectively. MIT claimed 14 points in the 5,000m and 2.5 more in the pole vault and is currently fifth in the team standings.
THE BASICS:
TOP PERFORMERS - Track Events:
- Mile: Lexi Fernandez earned All-American second team honors with an 11th place finish in 4:51.89. Fernandez was fifth in the opening heat, one spot out of the automatic qualifiers at the conclusion of the heat but moved to 11th after a fast second heat.
- 400m: Shreya Kalyan was fourth in the fourth heat and 13th overall with a personal record of 56.32 to earn All-American second team honors.
- 800m: Krystal Montgomery took sixth in the second heat and 14th overall, claiming All-America second team accolades in 2:12.74.
- 5,000m: Sane was the star, pulling away from the pack to claim her first national title in 16:45.22. Sanderson joined her senior classmate on the podium, finishing fifth in 16:51.91. Liv Girand was 20th in 17:24.58.
- 4 x 400m Relay: Madeline Hon, Kalyan, Nandini Warrier, and Montgomery were 7th in qualifying in 3:48.59 to advance to Saturday's final.
TOP PERFORMERS - Field Events:
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Pole Vault: Howard and Surace each cleared the bar at 3.85m (12'7.5") on the first attempt, but neither could advance past the 3.95m progression as the duo finished seventh and eighth. Surace needed two attempts at 3.75m (12' 3.5"), putting her one spot back of her teammate as both finished in All-America first team positions.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Fernandez's finished with the fourth best time in MIT program history to earn All-America second team in the mile, her third career indoor All-America honor. Her time was fourth in MIT program history.
- Kalyan's earned her second indoor All-American honor and first in the 400m.
- Montgomery claimed a second career indoor All-America honor after earning first team honors last year in the DMR.
- Sane's 5,000m finish was her first individual national title and second career All-America honor in the indoor 5,000m.
- Sanderson is now a four-time indoor All-American, she was also a second team All-American in the 5,000m in 2023-24.
- Howard claimed her second career All-America first team honor and her third overall (second team in 2024-25)
- Surace earned her second career first team All-America honors in the indoor pole vault after finishing as the runner-up last year at indoor nationals.
NEXT UP:
- Saturday is the final day of the 2026 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships at Birmingham CrossPlex.
- Sane and Sanderson will represent MIT in the 3,000m while the Engineers will race in the finals of the 4 x 400m Relay and Amalia Christina Toutziaridi will compete in the high jump.
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