La Crosse, Wisc. — Hailey Surace cleared 4.10 meters (13' 5 ¼") to earn national runner-up honors in the pole vault as the MIT women's track and field team competed on the opening day of the 2026 NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships on Thursday at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.
Surace's mark was a career-best for the senior and the second-best mark in MIT program history, as she only trailed Madde Habberstad of host Wisconsin – La Crosse in the standings.
THE BASICS:
TOP PERFORMERS - Field Events:
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Pole Vault (Final): Surace scored eight points for the Engineers in the team standings with her runner-up performance. After needing all three attempts to clear 4.05 meters (13' 3.5") she cruised over the bar on her first attempt at 4.10 meters. However, Surace could not clear the next progression, as Habberstad topped 4.15 meters (13' 7.25") to win the title. Senior Katelyn Howard finished 18th in her final NCAA appearance; Howard cleared 3.75 meters (12' 3.5") on her final attempt at the height but unfortunately could not clear at 3.85 meters (12' 7.50") to continue on.
TOP PERFORMERS - Track Events:
- 1500 Meters (Prelims): Lexi Fernandez finished fifth in the opening heat and tenth overall with a personal-best time of 4:25.95 to earn a place in Saturday's final. Fernandez was 0.52 seconds from earning an automatic qualifying spot but ended up with the second-best time outside of automatic qualifying to advance.
- 3000 Meter Steeplechase (Prelims): Liv Girand finished eighth in her heat and 15th overall in 10:45.25 but did not earn a spot in Saturday's final. She earned All-America second team honors.
- 4x400 Meter Relay (Prelims): Madeline Hon, Nandini Warrier, Krystal Montgomery, and Shreya Kalyan got the job done in the opening round to advance to Saturday's final. MIT was fourth in a fast heat that included Wisconsin – La Crosse, Bethel, and Wash U., finishing in 3:44.93 to take fourth in the heat but sixth among the 16 teams in qualifying.
- 10,000 Meters (Final): Kate Sanderson ran to a finish of 35:18.25 to place 13th overall and earn All-America second team honors. Sanderson was running in the top five until the 6,400-meter mark but could not keep pace with the leaders over the final 3,600 meters.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Surace was making her seventh NCAA Championship appearance. She is now a four-time first-team All-American. She was also the national runner-up in the pole vault at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships.
- Howard was making her sixth NCAA Championship appearance.
- Fernandez was making her fourth NCAA Championship appearance but her first at outdoor nationals. She will race on Saturday at 2:25 PM EDT.
- Girand was making her third NCAA Championship appearance and her second in the steeplechase; she was 10th in last year's final.
- Sanderson is making her eighth appearance at NCAA track and field nationals. The veteran will now turn her focus to the 5,000-meter final on Saturday at 5:00 PM EDT.
NEXT UP:
- Day two of the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships will take place tomorrow at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. MIT is scheduled to compete in three events.
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