LA CROSSE, Wis. — Paced by five top-ten finishes on the final day of competition, the MIT women's track and field team earned a tenth-place team finish at the 2026 NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. The Engineers have finished in the top ten in each of the past four years at outdoor nationals.
THE BASICS:
TOP PERFORMERS - Field Events:
TOP PERFORMERS - Track Events:
- 1500 Meters (Final): Seven different runners set personal records in the final of the 1500 meters, where MIT's Lexi Fernandez tallied a 10th place finish in 4:27.60. Fernandez held the spot through the opening 700 meters and through the finish.
- 400 Meters (Finals): Shreya Kalyan raced to a spot on the podium in 54.89 in the 400–meter final. Kalyan took sixth overall to earn MIT three points in the team standings.
- 800 Meters (Final): Krystal Montgomery missed the podium by just .29 seconds in her final NCAA appearance. Montgomery was ninth in 2:09.63. She was in the top five through the opening 400 meters but dropped back during the second lap to ultimately finish ninth.
- 5,000 Meters (Final) Kate Sanderson ran 17:18.40 to take 20th. Sanderson ran near the back of the pack throughout the race, briefly moving up 18th place around the 3000-meter mark before finishing in 20th.
- 4x400 Meter Relay (Final): Madeline Hon, Nandini Warrier, Montgomery, and Kalyan clinched MIT's top ten finish with All-America honors in the 4x400 meter relay to close out the meet. The Engineers were at the back of the pack through the first half of the race, but Montgomery and Kalyan moved MIT up to sixth and secured a spot on the podium in 3:44.86.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Wang qualified for outdoor nationals for the third straight season and earned her second consecutive All-America first team honor and a career-best finish in fifth place. Wang was 8th in the javelin in 2025.
- Fernandez was making her first career trip to outdoor nationals after making three indoor nationals. She will graduate as a five-time All-American.
- Kalyan was making her fifth NCAA appearance but just her second in the 400 Meters; she was 13th in the 400 meters at the 2025 indoor championships. She earned her first individual All-America honor to go along with All-America accolades in the 4x400.
- Montgomery was making her fifth career NCAA appearance and second consecutive at the outdoor championships. She earned her first individual All-America honor along with All-America honors in the 4x400.
- Sanderson completes a remarkable career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in MIT history. She qualified for every indoor and outdoor NCAA Championship she was eligible to compete in, making eight trips to nationals while collecting eight All-America honors in track and field. She was also a four-time qualifier and three-time All-American in cross country.
- Hon earned a fourth career All-America first team honor in the 4x400 and a second on the outdoor track.
- Warrier was making her first career appearance at outdoor nationals; she added 4 x 400 All-America laurels to her first team honors in the 4x400 during the indoor season.
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