Terre Haute, Indiana -- "Cross Country Town, USA" is an intimidating place to be. The wide, grassy expanses of the Laverne Gibson course offer no respite from the thousands of spectators who excitedly flood the course. In Terre Haute, racers put it all on the line within view of the entire nation. But it was clear from the moment the gun went off that despite this, the Williams team was confident in their hard work and racing ability. The Eph women soared to a third place finish, upsetting USTFCCCA's sixth place ranking.This is the first time the team has broken into the podium since 2019.
The team was led by first year Katte Tuttle. Tuttle established her position in the top pack early, coming across the 1k marker in 17th. She patiently moved up in the pack throughout the course of the race, ultimately crossing the line in eighth with a time of 21:12. In addition to her new-found All-American status, Tuttle was the first freshman in the nation to finish, coming in seven spots ahead of Hamilton's Keira Rogan.
Next across the line were Tamar Byl-Brann '27 and Kate Swann '26. Their teamwork throughout the race and ability to strategically push ahead of the competition in the middle section of the race earned them 27th and 33rd respectively, with times of 21:35 and 21:42. This catapulted them to All-American status for the first time, prompting shrieks of the excitement from the entire team.
Nora Johnson '25 and Lily Yampolsky '28 rounded out Williams' top five. In an astounding testament to the Ephs' ability to rely on and push each other, Johnson and Yampolsky crossed the line within a tenth of a second to each other. They finished 65th and 66th respectively, with a time of 22:06. The championship proved a masterful final cross country race for Johnson. Johnson moved up 39 spots between the 1K and 3K marks and another 17 spots in the last 1K of the race. Similarly, Yampolsky made up a whopping 60 places between the 1 and 3K marks, moving from 133rd to 73rd, and only further improving as the race went on.
Jordan Liss-Riordan '27 and Charlene Peng '26 completed William's top seven, running times of 22:22 and 22:33 and placing 100th and 133rd respectively. In matching fashion to her teammate Yampolsky, Liss-Riordan also dropped 60 spots between the 1K and 3K marks. Peng ran a strong and consistent race, establishing herself in the top half of the field in the first 1K and holding that position all the way through.
"The women were amazing today," Eph head coach Dusty Lopez remarked simply, "They were in great spirits beforehand, and then they raced fearlessly from start to finish. It was even more impressive considering how few of them had national meet experience. This was a really fun group to coach, and it was really nice to see them perform so well in the biggest meet of the year."
Twenty six fellow teammates on both the men's and women's sides came out to support today, showing that success on the national stage is truly a full-team mission. Among high emotions and a sea of purple and against the backdrop of the pillars of Terre Haute, the team accepted their hard-earned trophy. There truly could not have been a better end to an exciting stand-out season or a better day to be an Eph. When the Ephs return to Williamstown, the work will nevertheless resume, as the team pivots towards the indoor track season.
