BOSTON, MA — The Williams Women's Track and Field team competed at Middlebury's New England Small College Invitational on Sunday. The Ephs faced competition from other NESCAC schools, such as Bates College, Amherst College, and Middlebury. Overall, the Ephs had an outstanding day of competition — securing several lifetime bests, top 10 All-Time Williams College marks, and DIII New Englands qualifications.
The Ephs started the competition with a stnadout performance in the weight throw. Chloe Schneeberg delivered a massive personal best, throwing 15.97m to take first place, while Maria Fareti followed closely with a throw of 15.03m, securing second place. Fareti continued her strong showing in the shot put, placing third with a personal-best mark of 11.96m. Both Schneeberg and Fareti earned qualifying marks for the Division III New England Championships in their respective events.
In the horizontal jumps, Mireya King and Kelsey Tarby put forth solid efforts in the long jump, placing within the top 11 out of a competitive field of 30. The Ephs shined in the triple jump, where Rafaela Delgado secured first place with a mark of 11.42m, followed closely by Mireya King in second with a jump of 11.25m and both hitting the Division III New England qualifying mark. The Ephs continued their success in the high jump, where Amelia Jamanka cleared 1.56m to place second and secure a Division III New England qualifying mark. She was joined by Vivian Knowles who put up a strong effort in the event. The pole vault saw an outstanding group performance from the Ephs. Poppy Miller, Ellie Fitzgerald, and Jae Yu each cleared 3.55m, placing second, third, and fifth, respectively. Their performances secured them qualifying marks for the Division III New England Championships.
The Ephs had an impressive showing in the sprint events, starting with the 60m hurdle prelims. First-year Olivia LaBelle '28 placed 5th with a time of 9.50 seconds to secure her spot in the finals. In the finals, LaBelle improved her performance, finishing 4th in 9.39 seconds—a new personal best and a DIII New Englands qualifying time. Next up was the 60m dash prelims, where Rachel Arthur '25 led the field with the fastest overall time of 7.71 seconds, tying her personal record. Bella King-Harvey '27 secured a personal best of 7.92 seconds, followed by Maggie Nichols '28 (8.09) and Ella Sukup '26 (8.14), each setting personal records and advancing to the finals. Also competing in the prelims were Malia Klein '25 (8.20) and Claire Jensen '27 (8.23), with Jensen achieving a personal best. In the 60m dash finals, Arthur won the event with a time of 7.66 seconds. This mark is both a new personal record and also #2 on Williams' All-Time Performance List. King-Harvey placed 3rd in the finals with a time of 7.89 seconds, a personal best that ranks #4 on the All-Time Performance List. Sukup finished 4th in 8.04 seconds, while Nichols took 5th in 8.07 seconds, both personal records. All four Ephs—Arthur, King-Harvey, Sukup, and Nichols—earned DIII New Englands qualifying marks. The Ephs continued their momentum in the 400m, where Cate Donaldson '27 placed 2nd with a time of 58.00 seconds, qualifying for DIII New Englands. The sprinters closed out the day with strong performances in the 200m dash. King-Harvey took 2nd with a personal best of 25.12 seconds, earning the #3 spot on Williams' All-Time Performance List. Nichols followed in 7th with a personal best of 26.03 seconds, with Sukup in 8th (26.06) and Kelsey Tarby '27 in 9th (26.24), all achieving personal records. King-Harvey, Nichols, Sukup, and Tarby also hit DIII New Englands qualifying marks in the 200m.
The Ephs continued to their strong showing on the track in the mid-distance and distance events. In the women's 800m, school record-holder Annika Paluska '28 took the win with a time of 2:14.75. Close behind was Lily Yampolsky '28 who placed 3rd with a personal best of 2:15.32. Both Ephs secured DIII New Englands qualifying times. The women's 5k race saw another strong showing from the Ephs. Julia Brennan '27 finished 2nd overall in 18:09.53, followed by Hannah Prokup '28 in 3rd with a personal best of 18:23.11. Both Brennan and Prokup set new personal records and qualified for DIII New Englands. In the women's mile, freshman Kate Tuttle continued her successful year following an impressive cross country season. Tuttle won the event with a personal best time of 4:53.91, which ranks #3 on the Williams All-Time Performance List. Morgan Eigel '27 finished 5th in the mile with a personal best of 5:11.78. Both Tuttle and Eigel hit the DIII New Englands qualifying standard for this event. In the women's 3k race, Blakeley Buckingham '25 made a strong season debut, running a personal best of 9:57.11 to win the event. Tamar Byl-Brann '27 followed in 2nd place with a time of 10:15.49, and Morgan Eigel '27 placed 3rd in 10:18.13. Charlene Peng '26 placed 5th with a time of 10:23.99. Buckingham, Byl-Brann, Eigel, and Peng earned DIII New Englands qualifying marks in the 3k.
The final event on the track for the Ephs was the 4x400m relay, where both Williams relay teams delivered strong performances. The team of Bella King-Harvey '27, Cate Donaldson '27, Annika Paluska '28, and Claire Jensen '27 took 1st place with an impressive time of 3:55.17. The second team of Kate Tuttle '28, Maggie Nichols '28, Ella Sukup '26, and Kelsey Tarby '27 secured 5th with a time of 4:09.27.
The Ephs had a strong showing across all of the event groups at the Middlebury New England Small College Invite. They now turn their focus to next weekend, where they'll compete at the Harvard Invitational and the BU Terrier Invitational, and hope to continue their momentum.
