The University of Chicago women's track and field team has claimed the NCAA Division III indoor national championship, marking a significant achievement for the program. The victory came in the distance medley relay event on March 15, where fourth-year students Ren Brown and Claudia Harnett, along with third-year students Emma Kelly and Nora Holmes, outperformed 11 other teams to secure the title. This win is particularly notable as it is the team's first track individual national title since 2021.
The Maroons have been close to winning in previous years, finishing third in 2022, second in 2023, and eighth in 2024 despite being one of the top seeds. Entering this year's meet as the No. 1 seed, they set a new Division III event record in mid-February.
Ren Brown reflected on her mindset going into the championship: “Going into this year’s indoor championship, especially as a fourth-year, I intentionally avoided the mindset of ‘I have to make up for last year,’” she said. “Instead, I told myself ‘I want to have fun and do my best because it’s my last indoor season.’”
During the race, Holmes and Brown initially exchanged leads with MIT's team before Kelly and Harnett secured UChicago's victory by four seconds with a time of 11:37.62.
Emma Kelly commented on their approach: “Last year was frustrating... However, we all knew that we had put our best foot forward... I brought the same mentality to this race; all we needed to do was leave everything on the track.”
This championship is UChicago's first track national title since Michelle Dobbs' win in the 800-meter run in 2016. Their last NCAA championship was won by Isabel Maletich in field events in 2021.
Head coach Chris Hall praised his team's dedication: “I don’t believe that anyone wins a national championship without a great deal of work... The fact that this team faced adversity and continued to persevere says a great deal about their character.”
He added: “Relays seem to mean more than individual championships... Any time you are racing for others heightens the excitement level.”
All four members of the distance medley relay were named all-Americans. Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel also received honors for her performances in both the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs alongside Marina Semple for long jump achievements. Brown earned three first- and second-team honors from her efforts across various events while Holmes achieved second-team all-American status for her performance in the 3,000-meter run.
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