The MIT women's track and field team won its first NCAA Division III National Championship in program history on Saturday, March 15, at the 2025 NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships, hosted by Nazareth College in Rochester, New York.

The Engineers, who entered the meet as the top-ranked team in the nation, scored the most points ever scored by an MIT women's team at a national indoor meet. They finished with 49 points, which earned them a first place finish in a field of 62. They were ahead of Washington University, with 45.5 points; the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse, with 37 points; Loras College, with 32 points; and the State University of New York at Geneseo, with 29 points.

“This was such a fun and exciting outcome, and what our team has been working toward all year,” says Julie Heyde, MIT director of track and field and head coach of cross country and track and field. “Since last year, even, the team knew they had a possibility of being national champs. We didn't gear only toward this goal; we have been very process-driven, and that's why this team win is so special. Each and every person competed for each other, representing a total team culture.” 

Field events

On Friday, senior Alexis Boykin (Clayton, Ohio) delivered the second-best mark in NCAA Division III history in the weight throw, claiming her second consecutive NCAA National Championship in the event. Boykin's opening attempt traveled 19.71 m and would have won the event, but the defending national champion followed with three throws of over 20 m on her next four attempts, including a mark of 20.48 (67' 2 1/4") on her second attempt. With her second consecutive national championship in hand, Boykin took aim at the national record on her final attempt, encouraging the crowd to make some noise before delivering with a mark of 2.91 m.

On Saturday, Boykin's third attempt in the shot put was the mark to beat, as the defending national champion registered a mark of 15.31 meters. Senior Emily Ball (Des Moines, Iowa) set a new personal record with a mark of 14.19m (46 feet, 6-3/4 inches) to finish in sixth and earn All-American honors. Ball's second throw was the best attempt for the MIT senior, earning the Engineers three valuable points in the team standings. The win gave Boykin two titles on the weekend and her seventh individual NCAA national championship.

In the pole vault, junior Hailey Surace (Danville, Calif.) set a new collegiate personal record of 3.97 m (13' 0 1/4") to finish as the national runner-up, earning All-America honors in the pole vault and seven points in the team standings. Surace cleared each of the first six progressions on her first attempt at each height. However, national champion Yasmin Ruff of WashU was the only competitor to clear 4.02m (13' 2 1/4").

Junior Nony Otu Ugwu (Katy, Texas) finished ninth in the first flight of the triple jump and did not advance to the final. Otu Ugwu's best mark came on her second jump with a mark of 11.78m (38 feet, 7-3/4 inches).

Running events

On Friday in the 5000-meter race: Junior Rujuta Sane (Chandler, Ariz.) moved from sixth place up to fifth place in the final stretch to earn MIT four points in the event. Sane finished in 16:56.67 to earn All-America accolades. 

In the distance medley relay, senior Christina Crow (Mercer Island, Wash.), senior Marina Miller (Bel Air, Md.), and junior Kate Sanderson (West Hartford, Conn.) finished with a time 11:41.39 to pick up eight points for the Engineers. 

On Saturday, Graduate student Gillian Roeder (Delmar, New York) finished fifth in the mile event in a hard-fought race, earning All-America honors with a time of 4:51.97.

With MIT on the verge of clinching the national title, Roeder, Crow, Sane and Sanderson took to the track in the 3,000-meter event. Sane finished 20th in 10:02.86, with Roeder taking 16th in 9:56.02. Crow and Sanderson held in the middle of the pack for most of the race before Sanderson made a late move, taking over sixth place with just a few laps remaining. Sanderson would hold the position to earn three points and clinch the national championship. Crow took 11th in 9:44.99.

Other numbers of note

Along with the second best mark in Division III history, Boykin set a new personal record, MIT program record, and a facility record at the Golisano Training Center in the weight throw. Otu Ugwu was making her second appearance at indoor nationals and her third overall NCAA appearance. She was 14th in the triple jump at both the indoor and outdoor national championship last year. Roeder was running in the final in the mile for the first time since 2023 indoor nationals, where she also finished fifth. Sanderson qualified for indoor nationals in the 5,000 meters in both 2023 and 2024, but Saturday was her first All-American after finishing 16th in 2024 and 20th in 2023.

MIT will head outside in two weeks, opening the outdoor track and field season Thursday-Saturday, March 27-29, at the Raleigh Relays, hosted by North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

A version of this article first appeared on the MIT Athletics website.