NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Smith College hosts the 2026 NEWMAC Women's Cross Country Championship on Saturday, Oct. 31, with the 6K race set for 11 a.m. on the Bears' home course. Smith enters at No. 4 in the conference's pre-championship coaches' poll, one point behind No. 3 Wellesley.

2026 NEWMAC Women's Cross Country Championship
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31
Time: 11 a.m.
Site: Smith College — Northampton, Mass.
Distance: 6K
Field: 12 teams
Watch: NSN Sports
Live Results: Millennium Running

THE POLL
MIT topped the poll with 121 points and 11 first-place votes, followed by Coast Guard (111 points, one first-place vote), Wellesley (95) and Smith (94). WPI (74), Babson (66), Wheaton (59), Salve Regina (56), Springfield (54), Mount Holyoke (29), Clark (20) and Emerson (16) round out the field.

LAST YEAR AT NEWMACS
Smith scored 141 points to place fourth of 12 teams at Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass., behind MIT (24), Coast Guard (66) and Wellesley (112). Lucy Kreipke (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) earned All-NEWMAC honors with a 13th-place finish in 22:53.1, and Avery Maiese was the Bears' second scorer in 28th at 23:54.1. Both return this fall. MIT claimed its 18th straight title and 20th overall.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Kreipke, a senior, has led Smith in all four races this fall. She placed 14th in the season opener at the Trinity Invitational, won the Ellen O'Neil Invitational in 23:27.4, finished 16th of 244 at the KSC Invitational and placed 40th of 259 in the Blue race at the Connecticut College Invitational, covering the 6K in 21:47.5.

Maiese, a sophomore, and first-year Hadley Smith (North Yarmouth, Maine/North Yarmouth Academy) have also scored in all four meets. Senior Sofia Jurusz (Wildwood Crest, NJ/Middle Township) and senior Catherine Collins (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) have each scored three times, with Jurusz the No. 2 Smith finisher at Conn College in 22:48.7.

The Bears have already raced this course. At the Ellen O'Neil Invitational on Sept. 19, Smith swept the top six places for a perfect 15 points, averaging 24:20 with a 1:40 spread across its top five and finishing 40 points clear of runner-up Babson.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
MIT goes for its 19th straight title. The Engineers placed fourth in the Blue race at Conn College behind senior Liv Girand, the reigning NEWMAC Runner of the Week, who finished 22nd in 21:35.3. MIT also returns senior Jessica Meza and junior Ava Hartman, a 2025 NCAA Championship participant.

Coast Guard's Kevyn Fish earned Runner of the Week honors twice in September, and junior Brooke Hunter placed 19th at last year's championship. Wellesley placed fourth at the KSC Invitational and features Cadence Chang, the season's first Runner of the Week, along with sophomore Avery Lieb.

Other names to know include Springfield graduate student Kristina Kyle, the 2025 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year; Salve Regina senior Anna Weygang, who placed 12th last year; and Mount Holyoke senior Anika Konopka, who placed 10th.

COMMON GROUND
Smith has met eight of its 11 conference opponents this fall:

• Babson: Smith finished ahead twice, at Ellen O'Neil and KSC
• Springfield: Smith finished ahead twice, at Ellen O'Neil and KSC
• Wellesley: Split — Wellesley was fourth at KSC (157 points to Smith's 186), while Smith placed ahead at Conn College (22nd to 26th)
• Coast Guard: Finished ahead of Smith at Trinity and Conn College
• MIT: Placed fourth to Smith's 22nd at Conn College
• WPI: Smith finished ahead at Conn College
• Wheaton and Mount Holyoke: Smith finished ahead at KSC

BEAR BITES

• Smith was picked fourth in the 2025 preseason poll and finished fourth.
• The Bears placed second at the 2022 championship, and the Smith staff was named NEWMAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
• Smith last hosted the championship in 2023.
• Kreipke qualified individually for the 2025 NCAA Championship after placing 26th at the Mideast Regional.
• Smith is in its third season under Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Jack Wood.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

• 1 — Point separating No. 3 Wellesley and No. 4 Smith in the poll
• 15 — Smith's perfect score on the championship course Sept. 19
• 4 — Races this fall in which Kreipke has led the Bears
• 18 — Consecutive NEWMAC titles for MIT
• 141 — Smith's team score at the 2025 championship

UP NEXT
Smith returns to action at the NCAA Mideast Regional on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Trinity Wickham Park in Manchester, Conn.

About Smith Athletics
Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information, log on to GoSmithBears.com and follow the Bears on Facebook and Instagram.