NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — The Smith College track and field team travels to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. this weekend to compete at the 2026 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Outdoor Championships. The two-day meet runs Friday and Saturday, April 24-25, with action beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. The championships will stream live on FloCollege.
The Bears enter championship weekend coming off a second-place finish at the Wellesley-Mount Holyoke-Smith Tri-Meet on April 18, where Smith claimed seven individual event victories and posted a wave of personal and season-best performances. It was a strong close to a regular season that has included four outdoor meets: the UMass Flagship First (March 28), the Coast Guard Academy Invitational (April 4), the Silfen Invitational at Connecticut College (April 10-11), and the tri-meet at Wellesley.
"We're looking forward to a big weekend this week," said head coach Molly Sear. "We're coming off an all-time high performance at the tri-meet and we're looking to build on that. We have put in some really tough workouts and the effort and skill is there, so we're eager to see how it all pays off. This is the best meet of the year and our athletes are ready!"
Martin Leads a Distance Group Built for Championship Points
Senior Lyda Martin (San Antonio, TX/Lee) returns to NEWMACs after a career-defining indoor season that culminated in Second-Team All-American honors in the 1-mile run at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala. Martin, who captains both the cross country and track and field teams, has continued that momentum outdoors, running a winning 10:24.67 in the 3,000m at Wellesley and clocking 4:46.20 in the 1,500m at Silfen.
The Bears' distance group has filled in with depth across the scoring events. Senior Hillary Connor (Yarmouth, ME/Yarmouth) has opened her 5,000m at 18:34.05, sophomore Amie Gronert (Milwaukee, WI/Shorewood) produced a breakthrough 39:09.07 in the 10,000m at Silfen — a significant improvement on her 40:31.94 sixth-place finish at last year's NEWMACs — and junior Lucy Kreipke (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) has opened her steeplechase campaign at 11:30.68. In the 800m, junior Sofia Jurusz (Wildwood Crest, NJ/Middle Township) has emerged with a win at the tri-meet in 2:20.50, joined by junior Catherine Collins (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) at 2:21.60.
Pole Vault Depth Could Be the Story of the Weekend
Senior Kerry Seekamp (Destin, FL/Fort Walton Beach) headlines a pole vault group that has twice swept the podium this spring — at the Coast Guard Academy Invitational and again at Silfen. Seekamp cleared a season-best 3.55m (11-7.75) at CGA, a mark that placed her at No. 26 in the NCAA Division III outdoor national rankings. Senior Jillian da Costa Pinto (West Hartford, CT/Conard), who placed fifth at NEWMACs last year, has cleared 3.30m this season, with sophomore Cadence Sorensen adding depth at 3.15m. Three vaulters in the top eight would represent one of Smith's largest single-event scoring opportunities of the meet.
McCarty Returns as Smith's Top Individual Scorer
Junior Elaine McCarty () returns as Smith's top individual finisher from the 2025 championships, where she placed third in the heptathlon with 3,192 points. Her season has featured a personal-best 1.37m high jump at the tri-meet on April 18 and a 4.84m long jump at Silfen. The heptathlon is scheduled to open championship competition Friday afternoon.
Sprints, Hurdles, and Relays
Senior Lena Baker (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit North) anchors a sprint group coming off a two-event sweep at the tri-meet, where she won the 200m and the 400m. Baker has run 59.74 in the open 400m and leads Smith's entrants in the 4x400m relay, which ran 4:12.54 at CGA — a mark that currently sits at No. 73 nationally — alongside Indie Lamb (Barrington, RI/Barrington High School), Collins, first-year Avery Grace Maiese (Waterford, CT/Waterford High School), and McCarty.
Senior Daniela Pilier (Higuey, DR/Escuela Liceo Juan XXIII de la Salle) won the 100m at the tri-meet and leads the 4x100m squad (Gottsacker, Gwyneth Howes (), Baker, Pilier), which ran 50.65 at the season opener. Sophomore Elowyn Gottsacker (Portland, OR/Roosevelt) has paced the Bears in the 100m hurdles at 15.44 and has recorded a school-record indoor performance earlier in the year at the Tufts Final Qualifier.
The Team Picture
MIT enters as the defending and overwhelming favorite, having captured 16 program titles including each of the last four. At the 2025 NEWMAC Championship, MIT scored 278 points — more than double second-place Coast Guard's 127.5 — with Smith finishing sixth with 51 points, a three-place improvement over its 2024 finish.
Up Next
Following NEWMACs, qualified athletes will turn their attention to the New England Division III Outdoor Championships, hosted May 1-2 in Springfield, Mass.
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.
