Women’s Cross Country finishes 19th at the NCAA Championship; McDonough earns All-America honors

The Women’s Cross Country team finished 19th in the field of 32 teams at the 2025 NCAA Championship on Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Roger Milliken Cross Country Course in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The Camels notched the best team finish in program history with a score of 471 points. Grace McDonough ’26 finished 13th overall in the individual standings to nab All-America honors for the first time in her cross country career.

McDonough made the most of the final cross country race of her collegiate career, steadily picking off runners all over the 6K course. Sitting in 137th place at the 1K split, she moved up 43 places before the next checkpoint, and then picked up 60 more spots by the 4K marker. She later claimed 13 positions over the final 1,000 meters of the race and crossed the finish in 21:26.1. 

Kiera Tallas ’27 and Abby Williams ’27 also had strong races for the Camels. Tallas clocked a time of 22:16.9 and finished 56th overall, while Williams made up 41 places over the final 1K and placed 92nd in 22:45.6.

April Schilling ’27 and Abby Fernald ’26 also scored points for the Camels. Schilling was the fourth Conn runner across the line and placed 218th in 23:42.4, while Fernald checked in at 259th with a time of 24:22.8. Alexa Estes ’26 and Liz Freeman ’26 rounded out the group with times of 24:35.7 -2 on penalty kicks on Saturday from Bello Field. and 25:36.6, respectively.

McDonough's 13th-place finish was the second-highest in program history. She is also the first Camel to earn All-America honors since 2019, as well as the fourth in program history.

The meet marked the third-straight NCAA appearance for the Camels. McDonough, Williams and Fernald joined a short list of Conn College women's runners who have competed in three NCAA meets. 

In other NCAA action this weekend, Ellis Iurilli-Hough ’27 finished 48th in the field of 291 runners at the 2025 NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championship, also on Saturday at the Roger Milliken Cross Country Course. Competing in the first NCAA Championship of his career, Iurilli-Hough covered the 8K course in 24:49.4.

The Men’s Soccer team saw their season come to an end in the Sweet 16 on Saturday. The Camels played Bowdoin to a scoreless draw before falling to the Polar Bears 3-2 on penalty kicks. It was Conn’s third straight appearance in the Sweet 16, and the team finishes the season with a record of 12-3-6.