INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The NCAA has announced the field of competitors for the 2025 Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships and UMass Dartmouth student-athletes
Connor Richard and
Ancil Alexander both qualified for this year's meet. It marks the third straight outdoor championship for Richard and the first for Alexander.
Richard, a senior from Plymouth, Mass., heads to Ohio for his third Nationals following an outdoor season that has seen him finish third or better in all six meets he competed. Overall, Richard has recorded three victories, including the Coast Guard Spring Invite, the Tufts Sunshine Classic and the Little East Championship.
Richard won his first Little East title on April 27, throwing a personal best mark of 62.31 meters (204' 5") to capture the gold medal and All-LEC First Team honors. Through six meets, he has thrown at least 60 meters.
During his junior campaign, Richard competed in nine meets for the Corsairs. Highlighting his season was the LEC Championships as he threw a collegiate-best mark of 60.22 meters (197' 7") for second overall. As a sophomore, Richard also participated in nine meets, finishing top three in the javelin five times. At the NCAA Championships that year, he was 13th overall (59.04m).
As a rookie, Richard competed in eight meets, placing in the top three in four of those eight competitions. Highlighting his season were wins at the Tufts Sunshine Classic and the MIT Final Qualifier.
Alexander, who hails from Taunton, Mass., heads to his first championship following an outstanding rookie season that has seen him win the discus throw in seven out of eight meets. Additionally, Alexander has finished fifth or better in the shot put, including four straight victories.
The Division III New England and Little East Conference Champion in both the discus throw and shot put, Alexander was named the 2025 Little East Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. A five-time LEC Rookie of the Week and a two-time Field Athlete of the Week honoree, he has posted 10 total Field Rookie of the Week honors, including indoor. He opened the outdoor season at the J. Elmer Swanson Invitational at Wesleyan on March 22. During that meet, the rookie posted a mark of 47.09 meters (154' 6") on his first collegiate throw, breaking the school record previously set by Andrew Swallow '23 (46.95m; 154'0") during the 2022 outdoor season.
Alexander – who has continued to break the school record in multiple meets – saw his season highlighted at the Little East Championship as he posted a collegiate-best throw of 52.94 meters (173' 8"). That mark has held solid for the freshman thrower, who heads into the Division III National Championships ranked seventh in the nation.
Alexander then added Division III New England Champion to his resume in the discus throw the next weekend, winning the event with a mark of 51.78 meters (169' 10"). In addition, to being a new facility record at Coast Guard's Nitchman Field, it saw him become the first Corsair athlete to capture the DIII New England title in the discus throw. He was also the first UMD athlete to win a field event title at DIII NE's since Jordan Entwistle claimed the javelin throw at the 2019 championships.
Action at the NCAA Championships – which will be held at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio – gets underway on Thursday with Alexander competing in the discus throw at 10:30am. Richard will then take part in the javelin throw at 3:30pm.
