CASTLETON, Vt. – The UMass Dartmouth women's cross country team claimed its seventh title in program history on Saturday, claiming victory at the 2026 Little East Championship at the Spartans Athletic Complex. The Corsairs compiled 51 points with five runners finishing in the Top-15 as they eclipsed second-place Southern Maine (61 points).
It marks the seventh title in program history and the first since the 1998 season. UMD previously won the titles in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1998. Senior captain
Sarah Lynch earned All-LEC First Team honors, while sophomores
Alexah Pedder and
Elena Aponte, along with senior captain
Sophie Owen were All-LEC Second Team honorees.
Lynch ran to second overall in the 6k race, posting a time of 22:48.9. It marked the second straight First Team honor for the senior – who finished sixth in 2025. Pedder earned her All-Conference honor, placing eighth overall in 23:47.8, while Aponte was 12th in 24:02.2. Owen crossed the finish line in 24:03.2 to record her second straight Second Team honor.
Junior
Sara Lopez rounded out the top-15 finishes for the Corsairs, crossing the line in 24:06.6 for 15th. Finishing sixth on the team and 19th overall was junior
Ashlyn Byrnes, who recorded a time of 24:10.0, while senior captain
Serena Carnes rounded out the top-seven Corsair runners with a 23rd place finish in 24:18.6.
Other outstanding performances for the Corsairs at this year's championship included:
Junior
Natalya LaVita – 24th overall – 24:21.5
Sophomore
Ava Brunswick – 33rd overall – 25:02.4
Junior
Alexia Gonsalves – 34th overall – 25:08.8
Sophomore
Raeleigh Levesque – 36th overall – 25:11.5
Sophomore
Nicole Mota – 38th overall – 25:17.5
Senior
Liv DeSimone – 40th overall – 25:27.2
Rookie
Amya Moura – 44th overall – 26:03.3
Rookie
Maria Avery-Pham – 61st overall – 27:34.9
Rookie
Ana Machado – 63rd overall – 27:51.2
Rookie
Evellyn Silva-Lima – 75th overall – 30:04.5
Rookie
Pippa Diller – 80th overall – 31:05.1
Rookie
Elsa Sedgwick – 83rd overall – 32:28.8
UMass Dartmouth returns to action at the 2026 NCAA East Regional Championship, which will be held on November 14. The meet will be hosted by Bates College at the Wainwright Sports Complex - South Portland, Maine with an 11am start time for the 6k event.
