South Portland, Maine — Junior Stephen White won the individual regional championship to headline an outstanding postseason showing for the Colby College Men's and Women's Cross Country programs on Saturday at the 2026 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championships at the Wainwright Recreation Complex. Behind White's individual crown, the Colby men earned a runner-up team finish while the women placed fifth overall, with the top four finishers on each side earning All-Region honors to bolster both squads' cases for national championship berths.
In the men's 8,000-meter championship race, White surged ahead of MIT's Dylan Fiegener down the stretch to claim the individual victory in 24:00.20, winning by less than a second to secure All-Region honors. Colby packed four runners inside the top 10 overall, as sophomore Curtis Leachman (seventh, 24:12.76), junior Eli Ziegler (ninth, 24:14.31), and senior Henry Reichle (10th, 24:14.35) all earned All-Region recognition. Junior Greydon Gavin rounded out the Mules' scoring five in 39th place (25:06.61) to give Colby 65 points and second place out of 31 competing teams, trailing only regional champion MIT (44 points) while finishing ahead of NESCAC rivals Tufts (88), Bates (98), and Bowdoin (246). Sophomore Ryan Todisco (46th, 25:14.59) and senior Brady Clegg (68th, 25:51.95) also competed for the Mules.
On the women's side, Colby delivered a strong pack performance across the 6,000-meter course to place fifth out of 30 teams with 126 points, finishing just three points behind fourth-place Bowdoin (123). Junior Ada Grant paced the Mules in 11th place overall with a time of 21:37.67. Senior Noe Nalavala (20th, 21:58.50), first-year Lucy Huggett (22nd, 22:00.28), and senior Alexandra Herman (23rd, 22:00.31) finished in tight formation right behind Grant as Colby's top four runners all secured All-Region honors. Sophomore Kintla Thomas completed the scoring five in 50th place (23:03.95), followed closely by sophomore Zoe Goodman (51st, 23:14.35) and senior Abbey Wolfe (77th, 23:51.09).
While only the winning team from each region receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, both the Colby men and women put together resumes that place them in strong position to earn at-large bids when the national field is announced. Fans can follow postseason announcements, full results, and national championship updates on colbyathletics.com.
